siLLy puPPy A landmark in the development of fusing the black metal and death metal genres, DISSECTION’s second release STORM OF THE LIGHT’S BANE is almost ubiquitously regarded as one of the best metal albums of all time but this band certainly didn’t come without generating any controversy to say the least. The album continued what it started on its debut “The Somberlain” which itself was cutting edge as DISSECTION’s location in Strömstad found itself closer to Oslo’s second wave black metal than to the melo-death frenzy rocking Gothenburg to the south in the early to mid-1990s. The band effortlessly melded the two styles together like forging a battle sword for battle. While the debut was competent enough in its own right, STORM OF THE LIGHT’S BANE tied up all the loose ends and polished the gem of a stylistic gem into a shiny sheen where the listener couldn’t distinguish where the black metal ends and the melo-death begins.

Thwarted by the lackadaisical attitude of guitarist John Zwetsloot who failed to appear for rehearsals and finally even didn’t bother to show up to gigs, DISSECTION recruited former Satanized guitarist Johan Norman who was not only able but willing to take the band to the next level. The band spent the next two years honing their unique fusion style of metal until the glistening masterpiece STORM OF THE LIGHT’S BANE emerged in November of 1995 to welcoming fans and critics alike. What the debut had started, this sophomore effort forged into a pearl of perfectly infused black metal furor with the elegant sophistication of folk melody inspired melodic death metal. The disparate elements of softer parts, heavy extreme metal excesses and cold, bleak atmospheres had coalesced into the perfect sum of the parts and a legend in the overall metal universe for time immemorial. The album is nothing less than epic in not only its visionary stylistic developments but also in terms of tight memorable songwriting.

Primarily written by lead vocalist and guitarist Jon Nödtveidt, STORM OF THE LIGHT’S BANE delivers eight tracks of metal magnificence beginning with the military march heft of the opening “All The Fathomless Depths” before erupting into one of the most competent displays of blackened melo-death too the entire era. Building on beautifully designed twin guitar harmonies and folk musical scales, STORM OF THE LIGHT’S BANE balanced tender clean guitar arpeggios with thundering power chords, tremolo black metal picking and lightning fast death metal riffing styles that adopted the best aspects of both the second wave black metal scene and merged them with the more technically infused sounds of the Swedish death metal approach. The twin guitar attacks relied less on traditional 80s metal this time around and evolved into a unique cohesion of dueling riffing that occasionally broke out into lead guitar attacks that emphasized the melodic construct in a more virtuosic approach.

Nödtveidt’s demon from hell vocal style had hit full capacity while the compositions were taken to the fusion’s logical conclusion. The drumming style of Ole Öhman featured some of the boldest technical moves in all of the early 90s metal scene with endless variations in drum fills and full-on blastbeat ferocity. The strong melodic developments keep the album from stagnating and each individual track glimmers in its own magnificence thus keeping the album’s 43 minute run completely exhilarating with no filler material bogging down the momentum. To sum it up, the album just rips from beginning to end and then after the pinnacle of the ghoulish deliverance, gently delivers you back into a placid state of mind with the classically inspired piano piece closer “No Dreams Breed in Breathless Sleep” thus signifying the end of an album that breezes by much too soon. The album is and cold and forbidding as the scythed grim reaper on horseback suggests from the cover art.

This would be the end of DISSECTION well at least for another 12 years since after this second offering was released, frontman Jon Nödtveidt was sentenced to prison for the murder of Josef ben Meddour and although DISSECTION would arise from the ashes with a totally new backing band, the momentum had more than been lost and Nödtveidt would soon commit suicide thus ending the once great band forever. What amazes me about some of the early Scandinavian black metal bands is how brilliant and gifted they were musically speaking yet were some of the most troubled souls with unthinkable psychological damage. These guys were as unstable as dynamite at a gun shooting range and yet still found it in them for a brief moment in time to craft some of the most gorgeous musical expressions ever recorded. It’s hard to believe i didn’t even like DISSECTION at first because i just couldn’t accept the two merging metal forces together. It just didn’t sound right but now i listen to this one and am utterly blown away by its sheer perfection. A good example to not let initial experiences taint your possible delayed enthrallment. This one is definitely worthy of all the hype. Now i’m smitten too.

SilentScream213 The legendary Storm of the Light’s Bane is considered perhaps the greatest Meloblack album ever put to record, and for good reason. Every track is chock full of dark and icy riffs, thanks in part to its heavy Melodeath influence. You see that beautiful cover art with the reaper on horseback amongst a nocturnal tundra mountain scape? Yeah, this album just sounds like that. The beauty of cold, night, and death are all emanating from the electrifying songwriting here.

Black Metal tends to be a bit one note, and Meloblack is a much more purposeful aversion of that, but even among Meloblack, Dissection give us progressive, complicated, ever changing songwriting with weaves and turns up and down the mountains and through the evergreens. Even some acoustic passages give reprieve from that arctic assault. The vocals are fantastic, quite intelligible and death-touched shrieks. Drumming is lightning quick, but flows like a stream, full of smooth transitions and interesting fills, liberal use of double bass, a perfect mix of interesting and challenging. I need not go on about the guitars; awe-inspiring.

Dissection seem to love sandwiching their masterpiece compositions between useless intros and outros, so unfortunately bookending the album with the weakest and most boring tracks damages its listenability. Other than that, no flaws.

UMUR "Storm of the Light's Bane" is the 2nd full-length studio album by Swedish black/death metal act Dissection. The album was released through Nuclear Blast Records in November 1995. There´s been one lineup change since the release of "The Somberlain (1993)" as guitarist John Zwetsloot has been replaced by Johan Norman. Dissection was formed in 1989 and in their original run existed until 1997, when they had to disband as a consequence of lead vocalist/guitarist Jon Nödtveidt having to serve his prison sentence for being convicted as an accessory to murder.

Stylistically the music on "Storm of the Light's Bane" continues the blackened death metal style of "The Somberlain (1993)", but it leans a bit more on the black metal side of the band´s sound than was the case on the predecessor. It´s still a very melodic type of black/death metal with heavy use of guitar harmonies (and the occasional acoustic section and use of folk melodies). There are a few thrashy riffs featured on the album too, but the dominant style is melodic black metal. The vocals are raspy black metal type vocals.

Dissection masterfully create a cold yet epic atmosphere and paired with their considerable playing skills, it´s not hard to understand why so many people hold "Storm of the Light's Bane" in such high regard. It´s one of those albums where they hit the right balance between rawness and melody, which means they don´t go overboard with any of them but instead the listener is treated to both very melodic and very harsh parts, which combined creates the high quality material featured on the album.

It doesn´t make things worse that the album also features a clear, professional, yet raw sounding production, which does the music a lot of justice and helps make it shine. So upon conclusion "Storm of the Light's Bane" is a high quality release and while "The Somberlain (1993)" was certainly a great debut album, I think this sophomore release is just a notch more focused and the songwriting a bit more memorable. A 4.5 star (90%) rating is deserved.

Warthur Perhaps it's the influence of melodic death metal in the country's extreme metal scene, but the Swedish black metal crew seem to have been substantially more interested in fancy-pants musicanship than their rougher, rawer Norwegian comrades. Perhaps it's no surprise that it's Swedish bands like Dissection who spearheaded the development of more melodic forms of black metal. Essentially a reiteration of the style they pioneered on The Somberlain, Dissection's Storm of the Light's Bane offers up black metal in a deceptively accessible form; it's black metal for those who like to be able to hear what the individual musicians are doing and like the odd melodic solo here or there. Though I don't think it's the eye-opener The Somberlain was, it's still a more than worthy follow-up which proves that the first incarnation of Dissection were still fresh and full of ideas and potential before Jon Nödtveidt pissed it all away with his involvement in a disgustingly pointless murder.