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Dissection: Reinkaos

It's been 11 years, but Sweden's black metal gods have returned with Reinkaos, a bit of a departure for the band as it leans more in the direction of melodic death metal made famous by bands like At the Gates, In Flames, and Dark Tranquility. Early albums like The Somberlain and Storm of the Light's Bane were instant black metal classics, but the band disappeared from the scene due to a multitude of personal problems and tragedies. Now the band is back, and Reinkaos sounds like the results of a young band hungry and ready to take some prisoners.
Singer/guitarist Jon Nodtreidt's vocals have that typical black metal rasp to them, which will instantly appeal to fans of Dimmu Borgir, but musically speaking the songs are more straightforward and melodic death metal along the lines of Dark Tranquility. The basic format is guitar, bass, and drums, so the arrangements are not in the orchestral vein whatsover, instead Reinkaos focuses on tight songs with catchy melodies, crunchy guitars with plenty of harmonies. In fact, this might be one of the most accessible black/death metal hybrid albums I have heard in a while, easily since Soilwork started putting out more commercial albums. Songs like "Black Dragon" and "Dark Mother Divine" are kick ass anthems with instantly memorable hooks and catchy guitar riffs, while the title track has a doomy yet majestic feel to it, as the band slows down with some plodding rhythms and tasty guitar solos. Fans of the thrashy and more extreme end of the melo-death spectrum will love "Internal Fire", "Nexion 218" and "Xeper -I-Set", each raging metal thumpers with vile vocals and speedy guitar riffs & rhythms.
While Dissection have moved pretty far from their cold and desolate black metal roots with Reinkaos, they have in turn put together one hell of a solid melodic death metal album in the process. Fans of In Flames, Dark Tranquility, Soilwork, At the Gates, Arch Enemy, and Callenish Circle should be all over this.

Track Listings
1. Nexion 218
2. Beyond the horizion
3. Starless Aeon
4. Black dragon
5. Dark mother divine
6. Xeper-I-set
7. Chaosophia
8. God of forbidden light
9. Reinkaos
10. Internal Fire
11. Maha Kali

Added: September 4th 2006
Reviewer: Pete Pardo
Score:
Related Link: Dissection Website
Hits: 4897
Language: english

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Dissection: Reinkaos
Posted by Ken Pierce, SoT Staff Writer on 2006-09-04 09:45:30
My Score:

Dissection would return with more of their Black Metal, or self-named "Anti Cosmic Metal Of Death" after an 11 year absence from the music world. The long absence was due to singer/guitarist Jon Nodtveidt having been sent to prison for murder and all the while his fans waited anxiously for his return. The time away from the scene as a whole seemed to change the song-writing style of the musician, for while his subject matter would still deal with the same premise the overall music style would hold a drastic change. The results found on "Reinkaos" are intense but not in a blistering riff blaze of speed but instead heavy, driving riffs that work well alongside bands like Soilwork and At The Gates. While there might be skeptics to this change of direction, I had to admit that I found myself immersed in songs like "Black Dragon" and "Beyond The Horizon" and think many others will be able to do the same. Yes the songs have a lot more melodic content than they ever had before, but on top of this the talent of Nodtveidt is very visible. "Starless Aeon" is also a favorite as the track is borderline Power Metal and I admire his ability to take this brand of genre and mix it so well with ones own established ideas. Nodtveidt shows his allegiance to the Dark Gods with "God Of Forbidden Light" and even delivers a tasty instrumental piece in the title track "Rainkaos". It's a song that shows how technical a guitar player Jon was and I think will make the non-believer realize how much a better musician he actually was. The closing track is not bad, but perhaps a little too commercial for a band like Dissection to have released, and that track is "Maha Kali". This is a must have release as its excellent, and if you are not stuck in the bands past and can allow them to move forward then you will enjoy their new styles and interpretations very much.

» Reader Comments:

Dissection: Reinkaos
Posted by Hugh Dark on 2007-05-14 15:41:36
My Score:

This recording is far better than the credit given to it. I hesitated for a long time before I picked this up because some of the reviews were slamming this. I don't really care what the singer did or did not do. I will base my critique only on the merit of the music found within. This cd is incredible. I would not call this melodic death metal either, but more like a melodic/blackened thrash. The riffs have much more of a chunky, stick it to ya feel. The production is original and interesting and the music is ahead of its time in many respects. You can actually remember the songs after 1 listen! Jon is baptizing you with subliminal messages and leaving you with a satanic send off, while he goes and becomes a king in the afterlife. Too bad he did not have more success in the present because maybe he would not have went looking to affect the universe in his death. I am sure he viewed it as his rebirth ov splendor. The guy was an absolute lunatic with great musical ideas and this recording is my second favorite of the three. Don't believe those overly critical of this effort because they are afraid of the guy. Another of the greats of 2006

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