I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. Sweden makes the best death metal hands down there is no debate. Yes American death metal is great don’t get me wrong. I like American death metal bands like Morbid Angel and Nile but they get a little tiring. Now take death metal and combine them with black metal and you get blackened death metal and the band on the chopping block is Dissection. There is some controversy surrounding them and most of it has to do with frontman Jon Nödtveidt and his satanist beliefs and the fact that he was arrested for murder. So here we go…..
The Somberlain- so with most black metal albums, there isn’t a whole lot of melody to it. With this album you get not only black metal elements, but you get a melodic death metal vibe as well. There are also a couple songs on here that are just instrumental but they have a medieval sound to them which I think is really cool. The production on here isn’t the best but then again it was recorded in the 90’s so maybe the funds weren’t there. I will say though that the songs on here seem long and can drag in some parts but overall, this is a fantastic record and I would definitely say that if you want to delve into black metal then this might be a good start. I give this 9/10
Standouts: The Somberlain, Black Horizons, Frozen
Storm of the Light’s Bain- this was my introduction to this band. I remember reading about them in a book on heavy metal bands and I even asked one of my co workers who was really into black metal what is a good album to get and he recommended this one. I even remember being in Hollywood at the Key Club seeing the band Nile and before they went on, walking to Amoeba and purchasing this record. When I put it in the CD player I thought this album was badass. Like the last album, this is an absolute classic and definitely an essential record to listen too. Production wise it’s about the same if not slightly better than The Somberlain and it’s actually faster in some parts yet still maintains that blackened death metal sound. Again a classic record that is a must listen. I give it 9.5/10
Standouts: Night’s Blood, Retribution-Storm of the Light’s Bane, Soulreaper
Reinkaos- so the same person who recommended the last album said that this one wasn’t very good when I asked how the newest album was. Therefore I put off listening to this one for the longest time. It really wasn’t until I had read somewhere that Michael Amott (Arch Enemy) had said that this was a good album. I’m actually kind of sorry I didn’t listen to this sooner because it’s actually a great record and it might be my favorite one. Now this one is less of a black metal album and more of a melodic death metal album. I mean even though the black metal sound isn’t very present here, it still feels like it’s a Dissection record. Unfortunately this would the last ever record we get from these guys as Jon Nödtveidt would commit suicide however, I consider this to be one of the best Swedish metal records ever made. I give this record 10/10
Standouts: Beyond The Horizon, Starless Aeon, Internal Fire
One thing I forgot was that they only had made three albums however, they are three great albums. It’s too bad that Nödtveidt was involved with all that Satanic cult stuff and killed himself because I have a feeling that they would’ve continued to make great records. If you haven’t listened to these guys, I very highly recommend it especially if you like death metal mixed in with your black metal. Great band who left way too soon.
Final Grade: B
Album Rankings:
- Reinkaos
- Storm of the Light’s Bane
- The Somberlain
Sinister Reviews 