In the world of Black Metal Hvis Lyset Tar Oss wouldn’t be considered obscure by any stretch of the imagination. So unlike all of the other Digging For Fire entries, I’m not going to act like it is because doing so would be akin to me posting Unknown Pleasures as some overlooked & under-discovered gem! The reason I am posting it under Digging For Fire is simply because overall Black Metal (even with the army of Hipsters who pledge allegiance under it’s black flag) is still a pretty obscure genre of music most people have heard of but have never actually heard.

I’ll be honest, Black Metal really isn’t my favorite form of Metal, falling way behind Thrash, Power/NWOBHM & Doom. Why? because for the most part I always imagine and hope for it to sound one way in my head and it just never does. The complete lack of any sense of humor, The whole notion that “True” Black Metal has to have the worst and most undiscernable production quality as possible and an over abundance of vocals that turn so cacophonous ruins many (of what could be good) albums for me.  Hvis Lyset Tar Oss however delivers perfectly on the promise every Black Metal album claims to be… Cold, Dark & Epic.

I know it’s silly but for Metal the cover is always the starting point for me and Hvis Lyset Tar Oss not only looks how it sounds, but you can just stare at that charcoal drawing while listening to the album and it just comes alive!  From start to finish it’s the audio equivalent of a sprawling and devastating tale of an Orc’s journey to and from battle across Mordor. Which is quite aperpoit considering Burzum means Darkness in Tolkein-speak. To be fair most of Burzum’s albums are actually quite excellent and transcend (at least for me) the usual hang-ups I have with Black Metal. While Hvis Lyset Tar Oss is old hat to the initiated it is also probably a great starting point for anyone who was ever interested in entering into the dark side.

Burzum – Hvis Lyset Tar Oss

- My Pal the Crook