Reviews list for Dissection (SWE) - Where Dead Angels Lie (1996)

An obvious grab for cash by Nuclear Blast that will be of interest to only the most dedicated fans.

Given the immense success of 1995’s Storm of the Light’s Bane album, Nuclear Blast was no doubt eager to cash in on Dissection’s growing popularity. While I’m sure they had no idea of the true urgency of their cause (Dissection were about to have an extended break due to Nödtveidt’s incarceration), a quick fire EP seemed the obvious thing to do during the impatient wait for more significant material. The result of this apparent money making endeavour is the Where Dead Angels Lie EP, which cheekily contains absolutely no new material by the band whatsoever. Still, there’s little doubt Dissection fans were hungry to get their hands on anything they could, and Where Dead Angels Lie at least packages a few of their rarer tracks together in one place. It was initially released as a shaped CD in the form of the Dissection cross, but these days it’s included as bonus tracks on Storm of the Light’s Bane (albeit with slightly rearranged track listing), meaning there’s no real reason to track down the original release. Functioning more like a single, Where Dead Angels Lie contains two separate versions of the title track, two covers and two rare demo tracks, making it a mildly intriguing little release that’s unlikely to be considered essential by anyone but the most dedicated fans.

While it might seem an obvious choice to get things under way with Where Dead Angels Lie, the decision to use an alternate demo version is less so. It’s fairly evident that this is not the version that ended up on Storm of the Light’s Bane, with small variations and slightly lesser production, but it has to be said that there’s nothing of note to justify its inclusion here. It’s also worth pointing out that Where Dead Angels Lie worked really well on the full length because its slower pace gave the album some much needed variety. It just doesn’t have the same effect as an opener and even less so when it’s basically repeated in less than twenty minutes time. The two covers are thankfully more interesting and while neither manages to surpass the originals, the Swedes certainly do them justice. Elisabeth Bathori was originally one of the more memorable tracks on Hungarian band Tormentor’s classic Anno Domini album back in 1988. This cover version seems to have been recorded for the Nordic Metal compilation that Necropolis Records put out in 1995 as a tribute to the recently murdered Euronymous from Mayhem. Dissection gives it a much cleaner coat of varnish, but it somehow lacks the cult quality of the original, despite Nödtveidt doing his best Attila Csihar impersonation.

Likewise, there’s nothing technically wrong with their cover of Slayer’s Anti Christ, but you just can’t beat Slayer at their own game, and neither the harsh vocals nor the leads can capture the rabid aggression of the thrash legends in their prime. The Anti Christ cover was recorded as part of Black Sun Records Slatanic Slaughter tribute to Slayer which also came out in 1995. After these two mildly entertaining covers we have two altered versions of early Dissection tracks that, one which I believe was originally set to appear on Storm of the Light’s Bane before being left off the final album. Most would recognise Feathers Fell as the closing classical piece on The Somberlain, but this is an all piano version with nice added whispered vocals. I personally much prefer the re-recorded version as it’s far more hauntingly effective than the original, but at less than a minute in length, it’s once again nothing to get too excited about. All that’s left is the remastered version of Son of Mourning before the album version of Where Dead Angels Lie brings the EP to a close. Son of Mourning originally appeared on, and was the highlight of, the Into Infinite Obscurity EP back in 1991, and the beefed up sound here give this death metal track far more authority this time round. Do these rare and unreleased tracks make Where Dead Angels Lie worth tracking down? I guess the answer depends on just how much of a fan you are. It’s interesting stuff for sure, but far from essential.

Sidenote: While there’s no doubt that vocalist Jon Nödtveidt had been involved in Satanism for some time already, it was only during 1995 that he officially became a member of the MLO (Misantropiska Lucifer Orden). It’s always been fascinating to me that anyone out there could literally claim to be a Satanist (in the true sense), as surely the acceptance of Satan in turn accepts the existence of God. I decided to attempt to understand exactly what it is that people like Nödtveidt associate themselves with. I think I lost numerous brain cells in the process and am far from enlightened. “Misantropiska Lucifer Orden is an Order dedicated to the anti-cosmic powers and to the fortification, liberation and ultimately the reaching of the divinity of the inner black flame.” If you struggle with that as much as I do, check out what Nödtveidt had to say on the subject! “Our goal is to create a synthesis between the dark traditions of all aeons, this way creating the occult keys that shall open the gates to the forthcoming endless dark aeon. My status within the order is the one of a full member of the second grade and a Priest of Satan. To become a candidate one must first of all already be an Anti-cosmic Satanist and actively practicing black magician. He/she must wholeheartedly sympathize and share the misanthropic and anti-cosmic values of the order, and then be ready to dedicate his/her entire existence to following his/her true will in accordance to the dark gods.” Anyone convinced?