Review of Until the Light Takes Us (2008) by Mike K — 10 Jun 2011

Although this is a decent account of some of the (remaining) founding members of the black-metal scene, I couldn't help but think that the level of fascination worthy of the subject matter was ill-treated in various ways.

For starters, although I was never into the music itself, many of my friends were, but I always found the scene as a whole very interesting. The two figures who get most of the attention (in fact, command the attention) of the documentary, 'Fenriz' and Varg Vikernes had some interesting (and a lot of uninteresting) things to say - but these points are drowned in posturing to an extent.

One important subject - how living in a world devoid of overt conflicts and...let's say, a certain degree of crisis or even trauma - can turn young males (especially) to some interesting sublimations of their long-run evolutionary urges, and black-metal is perhaps the most vivid example of this.

This was insufficiently explored. But others, such as the commentator's (i think, sensible) criticisms of Christianity and global corporatism's influence on the music scene, or the media's characteristic sculpting and 'dumbing down' of such events as church-burning so as to produce a particular public response were also not prioritised.

Instead, we get an overly-long focus on 'Fenriz's poorly-articulated presentations of stuff well-worth saying. Aside from this, some excellent - but rather inappropriate music (electronica - the stuff I was into at the time and still am) provides the soundtrack.

The best thing is, I guess, that the definitive doco on this subject is yet to be made.