I am convinced that many of the people reading this review right now already own this CD, it’s status within the Black Metal scene is no less than legendary and every new Black Metal band that comes onto the scene today is called a ‘Dissection Clone’ until they prove themselves otherwise (fellow reviewers, don’t try to deny this…)… Obviously a band spawning so many clones must also have a HUGE fanbase! The music also fucking rocks, it’s not Black Metal or Death Metal but combines features of both into a nice synthesis… it truly is in a class of it’s own. This CD fucking buries anything the clones have to offer (though I don’t consider Abyssos a clone anymore…)…The riffs are amazing, as they are well played and composed and they all fit the structure (which shall be discussed later) of each song extremely well, but the solos are laughable and the music is very catchy, with some very happy riffs, something that is not very typical of Black Metal…thus the band is not labeled as such. Hell, I thought that I’d go and analyze the band’s musicianship in-depth but I think that I’d rather just save myself the effort and sum it all up in one sentence … *These guys really know how to use their instruments*… that is, I think, all that I have to say pertaining to that. More importantly, though, the song-structure struck me breathless, it could be better on some songs, namely ‘Night’s Blood’ and ‘Where Dead Angels Lie’, but it is usually a work of fucking genius, check out ‘Thorns of Crimson Death’ if you don’t believe me, very few bands (even the dissection clones… ha-ha) come close to a song-structure of this sort of caliber. The production is also pretty good, though it is somewhat out of proportions… the guitars, vocals, and drums were all produced well, but the bass guitar and the cymbals really weren’t done well at all, both are usually way too quiet and hard to hear. Musically, as stated earlier, this disc is truly in a class of it’s own… This is quite a solid album and, I must admit, worth all the attention it’s getting within the Black Metal underground… Unfortunately no new Dissection CDs will come out in the foreseeable future, as Jon (who is the singer, lead songwriter, and lead guitarist) killed a stupid gay gypsy some time ago and got 21 years in prison for it (which is, by the way, the maximum sentence in Sweden).

Pros: Genius song-structure, good musicianship, it IS somewhat original (or WAS, anyway…)
Cons: Riffs sometimes very happy-sounding, the production could be better…
Style of music: A Black/Death hybrid although more Black than Death… the focus of the production is almost always on the lead guitar…
Will likely appeal to: People who like Black Metal, People who like Death Metal…

Overall: A great and very likable release… Excellent – 9/10

© 2000 sauron anarazel