Review by Ben for Dissection (SWE) - Storm of the Light's Bane (1995)

Dissection achieved perfection with this release. An icy, melodic masterpiece that upholds the spirit of black metal.

One of the reasons I love Rate Your Music so much is because it's so damn reliable. Of course there are times when I find it difficult to understand why a particular album rates so highly, but more often than not, the sheer number of ratings for each album combined with Sharifi’s tinkered Bayesian formula means top twenty charts for most genres are pretty hard to argue with. Dissection's Storm of the Light's Bane is a perfect case where the masses have voted and the results speak for themselves. This album not only sits atop the melodic black metal subgenre chart, but it currently holds a top three position for the entire black metal genre. Considering the almost endless black metal albums out there, plus the fans dedication and obsessive nature (myself included) towards this wonderful form of musical darkness, this is quite an achievement to say the least. The Somberlain took the black metal blueprint and infused it with melody at a time where this was almost unthinkable. The reason Dissection were so successful at this task wasn't simply due to technicality or catchiness, although both of these features were present. Their triumph came because they managed this concoction without losing any of the unadulterated malice or darkness that black metal requires. They opened the eyes of multitudes of fans and musicians that black metal had a future with diverse dimensions that could be achieved without ever disregarding the very spirit of the genre.

Storm of the Light's Bane exceeded their pioneering debut in almost every facet, simultaneously producing the very apex of melodic black metal that to this very day hasn't been surpassed by any other album. One of the features of The Somberlain that I thought held it back from perfection was the use of John Zwetsloot’s classical guitar interludes. They were pleasant enough I guess but they felt more than just a bit out of place positioned between such darkly atmospheric black metal tracks. His absence from Storm of the Light’s Bane (he was replaced by Runemagick’s Johan Norman between albums because he lacked the commitment the band required) was still concerning though as he was undoubtedly vital in the development of Dissection’s melodic sound. As it turned out I got the best of both worlds, as not only were the cold harmonies still intact, but the more acoustic elements were now seamlessly mixed into the black metal, giving the album greater flow and keeping the blood pumping for the entire running time. The other obvious area of improvement is on the production side with the drums in particular having vastly superior sound that's perhaps a little less organic, but much more powerful in the long run. If you play The Somberlain and Storm of the Light’s Bane back to back, it’s not hard to appreciate the step up in clarity and precision that signing with Nuclear Blast accomplished for Dissection prior to recording.

Storm of the Light's Bane is an album of immense conviction that remains just as entertaining and thrilling today as it did when released in 1995. It deserves all the praise that’s been thrown at it over the years and will always hold a very precious place in my personal music collection. There are really only six full tracks to experience (which are neatly bookended by an appropriately foreboding distorted intro and a haunting piano outro performed by Alexandra Balogh), yet every single one of them is brilliantly executed and intensely captivating. Picking highlights seems a shame but I can’t go past Night's Blood, Unhallowed, Thorns of Crimson Death and Soulreaper as the pick of the bunch. Of course I'm most likely preaching to the converted with this review, but if there are any remaining black metal fans (or death metal fans for that matter) out there yet to experience Storm of the Light’s Bane, do yourselves a favour. Run out and grab it, lock yourself in a dark room, and let Dissection's icy genius cleanse your soul of all that disagreeable piety. Just as with The Somberlain, the version to track down is the two disc edition released by The End Records in 2006 that not only contains the Where Dead Angels Lie EP from 1996, but also includes an alternate mix of Storm of the Light’s Bane, completely remastered from the original master tapes by Håkan Åkesson at Cutting Room Studio, Stockholm.