Storm of the Light's Bane

Storm of the Light's Bane is the second studio album by Swedish black metal band Dissection, released on 17 November 1995 by Nuclear Blast Records. It is the first album with guitarist Johan Norman, who replaced John Zwetsloot.

This would be the band's last full-length album before frontman Jon Nödtveidt's 1997 incarceration for the felony murder of Josef ben Meddour. It would not be until 2006 that they would release their third and final album Reinkaos, which was followed by the breakup of the band and Nödtveidt's suicide shortly after.

Music and lyrics

The album is notable for being one of the earliest and most successful examples of a band combining black metal with the melodic death metal sound that was developing in Gothenburg around the time of this album's release. Metal Hammer said "While Sweden's Dissection were very much black metal in terms of ideology and atmosphere, they also featured noticeable elements of the melodic death metal movement exploding in their home country, as well as classic '80s heavy metal."

Release history

In 1995, Nuclear Blast released a Europe-exclusive special digipak version of the album limited to 500 copies, which upon unfolding formed the shape of a cross with the song's lyrics printed on the sleeves. It was re-released in 2002 as a digipak (catalogue number: NB 646-2), this time with the 1997 EP Where Dead Angels Lie as bonus tracks. The Japanese edition features the bonus track "Feathers Fell" as track 5, in between "Where Dead Angels Lie" and "Retribution – Storm of the Light's Bane". The album was re-released once again in 2006 by The End Records in a two-disc set, and includes the Where Dead Angels Lie EP, an unreleased EP from 1994 featuring two songs from the album, and an "alternate mix" version of the full album, all remastered from the original master tapes by Håkan Åkesson at Cutting Room Studios in Stockholm, and packaged in a slipcase. This version is touted as the "Ultimate Reissue".

Reception and legacy

Critical reception

The album is routinely cited as a landmark album in the history of black metal, and as one of the earliest examples of a band blending black metal and death metal, more particularly, melodic death metal.

In his review of the album for AllMusic, William York described all of the album's songs as "expertly crafted mini-epics" with thematic unity and memorable melodies, adding that the album is "deservedly hailed as a landmark" of the genre.

Sputnikmusic mentions the attention to detail in the music and the "meticulous structure" of each song, naming the album the legacy of the band.

Metal Hammer named it one of the 20 best black metal albums of the 90s, noting the influence of melodic death metal, and describing it as "a melodic, majestic and gloriously epic listen that features a measured, bombastic tone yet also makes use of furious, high-paced delivery when necessary."

In 2023, Andy O'Connor of Spin wrote: "It’s nothing short of breathtaking: Melodies are deliberately labored for optimal resonance, yet they feel as natural as wind and sunlight. [...] It’s totally possible to recognize someone who did [[Keillers Park murder|what [Nödtveidt] did]] was also capable of making highly affecting music, though it doesn’t make it easier to stomach. Every artist’s dream is to live forever through their work, right? Nödtveidt got what he wanted: His melodies will always be bigger than him. Even if we can’t fully untangle Dissection from its creator, it’s not impossible to liberate those melodies in some way. They’re too good to be shamefully chained."

Accolades

{| class="wikitable"

!Publication

!Accolade

!Position

|Metal Hammer

|20 Best Black Metal Albums of the Nineties

| -

|IGN

|10 Great Black Metal Albums

| -

|LA Weekly

|10 Metal Albums to Hear Before You Die

| rowspan="2" |Terrorizer

|Most Important Albums of the Nineties

| -

|Top 40 Black Metal Albums

Personnel

; Dissection

Jon Nödtveidt – vocals, lead, rhythm & acoustic guitars
Johan Norman – rhythm guitar
Peter Palmdahl – bass guitar
Ole Öhman – drums

; Additional musicians

Alexandra Balogh – piano
Legion – backing vocals on "Thorns of Crimson Death"
Tony Särkkä – backing vocals on "Soulreaper"

; Production

Dissection – arrangement and production
Dan Swanö – recording, engineering and mixing
Håkan Åkesson – mastering and remastering (2006)
Necrolord – cover artwork
Oscar Matsson – photography