Vikernes is a proponent of the Ásatrú religion and believes it is a religion for all Germanic peoples. He helped create the Odalist movement & co-founded the 'All-Germanic Heathen Front' (although he is neither a member nor a leader). He is the author of several short works on his personal weltanschauung, namely 'Vargsmĺl' (lit. 'the speech of Varg'), 'Irminsűl' & 'Germansk Mytologi og Verdensanskuelse'. Vikernes interprets the old lore in a fascistic way and belongs to the leading heads of modern esoteric fascism.
He terminated his musical project that he continued from prison in 2000 due to the 'negative notoriety' which he believed he continually recieved from it. as well as believing he was constantly misunderstood and misinterpreted by an 'ignorant' "fan"base that saw contradictions in either his outlook or how things he has said correlated to his outlook. which he assures were never contradictive but simply novel & pervasive.
Vikernes has written lyrics for several songs by the band Darkthrone ("quintessence," "as fittermice as satan's spys" etc) that make use of characteristics from old Germanic folklore. In these, "satan" is brought up in the context of an 'eye' which is a source of light (i.e. the sun) with mentions of a 'spear,' a 'hall of battle.' All of which are masked references to the Germanic god Odin as he has been identified by the Christian Church. This was done with the double meaning that Vikernes does indeed consider Odin the "Adversary" of Judo-Christianity as they could understand it. This has been mostly mistaken as 'proving' that Vikernes was at one time a "Satanist" and therefore someone who cannot adhere to one line of thinking, but infact the case is that he is an artist as well as an ideologue. Vikernes has stated many times that he is entirely opposed to Satanism as he considers it a reactionary form of Christianity.
He was apparently fascinated with the fictional realm of Mordor from The Lord of the Rings, and claimed to have mastered the Black Speech, from which he took the name Burzum.
In October 2003 he attempted to escape from jail. After hijacking a car and apparently driving around with no clear plan he was apprehended by the police.