Hvis Lyset Tar Oss [Import]

This is it - the purest expression of Varg Vikernes' philosophy. The guitars are beautifully ugly, the drums are at their primitive best, the vocals are still the rawest ever in black metal, and the synths make the whole thing feel ethereal, other-worldly, and dreamlike. It's like wandering through a darkly beautiful mountain landscape - hungered, violent, solitary, godless (to quote Nietzsche). The whole thing is topped off with a long synth instrumental that sounds like the aural personification of ice.

The lyrics (in Norwegian), contrary to common view (and regardless of Varg's personal opinions), are not Satanic, Nazi or even racist - they are either personal in nature or describe various Norse myths.

There's not much more to say about Hvis Lyset Tar Oss, other than it is an experience not meant for all. Approach at your own risk, and don't be ashamed if you run screaming from the darkness.

This is the best burzum album ever made i think. its the way burzum was ment to sound like the album takes you on a journey through sorrow and sadness.all of the burzum albums are amazing and have a great sound to them but this just stands out alot. the opening track is very hypnotic its a 14 minute song it starts out with a very cold gloomy keyboard and icy guitar that goes on for many minutes then the drums come in and the main guitar riff starts up then blasts like thunder then then a mysterious keyboard sound comes in. the songs riffs reapeat afew times as the lead riff reapeats again then vargs tortured screams come out of nowhere. i may add that this song is one of burzums best songs it alone takes you on a journey it starts out dark and mysterious then towards the middle it breaks down to a sad mood as the sorrowful keyboards come in the and vargs vocals really fit the mood of this song aswell some people might not like his early vocals because there loud and he screams alot but for this song it fits... because the song is very sad in a way but the song does make you feel like your on a journey and as the outro guitar riff fades away you will feel like you just came from a dark sorrowful journey.some of the guitar riffs sound kinda like there in the background alot of this song you really follow the keyboards because they stand out alot really the lead guitar riff and the outro one are the only ones that stand out without the keyboards. then as the title song comes in i never really got into this song it just didn't sound that great compared to the other ones but thats just what i think but there are some good vocals in the song but not any keyboards can be heard on this one. then the next song Inn i slottet fra drommen comes next this is one of my favorite songs it starts out very brutal and stays that way to it get to the middle and the mood of the song really changes.the keyboards come in again and then you hear a low faded guitar riff then the vocals come in again and the the faded guitar riff breaks in at full force. this is my favorite riff of the song and the riff and drums really go together at this part then the song slows down for a couple of minutes before the last riff returns and a hypnotic keyboard comes into almost filling in for the guitar you really can't tell if the guitar is playing the riff or the keyboard but this part of the song almost puts you in a trance before going into the outro riff. this is another song that really makes you feel like your on a journey. then the last song comes on which is a instrumental ambient song that pretty much brings you to the end of your journey and the song is long but its very relaxing. but i think the things that stand out the most on this album would have to be the vocals keyboards and guitars there are no other burzum albums that sound like this which makes this a special album varg himself has even said this was the golden age of burzum and had even said once that it was his favorite album. the album has only four songs but the way the first and last songs are so long it makes the album feel longer but this album has great guitar riffs as every burzum album does and the keyboards are very well played and there very moody. anyone who likes burzum i would recommend this and if your just getting into burzum this i would say would be a good album to get along with the debut and Det some engang var if you are just looking for a good black metal album that have keyboards this would be the best burzum album to get i think.

For those familiar with the Burzum name, Hvis Lyset Tar Oss is largely and widely accepted as his crowning achievement. Utilizing a stunning mixture of layered guitar melodies, gloomy synths, and thunderous percussion, Varg works his way through three hypnotic metal songs before the ambitious ambient outro - Tomhet. Rather than sit here and rattle on about the magic contained within this record, I would rather just claim that it is a must have for any black metal fan, and ranks among the highest calibur or metal releases period.

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