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.

"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.

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)!

Aaron Aites and Audrey Ewell turn out to be complete apologists for Vikernes. There is no mention of his role in the Heathen Front. No confrontation about his earlier writings in neo- nazi zines. It's as if his Odinism somehow exists outside his racist, pure-blood nationalism and eugenicism. It's cool to bag on Christians, god knows they've bagged on us for about 1500 years now, but Vikernes' real extremism goes completely unexplored, though the filmmakers are quick to labor the point that he's not a satanist, which any black metal fan knows.

Look, the burning of Christian churches, the suicide, the murder, and the subsequent media feeding frenzy that launched Norwegian black metal onto the world stage, it's all interesting stuff, and there are some places where the record must be corrected. But this is over- correction. This is essentially a propaganda piece for Vikernes that in no way addresses the full and real picture of him or the movement.

I'm not looking for demonization, I'm looking for basic, fully realized non-fiction. It's not here. If you're not familiar with the early 90's Norwegian black metal movement and the mayhem that went down in it, then you should check this out. But just know that when you're being charmed by Vikernes, as the filmmakers seem to have been, you're being charmed by a very dark guy indeed. This is too loose to be journalism, too soft to be sensationalism, and too clumsy to be of much use to anyone.

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.