The Somberlain

I Am the Great Shadow, Behold My Land of Sin

It's hard to believe this album is thirty years old this month. It's also hard to believe it was made by four guys in their early twenties. Hell man even producer Dan Swano was only nineteen. Everything about it screams professional in every way. The songwriting, the musicianship, the production, and arrangement all excellent. Not to mention the iconic Necrolord cover. The Somberlain has not only stood the test of time but continues to be extremely influential. It is truly a benchmark for any fan of heavy music.
So where to begin. I'll assume anyone on this sight already knows Dissection and the history of it's founder Jon Nodtveidt. A prolific artist at this time, he lent his talents to many projects including Siren's Yell, Rabbitt's Carrot, and Satanized among others. But it was Dissection that proved to be the best by far. Along with bandmates Ole Ohman on drums, Peter Palmdahl on bass, and John Zwetsloot on guitars(Zwetsloot providing all classical guitar interludes), The Somberlain mixed dark atmosphere, thrash, and death metal to create something totally unique at the time. Not really accepted as black metal, being to melodic and well produced, not to mention Swedish not Norwegian. But the sound quickly took hold in Sweden. Listen to Unanimated, Naglfar, Sacramentum and so on. It wasn't until Storm of the Light's Bane that Dissection would be more black metal. But labels aside this album in my opinion really blew away any "true" black metal album from Norway at the time. Mayhem, Burzum, Darkthrone etc. If you're looking for the standout tracks do yourself a favor and listen to the album as a whole. It works better. And The Somberlain deserves to be heard.