THE BLACK

Release Year: 2018
Artist Origin: SWE
Style: infernal harmonious black death metal

absolutely cult band of infernal black/death metal, featuring Rietas aka Jon Nödtveidt [Dissection] on vocals and guitars, was established yet in 1991 - this is their only album [1993] from the early era, when extreme Scandinavian sound was just taking shape: cold guitar strokes, ritualistically repeating tremolo riffs and suffocating rhythms merge into a filthy yet remarkably cohesive sound, where savage aggression never overwhelms the melodic sense, while primitive force of arrangements only heightens the bleak atmosphere; the exhausting repertoire leaves no one indifferent with its primal old-school spirit and vicious, furious execution, while Jon's vocal lines are insanely intense - The Black has set the standard of piercing and merciless, yet harmonious and atmospheric blackness; the ultimate and final French re-issue comes with minimal layout ethics