—Frank “The Watcher” Allain (Fen, Skaldic Curse)
LIKE MARDUK, Dissection did much to blur the line between death and black metal, but ventured toward a far more melodic sound than their countrymen, the influence of classic heavy metal shining through despite the dark direction of the material. Founded in 1989, the band’s roots lie in the short-lived thrash act Siren’s Yell, formed by guitarist Jon Nödtveidt, bassist Peter Palmdahl, guitarist Mattias “Mäbe” Johansson, and drummer Ole Öhman in 1988. It was Nödtveidt and Palmdahl who would initially form the more death-metal-oriented Dissection, recruiting Öhman (who had played in the curiously named Rabbit’s Carrot, another thrash outfit briefly featuring Nödtveidt) in 1990, and using Johansson as a live guitarist.
Following a demo tape entitled The Grief Prophecy, the group would take on a full-time second guitarist (John Zwetsloot) and craft the EP Into Infinite Obscurity, also released in 1991, which took its name from the short Zwetsloot-penned acoustic guitar piece that closed the record. Forming close links with Norway’s emerging black metal scene during this period, Jon Nödtveidt—along with comrades from Abruptum/Marduk and Nifelheim—would spend time visiting Oslo, the group forging links between the Black Circle and Sweden’s similarly minded True Satanist Horde, formed by Tony “It” Särkkä of Abruptum. A black/death metal project, Satanized, was also formed the same year with Nödtveidt providing guitars, but proved short-lived, playing a single live show and making some rehearsal recordings.
Necropolis Records promotional poster featuring a montage of early images, advertising Dissection’s demo compilation The Past Is Alive (The Early Mischief), released 1997.
Dissection, meanwhile, were beginning to move away from their more atonal Swedeath roots and reveal a distinctive taste for haunting melody. The first real evidence was a 1992 cassette entitled The Somberlain, though it was the full-length album of the same name released the following year that really put the band on the map. A remarkable opus, it revealed a huge leap forward. Unlike many of their contemporaries, the band benefited from a bigger, slicker sound, this time thanks to the production skills of Dan Swanö (who, remarkably, recorded the album just before his twentieth birthday). Boasting stellar musicianship, the album blended an archaic and complex atmosphere—thanks to no less than three of Zwetsloot’s classical guitar pieces and busy song structures overall—with the accessibility, riffs, harmonies and drive of heavy metal. The result was a melodic death metal template with an aesthetic and vocal approach more in line with black metal, an epic and melancholy combination. It was a style that would spread in Sweden during the mid-nineties, thanks to bands such as Sacramentum, Unanimated, Naglfar, and Vinterland.
Nödtveidt himself proved highly prolific during the early nineties and having worked with Satanized he joined a number of other projects, beginning with The Black, a band formed by drummer Make “The Black” Pesonen. Contributing his voice to a 1992 demo, Black Blood, he returned the following year to contribute vocals, guitars, and synth on a full-length entitled Black Priest of Satan, released in 1994. Boasting a primal, hateful, and genuinely sinister (especially on the demo) sound, the short songs showcased barbaric yet memorable riffs and catchy keyboard refrains, Nödtveidt delivering a far more extreme vocal style than in his main band.
In 1994 he would also provide vocals for A Journey in Darkness, the debut album of Ophthalamia, a group founded by It, which later featured both Öhman and Nödtveidt’s brother Emil, with whom he also worked briefly on a project entitled Outbreak. The same year Nödtveidt would also guest—along with Zwetsloot—on Nifelheim’s self-titled debut, repeating the favor for their 1997 follow-up Devil’s Force. 1994, however, was also the year that Zwetsloot departed Dissection (forming an extremely short-lived project called Cardinal Sin, whose single EP release boasted definite Somberlain-isms, including an acoustic guitar instrumental) and was replaced by Johan Norman, a close friend of Nödtveidt who had played in Satanized.
With this lineup, and now signed to Nuclear Blast Records, Dissection returned to Unisound to record Storm of the Light’s Bane. Maintaining the sophistication of its predecessor, the second album nevertheless streamlined the band’s songwriting to some extent, opting for a bigger and slightly more straightforward sound while maintaining the technical flourishes. Dropping the acoustic numbers—likely due to Zwetsloot leaving—the album upped the Maiden-esque harmonies and thrash overtones, yet remains darkly epic, never more so than on the hugely powerful “Where Dead Angels Lie,” later released as a single/EP.
1995 also was the year that Nödtveidt and Norman joined the Misanthropic Luciferian Order, a “Chaos-Gnostic” order founded by Nödtveidt’s friend “Vlad,” which the Dissection frontman would remain part of until his death eleven years later. On the official Dissection website, Nödtveidt described the MLO as a “‘Luciferian’ Order … for forbidden and hidden spiritual illumination and wisdom,” and described his band as the “sonic propaganda unit” of the MLO. The group was also described as explicitly “anti-cosmic,” essentially opposing the creator of the universe for imprisoning life within matter and order, and seeking instead a return to chaos. The move coincided with Nödtveidt departing The True Satanist Horde—who it was now felt were only dedicated to “pursuing a black metal lifestyle”—and the two camps fell out. It eventually departed Sweden and black metal altogether (reportedly after receiving threats) and leaving his band Abruptum in the hands of Morgan Håkansson, who had joined as a member in 1991.
While Nödtveidt entered an increasingly extreme lifestyle, Dissection were simultaneously rising to new heights, playing shows around the world, including a now-legendary appearance at Wacken in 1997 captured on Live Legacy. The old lineup had all but crumbled, Öhman leaving in 1995 (replaced by Tobias Kellgren, formerly of Satanized) to join Emil Nödtveidt’s black thrash outfit Swordmaster, which soon evolved into glam/goth industrial metallers Deathstars. Palmdahl also departed to join Runemagick and then Deathwitch, replaced for a time by Emil. The same year also saw the release of a poorly received album by Nödtveidt’s dark ambient/electronic project entitled De Infernali, though he would later explain that the project “was just something we made to get money for weapons.”
1997 was probably Dissection’s commercial peak, so for fans it was all the more shocking that it culminated in the frontman being arrested for his part in the murder of Josef Ben Maddaour, a gay Algerian man shot in the back of the head. The case shocked Sweden, even leading to a film based on the incident, Keillers Park, named after the location of the killing. Though details are unsurprisingly hazy, it appears that Nödtveidt and Vlad met the man after a night of clubbing and invited him to the park to drink, taking with them an electric shock gun and a pistol. Whether the intention was to kill or assault him is unclear, but either way he ended up being first attacked with the shock gun and then shot twice, though in court the two defendants told differing stories as to who had fired the gun.
Both men were ultimately sentenced to ten years, of which Nödtveidt served seven. During his latter years in prison, he worked on writing new material and rebuilding the band from scratch, since 1997 had seen the departure of Norman (later of Soulreaper) after a dramatic falling out with both the frontman and the MLO. Nödtveidt first approached Emperor’s Bård Eithun, but the drummer felt he could not represent the now-strict Satanic stance of the group, and the lineup was ultimately completed with guitarist Set Teitan (Aborym, later Watain), drummer Tomas Asklund (previously of Dark Funeral among others and later of Gorgoroth), and bassist Brice Leclercq.
On October 30, 2004, only six weeks after Nödtveidt’s release from jail, Dissection headlined a concert at the Stockholm Arena that included Nifelheim and Deathstars. Two weeks later saw the release of the single Maha Kali, recorded at Asklund’s own Monolith studios. As he later explained to Denmark’s Evilution zine, Nödtveidt had been working on the song in his mind since his arrest, and the final product certainly surprised fans who were expecting a continuation from the
band’s second album. Instead, the hymn to Mahakali (Hindu goddess of time and death, whom Nödtveidt described in an interview as “the wrathful one who devours the entire cosmic creation in the time of the complete dissolution, Kali Yuga, the ending times,”) proved to be something new, the catchy riffs complimented by Indian-style female vocals.
The band’s third and final album, Reinkaos, released mid-2006, was no less controversial and has divided fans ever since. Recorded in Deathstar’s own Black Syndicate Studios—and engineered by Emil and Jonas “Skinny Disco” Kangur from the band—the album’s crisp, clear sound was something of a shift from earlier efforts. Tight and minimal in form, the songs are notably upbeat and midpaced throughout, utilizing emotive and catchy riffs and leaning closer than ever to a heavy metal-inspired melodic death metal sound, leading to comparisons with the likes of In Flames. Unlike such bands however, the complex lyrics are entirely dedicated to the anti-cosmic beliefs of the MLO, with Frater Nemidial (Vlad) even contributing “esoteric formulae,’ providing a fascinating glimpse into the spiritual framework that Jon and the band were now dedicated to.” The result is a remarkably stirring and victorious-sounding record that is hard not to be caught up in, the depth and darkness of the concept contrasting with the accessibility and strict streamlining of the tunes, the only virtuosity now surfacing in the well-delivered leads.
Only three months later, having dissolved the band not long before, Nödtveidt died aged thirty-one from a single self-inflicted bullet wound to the head. Three years earlier, in Norway’s legendary Slayer zine, he had stated “The Satanist decides over his own life and death and prefers to go with a smile on his lips when he has reached his peak in life, when he has accomplished everything, and aim[s] to transcend this earthly existence.” Having released an opus he was supremely happy with, he may well have felt this was such a time. Whatever the exact reason for ending both Dissection and his own life, there can be little doubt that Nödtveidt remained dedicated to his religious beliefs, his suicide reportedly carried out in ritualistic fashion within a circle of lighted candles and accompanied by an MLO text.
In his final lengthy press interview given to the zine Evilution, Nödtveidt described his anti-cosmic beliefs at length. “I do not think the Christian devil has been that interesting,” he explained. “For me Satan represents something so much bigger than this world, than this universe, than the creator of this universe. It is a force that is constantly counteracting the creation and breaking it down until everything has returned to its totally unlimited primal state of chaos.” He also stated, “I see life as a path I’m walking on at the moment but … I strive toward the peak where I can transcend this limited state.” Such comments may offer some insight into Nödtveidt’s decision, and though his beliefs, actions, and even music may split opinion, he has left an unarguably significant mark on the history, and perhaps psyche, of extreme metal.
While this was true within Sweden as much as anywhere else, by the time Dissection had reemerged from their forced hiatus, the character of Swedish black metal had changed considerably. In comparison to Norway whose protagonists have historically tended to lean toward isolation and individualism, often moving out into the countryside, particularly after their early twenties, Sweden’s scene had always seemed to boast a far more violent and urban coloring, perhaps more comparible to biker gang culture. Now the contrasts were even more pronounced, and where the Norwegian movement had splintered into various different musical and ideological directions, Sweden had become even more extreme, Satanic, and orthodox in its attitude. Musically speaking, a less polished, more monochromatic vision now dominated, the new millennium seeing a legion of fiercely committed acts such as Ondskapt, Funeral Mist, Ofermod, Craft, and Watain, appear alongside older groups such as Setherial, Arckanum and Dark Funeral.
Watain in 2010 circa the Lawless Darkness album. Photo: Ester Segarra.
Of these newer acts, it would be the latter that would most obviously pick up the burning torch of Dissection. Though their music and aesthetic are more categorically “black metal”—perhaps due to the genre having much clearer boundaries than when Dissection formed—they have nonetheless exhibited a similar ambition and a sound that frequently incorporates melody and groove. Formed in 1998, the band debuted with the Go Fuck Your Jewish “God” demo, an opus featuring the same core lineup (vocalist and bassist Erik Danielsson, guitarist Pelle Forsberg, and drummer Håkan Jonsson) that exists today. Showing their potential on their first two albums, Rabid Death’s Curse (2000) and Casus Luciferi (2003), the band also made a name for themselves with their memorable live shows, with the Rebirth of Dissection tour of 2004 introducing many to their notoriously stench-ridden performances and their penchant for covering the stage (and occasionally the audience) in weeks-old blood.
In interviews the band also built a reputation for a distinctly confrontational stance, Erik frequently explaining his disdain for much of the black metal scene—bands and fans—and raising controversy by explaining how the band had killed wild birds and even attempted to buy pet dogs from the homeless in order to source blood for their shows. Indeed, as with Dissection, live shows have always been meant as a form of ritual/magickal experience, the band working with the same anti-cosmic framework as some of their countrymen.
Watain circa 2010, in their home city of Uppsala. Photo: Ester Segarra.
“The first battle of the Satanist has to take place in the mind and in the soul,” Erik explained to me in Metal Hammer in 2010, “because the human will and mind is meant to be restricted, it was created to be restrictive, it was not created to transcend itself. To transcend those barriers is my aim. Then you experience what has throughout history been known as enlightenment and take a step away from god, and that is the most important thing a human being can do in this life. To physically and mentally transcend the barriers that have been placed within.”
Third album Sworn to the Dark, released in 2007, would prove to be something of a breakthrough and features guest contributions from Michayah Belfagor of Ofermod, as well as Set Teitan of Dissection, who became a live guitarist around the same time. Maintaining some of the De Mysteriis influence that had been evident on the first two albums, Sworn now saw the band shifting to incorporate attributes that drew increased comparison with Dissection—decipherable, religious lyrics, clearer production, an unashamed use of melody, and a similarly uplifting, victorious overtone.
Released via the sizable Season of Mist, the album launched Watain to a far wider audience, and follow-up Lawless Darkness did even more for the band’s international profile. By far their most accessible album yet, Lawless Darkness drew in fans with its fist-in-the-air choruses, epic, melancholy passages, and even the occasional blues/rock-esque guitar lead—not to mention a guest appearance from Carl McCoy of Fields of the Nephilim. Combined with the band’s regular touring and festival appearances, the opus quickly made them one of the genre’s biggest names, the band following this up three years later with The Wild Hunt.
“Everything exists on smaller or larger scales,” Erik explained in the aforementioned interview. “I know what black metal has done to me and my heart, and there’s nothing that would prevent us from doing the same thing on a much larger scale affecting ten thousands of people in the same way. And if we can get thousands of people to turn their back toward god and start to walk the forbidden paths, be it that they become criminals, or do whatever it takes, whatever the devil wants from them, great. That’s what rock ‘n’ roll has always been about, turning people away from god.”
Indeed, despite the wide appeal of their music the band retain a destructive focus similar to their many religious countrymen, embracing an outlaw approach much like Dissection in their later years. And while they may now be accepted by the mainstream metal scene, Erik has always been quick to explain the group’s explicitly antisocial worldview, memorably stating that he “totally encourage[s] any kind of terrorist acts committed in the name of Watain.”
“One thing I would say, to make it plain and simple and erase possibilities of misunderstanding and the wrong kind of references, is that the Satanist is the enemy of the world as we know it. He is the enemy of order, the enemy of society, the enemy of the upholding of moral or ethical codes and he is the enemy because he has no other possibility, because the entrance of Satan into someone’s heart means a transformation into someone who only feels for that. I am filled to the brim with love for my god and as a consequence of that love there is also a lot of hatred to the enemies of my god. Every upholder of law and order, every force that maintains the calm, nauseating horror of humanity, the sheep, the peasants… We will always be Watain, we will always be a pack of dirty wolves out for your daughters, we will always be the bad motherfuckers and if people want to bring us to another level, do it, but never forget that in our hearts we will always be the enemy.”
35
SHINING
SWEDEN PART III
“In 1996 Shining and Kvarforth hit the black metal scene like an obscene obnoxious child gone wild. Their general attitude toward human life took everything a step further. And there was the music, which, from day one, was expanding the limits of black metal. Kvarforth is still obnoxious but more clever one might say. Two parallel straight lines enclose his space. An impossibility. The demons, I’m sure, know him by name, and Shining keeps creating great music.”
—Maniac (Mayhem, Skitliv)
DESPITE PLENTY of personal connections to Sweden’s contemporary black metal fraternity, Shining are not a band that fit easily within the scene there, or for that matter anywhere else. With an approach rather akin to a black metal Jim Morrison and a level of fame and notoriety mirrored only by such names as Euronymous, Gaahl, or Varg Vikernes, frontman and founder Niklas Kvarforth has proven himself not only one of the movement’s most controversial individuals, but also one with considerable talent. And like Burzum, Shining is an outfit whose story is all but inseparable from its chief protagonist.
Black Metal: Evolution of the Cult Page 48