Live Legacy

Dissection leader Jon Nodtveidt's murder-related prison sentence in 1997 halted the career of one of the decade's most influential Swedish metal bands right at its peak, after just two full-length albums. The years since then have seen the release of an outtakes/demos collection (The Past Is Alive), a reissue of the classic Storm of the Light's Bane disc, and now, with Live Legacy, the inevitable live album. Far from the sort of archive-scraping cash-in attempt one might fear given the circumstances, however, this CD documents a powerful, well-recorded concert performance by the quartet that shows, again, just why they continue to be so revered despite Nodtveidt's highly unfortunate criminal past. The track list consists simply of four songs from Storm of the Light's Bane (five if you count the intro piece "At the Fathomless Depths") and two from The Somberlain. These versions do not stray far (if at all) from the originals, but it is still exciting to hear them played with such energy and precision in a live setting. If anything, these versions are actually heavier and harder-rocking than the ones on the studio albums. The only drawbacks to this album are the slightly brief running time (just over 40 minutes) and the lack of any new or unreleased material. That said, this is still a great live album that will please any fan of this pioneering band's trademarked majestic, frostbitten death/black/thrash metal sound.