Country:
USA
Recognizable Faces:
Varg Vikernes
Fenriz
Frost
Hellhammer
Directed By:
Aaron Aites
Audrey Ewell
I've been a black metal fan for many years of my life. The main reason for that, is that it's by far one of the most artistically extreme musical genres. There are all sorts of crazy stories and urban legends tied to the movement. Antisemitism, psychological issues, pirates* and countless stories of extreme violence (including murders) made for a demented and spectacular folklore. For the last two or three years, my taste for black metal has considerably dwindled. I'm still listening to the likes of Mayhem, Darkthrone and Anaal Nathrakh, as well as a little Dimmu Borgir from time to time, but the genre lost its appeal to me in general. I picked up UNTIL THE LIGHT TAKES US after a discussion I had with Shotgun Honey's editor and writer extraordinaire Kent Gowran, curious to see how the black metal paradigm would hold up to a few years of perspective. It's still a very rich and compelling universe and while somebody most experienced with this music would get the flaws in the arguments, UNTIL THE LIGHT TAKES US does a very good job at presenting the father figures of the genre under the most haunting light.
The documentary follows mainly Darkthrone's Fenriz and the infamous Varg Vikernes, who murdered Mayhem's founding member and black metal pioneer Euronymous**. Fenriz doesn't say anything substantial, except deploring the current state of black metal. "I wish it didn't become a trend" would be his main statement throughout the film. I was ticked off by it, but somebody pointed to me that Fenriz looked like a huge music nerd and looking at his statements this way, it makes sense. The most interesting sequence that featured Fenriz was a press phone call he gave, where he's asked question that makes him lose his patience. Questions related to the raw aesthetics of the band. It's really important in the perspective of this movie, because this question of aesthetics and musical dogma ties everything together. Varg Vikernes, who's interviewed from his prison, while looking absolutely off his rocker (as usual), had much more interesting and controversial statements to make.
Vikernes explains how his early recordings with Burzum*** was a rebellion against the current song structure and recording methods in the industry. It's really ironic, because what was first motivated by a desire for difference has turned into a dogma in black metal. It's one of the most difficult crowd to please and there's a school of thought within the genre that doesn't accept anything but unconventional song structures and the most low-fi production possible****. Another interesting segment with Vikernes is HIS side of the story in the church burnings and the Euronymous murders. I must have heard these stories about a hundred times, but never for Vikernes' mouth. The climate of fear and paranoia that Euronymous worked so hard to create, in order to maintain his persona, will have gotten the better of him. He was saying a lot of things, but apparently he didn't do much. It's still unclear as why Vikernes killed him, but I think it's fair to assume he was pushed to the edge from living in this dark and threatening atmosphere all the time.
There are other legendary figures of black metal featured in UNTIL THE LIGHT TAKES US. Frost from Satyricon, who's participating in a piece of performance art in regards to an exhibit from a black metal influences visual artist (I can't remember his name, sorry). It's a shorter appearance, but it's very poetic how he's presented as a lost angel, in a world of darkness. I'm not big on performance art, but I thought what Frost did was really cool and not overly symbolic and cryptic like most performance art today. Hellhammer from Mayhem also makes an appearance, but it's more embarrassing than anything. I was ashamed of liking his music whenever he opened his mouth. He said things like: "I really honor Faust (another folkloric black metal figure) for killing that fucking faggot in Lillehammer"*****, which I thought he should have kept for himself. There's a huge history of intolerance in black metal, but to my knowledge it never was what Mayhem was all about. UNTIL THE LIGHT TAKES US was a good documentary, but it wasn't great and it introduced very little new data about black metal folklore. It's a neatly wrapped presentation, that's all. An accurate portrait of the founding fathers of black metal culture.
SCORE: 72%
* This statement is to take with a grain of salt, please.
** Here's the full story. Interestingly enough, despite the spectacular line-up changes, Mayhem has always remained able to produce some of the most interesting and unique music in the genre. To me, they are the face of black metal.
*** Burzum is Vikernes' one-man-band, who has been pretty much at the origin of the black metal sound. His material is legendary, yet still polarizing almost two decades later. Vikernes got out of jail a few years ago and Burzum has released two albums since.
**** In an effort to sound as crappy as possible, some bands really outdid themselves and great stories were born. I think it was a Danish band who recorded on a boat. A Canadian band also apparently recorded in the forest, outside in one take. That's hardcore.
***** Bard "Faust" Eithun killed a homosexual man in Lillehammer and got a 14 years sentence. Like Vikernes though, he got released and he's been doing music ever since.
The documentary follows mainly Darkthrone's Fenriz and the infamous Varg Vikernes, who murdered Mayhem's founding member and black metal pioneer Euronymous**. Fenriz doesn't say anything substantial, except deploring the current state of black metal. "I wish it didn't become a trend" would be his main statement throughout the film. I was ticked off by it, but somebody pointed to me that Fenriz looked like a huge music nerd and looking at his statements this way, it makes sense. The most interesting sequence that featured Fenriz was a press phone call he gave, where he's asked question that makes him lose his patience. Questions related to the raw aesthetics of the band. It's really important in the perspective of this movie, because this question of aesthetics and musical dogma ties everything together. Varg Vikernes, who's interviewed from his prison, while looking absolutely off his rocker (as usual), had much more interesting and controversial statements to make.
Vikernes explains how his early recordings with Burzum*** was a rebellion against the current song structure and recording methods in the industry. It's really ironic, because what was first motivated by a desire for difference has turned into a dogma in black metal. It's one of the most difficult crowd to please and there's a school of thought within the genre that doesn't accept anything but unconventional song structures and the most low-fi production possible****. Another interesting segment with Vikernes is HIS side of the story in the church burnings and the Euronymous murders. I must have heard these stories about a hundred times, but never for Vikernes' mouth. The climate of fear and paranoia that Euronymous worked so hard to create, in order to maintain his persona, will have gotten the better of him. He was saying a lot of things, but apparently he didn't do much. It's still unclear as why Vikernes killed him, but I think it's fair to assume he was pushed to the edge from living in this dark and threatening atmosphere all the time.
There are other legendary figures of black metal featured in UNTIL THE LIGHT TAKES US. Frost from Satyricon, who's participating in a piece of performance art in regards to an exhibit from a black metal influences visual artist (I can't remember his name, sorry). It's a shorter appearance, but it's very poetic how he's presented as a lost angel, in a world of darkness. I'm not big on performance art, but I thought what Frost did was really cool and not overly symbolic and cryptic like most performance art today. Hellhammer from Mayhem also makes an appearance, but it's more embarrassing than anything. I was ashamed of liking his music whenever he opened his mouth. He said things like: "I really honor Faust (another folkloric black metal figure) for killing that fucking faggot in Lillehammer"*****, which I thought he should have kept for himself. There's a huge history of intolerance in black metal, but to my knowledge it never was what Mayhem was all about. UNTIL THE LIGHT TAKES US was a good documentary, but it wasn't great and it introduced very little new data about black metal folklore. It's a neatly wrapped presentation, that's all. An accurate portrait of the founding fathers of black metal culture.
SCORE: 72%
* This statement is to take with a grain of salt, please.
** Here's the full story. Interestingly enough, despite the spectacular line-up changes, Mayhem has always remained able to produce some of the most interesting and unique music in the genre. To me, they are the face of black metal.
*** Burzum is Vikernes' one-man-band, who has been pretty much at the origin of the black metal sound. His material is legendary, yet still polarizing almost two decades later. Vikernes got out of jail a few years ago and Burzum has released two albums since.
**** In an effort to sound as crappy as possible, some bands really outdid themselves and great stories were born. I think it was a Danish band who recorded on a boat. A Canadian band also apparently recorded in the forest, outside in one take. That's hardcore.
***** Bard "Faust" Eithun killed a homosexual man in Lillehammer and got a 14 years sentence. Like Vikernes though, he got released and he's been doing music ever since.