Until the Light Takes Us

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.

"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".

First and foremost a quick word of warning: if you expect to gain knowledge of what Black Metal MUSIC is and/or you're not familiar with so-called True Norwegian Black Metal then I suggest you do NOT watch this documentary or at least don't expect a rush through a history of bands and music. It does not contain any particular style comparisons, does not feature a whole lot of Black Metal music and also does not feature bands from the so-called 2nd or 3rd generation of Black Metal artists. You will not find any Gorgoroth (except for a short music clip) or Dimmu Borgir in here ;)

That said I can take a stand and say I just really enjoyed this documentary. I've been watching it multiple times by now and it's still a fascinating journey through the darker, moody inner feeling Black Metal itself is about (which it is supposed to be in the first place IMO). I really liked the fact that the creators chose Fenriz from Darkthrone as the main guide throughout the whole movie as I think he's got the most neutral stand in the whole Norwegian Black Metal scene and is not as biased (not to offend, though) as Vikernes or Hellhammer. The interviews are left uncommented, so everyone can think for themselves regarding the statements the interviewees make. Some other reviewers criticized the "techno" music. It's not techno music at all, but dark ambient synth music that fits the cold and gloomy Norwegian landscape very well. Fans of Burzum's ambient songs will agree with me. The "plot" mainly focuses on the incidents surrounding Euronymous' shop Helvete in Oslo, his murder (and also Dead of Mayhem's death), the Helvete gang which consisted mainly of Burzum, Mayhem and Darkthrone members. Basically to sum it up, I'll just quote Fenriz from the film: "How the hell did it all happen?".

I really recommend this film to anyone with a decent fascination for the early Norwegian Black Metal scene. This is not intended for people that just enjoy dressing up Black Metal style and give their head a bang or two as you won't quite understand this film.

Although I'm not what you'd call a big fan of the music scene at the core of this film - I don't own a single one of the records - I've been aware of bits & pieces of the story over the years and had enough of a casual interest to catch a screening of the documentary at an AFI screening.

I was happily surprised by a few general aspects of the film - the general good film quality, the unlabored presentation of the characters, and also the unexpected soundtrack. As another reviewer says: "the music for this movie was very appropriate ... a mix of black metal and ambient music, making the movie very easy to watch while still putting you within the dark atmosphere." I'll add that this ambient music helped make the metal segments seem all the more heavy-hitting and abrasive. A wise choice.

It's refreshing, as in case of Until the Light Takes Us, when a documentary doesn't judge it's subjects, especially when the urge to justify their approach (aka cover their ass) must have been present. The viewer benefits most from this in the interesting present-day clips of Fenriz and Varg Vikernes (Burzum) and the unforced comparison of the two and the time they are given the time to reveal themselves, both good and bad (and very bad) through their own words and ideas.

Although this doc is unmistakably about a metal scene, it's also got a wealth of insight to the power of the entertainment news media to re-define the reality in ways they're irresponsibly probably not even aware of.

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)!