Burzum is the Norwegian black metal project behind Hvis lyset tar oss.
The album was created by Varg Vikernes, who recorded it as a solo project at Grieghallen Studio in Bergen. The recording sessions took place in September 1992, while the album was released in 1994 through Misanthropy Records and Vikernes’s label, Cymophane Productions. The question’s 1993 date is therefore inaccurate, but Burzum remains the single canonical answer.
Hvis lyset tar oss is Burzum’s third studio album and is known for its stark, repetitive guitar patterns, atmospheric keyboards, harsh vocals, and extended compositions. It contains four tracks, including the title song and the instrumental “Tomhet.” The album cover uses Theodor Kittelsen’s artwork Fattigmannen, or “The Pauper.”
Listeners sometimes confuse this record with Det som engang var, Burzum’s second album, which was released in 1993. They are closely connected in chronology: both were recorded during Vikernes’s early Grieghallen sessions, but Hvis lyset tar oss was issued later and is generally dated 1994.