Until the Light Takes Us

'Until the Light Takes Us' is an exploration of the 1980s and 90s Norwegian black metal movement largely seen through the eyes of two of its important figures - Gylve 'Fenriz' Nagell, one half of the key duo behind the seminal Darkthrone; and Varg 'Count Grishnackh' Vikernes, the man behind one-man project Burzum.

The documentary is mostly comprised of interviews with Nagell and Vikernes as well as several members of other prominent black metal bands. The film also portrays some fly-on-the-wall moments with Nagell as he recounts the events of the early days of the black metal scene, and includes some archival footage, most notably of the infamous church burnings and the ensuing media frenzy. With no narrator and very few inter-titles, the talking head pieces are largely left to drive the film forward. Whilst the insights from Nagell and Vikernes are interesting, it does tend to make 'Until the Light Takes Us' feel a bit like an incomplete picture of the true goings-on of the time. For those already familiar with the events of the Norwegian black metal scene in the 1980s and 90s, there probably isn't too much more you would learn from this film. However, if you are new to the story, there are some interesting tidbits to be gained - albeit from a limited perspective. Other reviewers have noted the lack of insight into some of the more extreme views of Vikernes - likewise, I feel this would have been an interesting area to explore and was a bit of a missed opportunity from the filmmakers.

From a technical perspective, the film is well pieced together. Much like black metal itself, there is no unnecessary ornamentation (such as crazy edits or 'arty' camera angles/effects) and the story is left pretty much to unfold on its own. A quick note also on the soundtrack - not exactly what I was expecting for a documentary on black metal but an interesting choice and effective for the most part.

In summary, an interesting piece of the story behind one of the more infamous movements in modern music but one that should be taken as only part of the complete picture. Worth a view as a companion piece.

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.

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".

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.