Customer Reviews

Hvis Lyset Tar Oss

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I bought this one back at Wild Rags in the early 1990s and was not immediately enchanted with it. I heard mostly noise and very simple riffs with keyboards. After becoming acquainted with some classical music in short forms, I realized what the Burzum trip is: themes are developed in very simple riffs, leading to a complex establishment of harmony in which a final motif is proclaimed which removes the anger from the perception of this music and replaces it with a graceful, yet bittersweet sad, revelation of the pessimism and desire for change in herent in life for a thinking person at this time. It's not Beethoven's fifth, but it is as distinctive.

Opening with the lengthy "Det Som Engang Var" the album races through two majestic but basic tracks, then drifts into a simple and repetitive ambient keyboard track with the allure of creating and holding a mood despite its somewhat traditional ambient aesthetics. Tracks use complex structures made of riffs that use the simplest possible musical shapes for the greatest effects, putting together five three-note riffs into ambient metal of resonant sensation. Keyboards drum and guitar use sparse patterns in coincidence for great effect.

This album destroyed black metal by taking the music one dimension higher, toward what earlier black metal had explored but completely detached from the standard rock song form, suggesting a type of "symphonic" metal that is designed to be lengthy, narrative music like a classical symphony, but doesn't use the same breadth of instrumentation. It is one of the handful of best the genre produced, and perhaps its most visionary work.

Burzum's "Hvis Lysset Tar Oss" is an opus unmatched. It is standing out like a tower, its painful and agonising atmosphere is incredible. Just listen to "Det Som Engang Var" (=what once was), a 14 minute infernal suffering - you feel the flames of Hell indeed when you hear this song. And "Tomhet" (=emptiness) is like dancing swirling lights in the eternal cold void of the universe, truly emptiness. This masterpiece is, together with Emperor's "In the Nightside Eclipse", the absolute root and solid ground of Black Metal. Listen to it, undescribable! Another tip: If you like Burzum, listen to Nargaroth "Herbstleyd", a CD difficult to find, but very Burzumish atmosphere...

I am a pretty big Burzum fan. All of his albums are amazing but I always feel incomplete after listening to his other albums (especially Filosofem). Like there are songs missing. Hvis Lyset Tar Oss, however, is the perfect album. From the music down to the mechanics of arrangement (track order is more important than most realize). First 3 songs are Black Metal and the last is Ambient (and good ambient at that). It gives you a chance to take in the music before giving the album another spin. Det Som En Gang Var is also the song that got me into Burzum.

It cost an arm and leg but was well worth it to me. Hell, I'd even say having the cover was worth the price. This is a good cd to start off with if you are trying to decide on a Burzum album to buy.

this album have a best song in it. its name is (det som engang war)it means ( what was once) this song takes me to the deep of snowy forests and as i am a viking warrior. varg vikernes describes his anger very hatefully . in the background of this song there is a very hypnotic keyboard rhythms. songs are very melancholic and hateful.when i was listen this album first,i think its a masterpiece of vikingmetal.everybody must listen this and all burzum albums because it gives no only music it gives some signs about past

This album surpasses all metal and has not been matched since. Four lengthy songs in a symphonic ambient black metal style takes metal to its highest point in evolution and beyond.

This one-man band orchestrates with a thematic narrative that puts the listener into a dreamlike state. Simple riffs are layered to create epic structures and are ambient in tone resulting in a range of moods while maintaining a trancelike effect. Shifting harmonies throughout these themes creates a journey of intense emotion and heavy realizations. Each track varies in speed and style but are all strongly connected like a classical movement. Ideological impact is the key to this albums power as songs drive forth with outstanding passion and sincerity. The subtlety is so deep that each listen will evoke feelings of wonder and majesty no matter how many times visited. It is an epic poetic story that is mystical yet symbolic to reality - it literally awakens your soul with a vision of eternal order through chaos. The album ends with an ambient keyboard track that is minimal and allows heavy reflection and resolution after the severe intensity and whirlwind of emotion from the first three tracks.

The result is an experience like no other album of modern times. Its power is immense and makes us contemplate the deepest questions of our very existence. In the age of our moribund civilisation this album is the ultimate warcry against the stupidity of the modern world.

Almost the best of old Burzum. The opening track Det Som En Gang Var is the jewel of this album. I'd almost say it's worth owning for that track. Tracks 2 and 3 didn't have a lasting effect on me but the last track Tomhet brings it back. The last album before the count's inprisonment, so I guess that might mean something to somebody?

This album is the greatest album of all time, and there will NEVER be an album to top this. From the aggressive, pumping opening track, "Det som en gang var"(best song ever), to the chilling, atmospheric last piece, "tomhet", there is norwegian black metal at its best. blizzards of guitars and shrieking vocals makes this album a MUST! You have to get it, even if you don't have money.
SVARTMETALL ER BEST!

this cd ( when the light takes us)has IMO the best black metal song ever: det som en gang var (what once was), 14 minutes of beautiful pain and suffering, with the most bombastic drums ever recorded!!!.

This cd is very very good! The cover art is one of the coolest covers i have ever seen ever. This cd also contains probably the best black metal song ever, Det Som Engang Var. A 14 minute masterpiece. Though this cd lacks good production (typical black metal) but that just adds to the album. It makes the music sound more evil and raw, the way black metal should be. The production is really the only bad part about the album. But since i listen to black metal a lot and i am a strict black metal fan i can stand it easily. And i have heard worse before. If you are a fan of BM such as mayhem but want something a little more atmospheric. I would go wtih this. This isn't that cheesy symphonic crap that most BM are doing now, this is straight up BM terror!