Jon Nödtveidt's tragic death here in 2006 makes enjoying these lavish reissues from The End Records/Black Horizon Music sort of ominous. The longtime leader of Dissection, who just got out of prison after a lengthy murder conviction a few years back, put the band back together and recorded the recent Reinkaos, around the same time their excellent back catalog was remastered and reissued. The end to this story saw John taking his life in August of 2006, just when the band was on their way back in a big way. The Somberlain was the band's 1993 debut, a smoldering brew of evil black/death metal that reeked of the cold Scandinavian wilderness. In fact, Dissection perfectly meshed traditional black metal with melodic death metal like no other band, giving their music a somewhat "hard to classify tag" even though most people tend to lump them in with the black metal scene.
This one's chock full of raging tremelo picked guitar harmonies and thunderous riffs from Nödtveidt & Johan Norman , which are complemented by rabid blast beats courtesy of drummer Ole Öhman. Nödtveidt's vocals are pure chaos, a high pitched growl/screech that were some of the best in the business, adding a chilling element to these eleven brutal pieces. Most of the songs are thunderous metallic anthems with technical, brutal guitar riffs, occasionally throwing in some deft acoustic guitar interludes, but for the most part this is epic extreme metal in the form of tunes like "Black Horizons" and the bombastic title track. Classic stuff.
This reissue/remaster comes with a bonus CD filled with live, demo, and rehearsal tracks, all remastered to give them the best possible sound considering the nature of the recordings. Add in an excellent booklet with photos and lyrics and you have an essential purchase for every extreme metal fan.
Track Listing
Disc: 1
1. Black Horizons
2. The Somberlain
3. Crimson Towers
4. A Land Forlorn
5. Heaven's Damnation
6. Frozen
7. Into Infinite Obscurity
8. In the Cold Winds of Nowhere
9. The Grief Prophecy/Shadows Over A Lost Kingdom
10. Mistress of the Bleeding Sorrow
11. Feathers Fell
Disc: 2
1. Frozen -bonus live 1995
2. The Somberlain -bonus live 1995
3. Shadows Over A Lost Kingdom -bonus 1991 original mix
4. Son of the Mourning -bonus 1991 original mix
5. Into Infinite Obscurity -bonus 1991 original mix
6. Frozen -bonus 1992 original mix
7. In the Cold Winds of Nowhere -bonus 1992 original mix
8. Feathers Fell -bonus 1992 original mix
9. Mistress of the Bleeding Sorrow -bonus 1992 original mix
10. The Call of the Mist -bonus 1990 original mix
11. Severed Into Shreds -bonus 1990 rehearsal track
12. Satanized -bonus 1991 rehearsal track
13. Born In Fire -bonus 1991 rehearsal track
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