Dissection: Storm of the Light's Bane (1995)

Whoever decided that pink was a suitable shade for a black metal vinyl reissue clearly didn't read their Satanic Bible nor learn one of the basic tenets taught me by music business elders: any color is fine, so long as it's black!

Notwithstanding this faux pas, I'll remind you that, at a time when Norway dominated the black metal conversation (for good and bad reasons), Dissection was one of the few worthy challengers emerging from neighboring Sweden.

First gaining strength in the early '90s, when death metal ruled the roost (hence their gory moniker), Dissection were always helmed by vocalist and guitarist Jon Nödtveidt, who steadily honed his vision and songcraft over a series of demos.

By the release of '93's The Somberlain, Dissection's transformation into a melodic black metal band was complete, and Nödtveidt's mastery of the style was confirmed two years later by the group's astonishing sophomore LP, Storm of the Light’s Bane.

Like its predecessor, the album stood apart from most of the era's intentionally raw, savage black metal with an unusually crisp and sophisticated approach to the form; yet even the genre's low-fidelity ogres could hardly resist its dark and evil charms.

Case in point first song proper (following the scene-setting intro, "At the Fathomless Depths"), "Night's Blood," which explodes out of the crypt all beasts a-roaring, guitars a-blazing, and blast-beats a-blasting, just like the devil ordered.

But, by its halfway mark, this magisterially arranged cacophony recedes to reveal a sublime classical acoustic passage, before gradually giving rise to renewed metallic violence as the intensity torques up again.

That delicate balance between horror and beauty permeates every song here, as majestic harmonies are unfurled in "Unhallowed," folkish melodies and banshee screams tangle in "Where Dead Angels Lie," and the title track unleashes an intricate riff avalanche.

Then it's time for the album's second peak, via the eight-minute "Thorns of Crimson Death," which alternates galloping staccatos with heroic leads, a no-holds-barred black metal midsection, and, finally, another stunningly sculpted six-string symphony.

All that's left after that are the brutal, beautiful blasphemies of "Soulreaper" ("Wail! Oh, desolate gale; Through empires by blackened tears created"), and a gentle solo piano requiem called "No Dreams Breed In Breathless Sleep," performed by band friend Alexandra Balogh.

In sum: Storm of the Light's Bane's achievements elevated Dissection right up there with Norway's Emperor among the best-in-class purveyors of black metal polish and finesse, instead of wanton barbarity, suggesting greater things still lay ahead.

But then, in 1998, Nödtveidt and a fellow musician (and member of a satanic cult called Temple of the Black Light) were convicted of the murder of one Josef Meddour (later deemed a homophobic hate crime) and sentenced to a decade behind bars.

Nödtveidt was eventually granted early release in '04 and revived Dissection for a third LP, Reinkaos, in '06, but decided to take his own life later the same year -- once again leaving many to wonder what could have been.