SilentScream213 Yes, this brand of sombre Melodic Black Metal is absolutely to my taste. It also helps that this has huge Melodeath influences, enough so that you could easily give this album the accolade of being at the forefront of both genres. Mixing two genres still in infancy and managing to ace that combination is quite an incredible feat!

That’s what makes The Somberlain unique, but certainly not what makes it good. Every song is packed with excellent riffs that dance the line between evil, sombre, and folky. The drums have an incredible amount of diversity for a Black Metal album (the Melodeath influence is very strong here rhythmically) and you can expect much more than constant blast beats. The rhythm section is always changing, usually quite energetic but slowing down surprisingly often to allow riffs and atmosphere to marinate in a calmer zone.

The vocals sit right between Death growls and Black Metal shrieks, having a nice weight to them but maintaining a raspy enunciation that works very well. Most of the lyrics/themes are standard BM fare, focusing on occult darkness, but they’re well written. I will say, the acoustic interludes really don’t add anything to the album, and would have been more effective if interwoven into the songs. Unfortunately, they hurt the momentum because they aren’t strong enough to stand on their own. Otherwise, a great dark triumph that still stands above a vast majority of the hundreds of attempts at this sound since.

UMUR "The Somberlain" is the debut full-length studio album by Swedish black/death metal act Dissection. The album was released through No Fashion Records in December 1993. Along with acts like Unanimated and Necrophobic, Dissection are widely considered among the most prolific Swedish blackened death metal/melodic black metal acts from the 90s.

The music on the album treads the fine line between melodic black metal and blackened death metal. The vocals are mostly raspy and belong in black metal territory, while the riffing style is a bit of both worlds with both fast tremolo picking and more brutal riff based sections. Always layered with ultra melodic lead guitar work though. Often with folk influenced themes. Occasional use of keyboards help bring an epic atmosphere to the album and the classical inspired acoustic guitar interludes that appear a couple of times on the album, work well as breathers. The album is drenched in a melancholic atmosphere, but still quite aggressive and raw.

The musicianship are generally on a high level, although drummer Ole Öhman at times has a clumsy playing style that could have been a bit more imaginative. The classical acoustic guitar interludes played by John Zwetsloot also feature a couple of playing errors, but it´s not a major deal, and the rest of the music is very well played.

The sound production is powerful and suits the music well. Again it´s a feature on the album that sits in the borderland between black and death metal. Too high end sounding to be a "regular" death metal production from those days, and too "low end" to sound like a contemporary black metal release. No matter how you describe it, it´s a suiting production for the music, and that´s what probably matters to most people.

"The Somberlain" is overall a high quality debut release by Dissection, and right off the bat, they spearheaded the Swedish melodic black/blackened death metal scene. While the other artists I mentioned above are also quite prolific in their own right, Dissection has a cult following that those two and other similar size acts can only dream of, and it´s obvious to hear why when you listen to "The Somberlain". It´s simply more convincing on all parameters than most other contemporary releases in the same style and a 4 star (80%) rating is deserved.

Warthur Alongside the early Darkthrone releases, Dissection's The Somberlain is one of the earliest albums to combine the misanthropic assault and atmosphere of the second wave of black metal with the technical pyrotechnics often associated with death metal. With brilliant performances and impeccable production, it was one of the albums which proved that, despite the sneering of critics, black metal wasn't just about people who could barely play their instruments recording their music with a gratingly lo-fi approach (not that there's anything wrong with that). And even better, it still sounds as fresh and transgressive today as it did then - perhaps more so, knowing the future antics some of the band members would get up to.