5. Bane
Originally from Serbia but now located in Canada, death/black metallers Bane (possible connection to album title Storm of the Light’s Bane, but none to the Massachusetts-based hardcore band of the same name) take only the fastest, brutalist, sickest moments in Dissection’s oeuvre for the The Acausal Fire album. Actually, that’s not true, Bane are well versed in Nödtveidt-styled (and by extension former axeman Zwetsloot) melancholic harmonies. Released in ’12 on cult indie Abyss Records, it’s likely most Dissection acolytes never heard The Acausal Fire (or Bane, for that matter). From “The End of Humanity” to “Existence in Denial”, the complex bombast of The Acausal Fire should make Bane a new favorite. Closing with a cover of “Night’s Blood” wasn’t a bad move either.
4. Stortregn
Swiss death/black metallers are of recent vintage (formed in 2005) but are relatively unknown. The quartet’s most recent album, Evocation of Light, hit metaldom in 2013 on French indie Great Dane Records. Clearly, they couldn’t get enough of Dissection’s Storm of the Light’s Bane era, having cloned Dissection’s classical-styled attack and Necrolord “blue” cover concept in respectable fashion. Though Stortregn (means “downpour” in Swedish) could do better in the name and drum departments, they satisfy the urge to hear Dissection when “When Dead Angels Lie”, “Night’s Blood”, “Thorns of Crimson Death”, and “Unhallowed” have outplayed their welcome (doubtful, but potentially possible).
3. Death Tyrant
What happens when members of Lord Belial, Trident (featuring ex-Dissection six-stringer Johan Norman), and Satanized come together in the Year of the Tiger? They form a band called Death Tyrant. Not too far removed from Dissection in the melody and aggression department, the Swedes only album—Opus de Tyranis—is a killer. Focus track “Ixion – The Fallen Kings of the Laphits” is really all you need to hear from Death Tyrant. But there’s no reason to not check out opener “The Awakening of Sleeping Gods” or end-of-album track “A Greater Alliance” for a solid dose of Dissection-esque death.
2. Cardinal Sin
When John Zwetsloot left Dissection in ’94, he resurfaced two years later in Cardinal Sin, a band he formed with Decameron, Marduk, Allegiance, The Ancient’s Rebirth members. A killer demo (officially unreleased) followed in tape-trading circles. When debut EP, Spiteful Intents, surfaced in ’96, it was pretty clear who was spearheading the songwriting (Zwetsloot), but there was a Marduk-like directness to the music. Though only four tracks and released on vanguard (but poorly managed) Wrong Again Records, Spiteful Intents represents melodic Swedish death/black without the corpsepaint or overt overtures to Satan. Sadly, the group faded from memory after the EP and have since reformed with no clear indication of releasing music. Fans (limited to maybe 2000 worldwide) have been waiting since 2003, actually.
1. Thulcandra
Steffen Kummerer is better known as the lead ripper in Obscura. But he has a dark side. One that involves—directly—a near-fatal attraction to Jon Nödtveidt, Dissection and its overall aesthetic (pre-Reinkaos). Across three albums (newest album, Ascension Lost, rules!), Kummerer and Thulcandra comprehended, reinterpreted, and released what can only be said as the most accurate homage to Dissection (again, all albums feature Necrolord “blue” covers). The magic of Thulcandra is that they’re really fucking good. It’s not just nostalgia for nostalgia’s sake. The Germans are actually writing songs, branched logically off of Storm of the Light’s Bane and predecessor The Somberlain. If Reinkaos wasn’t Dissection’s proper send off, then Thulcandra’s entire discography surely is.
** Other clones of interest are Soulreaper, Decameron, Sacramentum, Noctes, Frozen, and Blot Mine.
