Until The Light Takes Us (2008)

A documentary on the infamous Scandinavian Black Metal Scene of the early 90’s. If you’ve read Lords Of Chaos (recommended), you know the score and if you haven’t (I don’t know why you’d be seeing this, but!) here’s the deal: A group of angry men form bands, put on King Diamond/KISS make-up (“Corpse Paint”), hang out in basements, commit murder, suicide, arson and occasionally put out records of some brutally caustic sounds.

The inevitable infighting of such a volatile group of people means that of the main three bands of this scene (Mayhem, Burzum and Dark Throne), you have three men in jail for murder and arson, two dead and one functioning band still active. Their nihilistic ideology involve Norse Paganism, Nationalism, Homophobia, and Anti-Semitism. None of this is questioned or criticised in this film, it is simply put in front of the viewer without comment (and is therefore complicit). There is almost nothing about the 2nd and 3rd (or whatever) waves of Black Metals bands that have come since these seminal groups, instead focusing on the innercircle looking back at what happened and why and the media explosion that followed.

We mostly follow the leader of Dark Throne (who is not in jail) around Scandinavia while he complains that Black Metal is now a fad and full up with poseurs.

It is occasionally funny, but mostly interesting from a anthropological standpoint. The filmmakers passive approval of the shady politics (and the complete lack of any mention of the harsh racism inherent in the scene) made this kind of a bummer. This was made by and for fans, it is fairly well made, but not necessarily recommended. I appreciate that this is a sound that completely embodies its environment, the way that Stax/ Volt sounds like Memphis, the way that the Melvins sound like the Pacific Northwest, or Fela Kuti sounds like Lagos.