Until the Light Takes Us

If you appreciate early black metal and its pioneers such as Fenriz(DarkThrone) and Varg(Burzum,Mayhem) then this documentary is fantastic. I don't think this was fully meant to be a documentary on The Black Metal Scene as a whole, but more of a story of the dark circle and the inner conflicts and differences with in it. Mainly about Deads suicide, the death of Euronymous, and the Church Arsons across Norway. This tied up a lot of loose ends that I left untied for so many years until I saw this film. It answered a lot of questions I had about the story behind the events. Both Fenriz and Varg are well spoken in their own ways and they had my undivided attention while they were speaking. The sound track is good too, lots of good black metal as well as some ambient non black metal tracks. I think MUM in the soundtrack really was a nice touch. 10 out of 10 from me. Just sit back and enjoy the show, Blu Ray has lots of extras. Don't approach this movie with "oh i know everything about metal, I'm so effing awesome" attitude just sit back, relax, and enjoy. Don't waste your time being analytical.

As someone who was quite entranced with the (decidedly early) Black Metal scene as an impressionable teenager way back in the early to mid 90's, a documentary like this is more a walk down memory lane than a revelation. As such, some prior knowledge of the genre is required before sitting down and watching this documentary. Do not expect a musical walk through, nor an explanation on the aesthetics of the genre, what you'll get is an account of the ideologies of the musicians, their perception of a bankrupt society with a complete disclosure of their (questionable) morals.

The interview with Varg Vikernes of Burzum should be taken with a whole bag salt: it comes over as an apologetic discourse of his past crimes, his idealogical and political standpoints are more then questionable. The true star of this docu is without a doubt Fenriz, whose down to earth attitude is refreshing and serves as a stark contrast to the somewhat pompous and overblown pose of Satyricon's Frost and Mayhem's Hellhammer. Fenriz (Gylve Nagel) offers insight in the dealings of the Black Circle, the going-ons in Euronymous shop "Helvete" and power struggle of the main antagonists in the early black metal scene without ever going too far.

The documentary is well constructed, through a collection of interviews it focuses on the people in the scene and as such there is no overdubbed narrator. The soundtrack fits rather well, ambient pieces (by Burzum, Mum and ulver) mixed with furious early day black metal (courtesy of Mayhem, Darkthrone, Thorns and Burzum) serve to pinpoint the resemblance and the blend of the two genres. The ambient pieces also stress the ferociousness and ugliness of black metal, something present day black metal sorely lacks.

No frills, no bs, no plastic bands and no Gorgoroth: highly recommended for fans of black metal, present and past (like me)!

"Until the Light Takes Us" gives an insight into the rise of the pure black metal from back in the early 1990's, and not in the abominable mutation - read money-fueled mainstream measured by commercial success - that black metal has grown into by today.

The documentary sheds light on the early years of black metal, of how it started, what fueled it (no pun intended), who the persons of significant influence were, and such. And the filmmakers did have a neutral approach and let the musicians themselves bring forth what they had to tell and share.

This particular documentary is aimed at the purist mostly, and I don't mean purists in a negative way. What I do mean is those whom have an interest in black metal at its core of all its desolation, raw sound, brutality and deeper meaning, and not the orchestral and keyboard mutation it has grown into today.

"Until the Light Takes Us" brings interviews with and opinions from Fenriz, Varg Vikernes, Hellhammer, Abbath, Demonaz, Garm and Frost. If you listen to black metal then you should already be more than familiar with these musicians.

The documentary doesn't glorify or slander the black metal scene, but brings out into light some views and opinions that sheds light upon a great many aspects of this darker side of metal.

I can strongly recommend that you take the time to watch "Until the Light Takes Us".

"until the light takes us" does for the Norse black metal scene what temple's "the filth and the fury" did for early u.k. punk, in that it attempts to retrospectively and yet accurately paint a picture of a so-called extreme music scene ruined by its own strict ideology, media over-exposure, and the inexperience of youth. indeed, many parallels exist between British punk and Norse black metal, not the least of which revolve around corrupt in-scene bosses, misguided fan-boy attempts at emulating the supposed actions of the originators of the particular movement, and a stated ideology lashing out against a generalised societal goal at odds with the very well-being of mankind.

however, whereas our British protagonists used the very rails of pop culture to drive the roller coaster car of punk into the parlour rooms of staid English families from brixton to Liverpool, black metal kept its sounds and image underground during its prime years, leaving only the charred remains of norway's Christian past to give the confused public any hint of its existence. eventually, of course, the media seized hold of the scene, the music, and its participants, and all but re-wrote the events into a cartoonish mythology over the past fifteen years. the core creators of Norwegian black metal have been loathe to give much insight into the impetus behind their actions or ideology in the mainstream media in anything but print, and most of that has been twisted.

Aaron aites and Audrey ewell have gone to great lengths to treat a history long the subject of hysteria and misrepresentation with the venerability and respect due a subject so weighty. for while in the world at large, black metal, if known at all, is a comical footnote to heavy metal - a genre known largely for its "heavy metal parking lot" beer-swilling fans; in norway varg vikerenes is known as the Norwegian Charles manson, and the scene associate with rape, murder, arson and the knife. the film is well balanced, with shots in austere art galleries, forests, pubs, and open air markets. the story line is neither rushed nor over-indulged, and over all the film makers try to maintain a certain neutrality, leaving the audience to judge for itself what to make of these decidedly revolutionary and publicly misanthropic individuals.

there are surprises for all audiences. those unfamiliar with the history of the scene will get a clear picture of what probably transpired in a violent youth scene notorious for satanism and murder in norway between 1989-1994. for black metal devotees, prepare for a treat - rarely seen footage of early, core bands, interviews with many of the musicians who mattered, and untainted interviews with varg himself. prepare for a film with none of the cringe-worthy material you might have previously associated with the sensationalism, ignorance or low-brow blundering of the vbs "true Norwegian black metal" fiasco. interviews with other characters in the scene make for a much different impression than one might otherwise hold.

"until the light takes us" is that rare creature of the underground documentary world; a true portrait of the subject in glistening oils a la van Gogh, rather than some coney island boardwalk pencil caricature.

Very well done. I've read just about anything I could get my hands on regarding the subject of Norwegian black metal and its media-enhanced notoriety. Until the Light Takes Us covers just that. The film focuses on 1) sensationalism (Varg being labeled a Satanist by both Norwegian and American media), 2) cultural dissonance (particularly Christianity versus traditional Norwegian culture), 3) the frustrations of artists like Fenriz and the trends stemming from their body of work (regardless of whether or not the new generations of artists even understand what it is they're doing and where these ideas came from), and 4) the extreme nature of certain black metal ethics (Dead's suicide being documented on the cover of "Dawn of the Black Hearts") and the feud between Varg & Euronymous (or even Frost's openly masochistic behavior, for that matter). These are all very central and relevant themes in black metal. I don't see how this documentary could fail in bringing up these issues when each one was so plainly articulated. Furthermore, the soundtrack was quite focused on black metal. To my knowledge, the very dense and lengthy soundtrack contains only 4 non-black metal acts (mum, Black Dice, Boards of Canada and SUNN O))), who composed "Black One" as a tribute, more or less, to the black metal genre as it influenced them). The rest is all Mayhem, Burzum, Gorgoroth, Enslaved, Thorns, Darkthrone and so on. Don't see what's not black metal about that. Until The Light Takes Us, like American Hardcore, is primarily for people not only interested in the genre and its related stories but also anyone who doesn't know a whole lot about these subjects. No harm in that. If anything, I'd rather newcomers hear about black metal through this documentary than picking up a recent Dimmu Borgir album.