Progression within their music has always been an important factor for Sweden's Dissection - an attribute they have clearly focused on since the release of their first demo _The Grief Prophecy_ in 1990. Five years and one debut album later, we find a much more strengthened quartet, fully armed with stories of death and power with an attitude that shapes itself in the form of their sophomore opus, _Storm Of The Light's Bane_.

"Over the years I think we have developed the sound of the band," begins singer/guitarist Jon Nodveidt from his home in Gothenburg, "but we feel that we went further on with the sound/direction on this release with both the songwriting and music. It is still the same band, but with each record we want to go somewhere with our music where we haven't been and not try to do the same thing. We don't want to repeat ourselves too much, and that is why we will always try to progress with each album or new material."

Along with fellow gothic/epic black metallers Johan Norman (guitar), bassist Peter Palmdahl (who along with Nodveidt started the band in 1989), and drummer Ole Ohman, the band has been able to carry themselves further with _SotLB_ than they did with their debut, _The Somberlain_, in 1993. Much darker and tighter, _SotLB_ (which sounds great due in part to awesome producer Dan Swano, Edge of Sanity/production mastermind) is no doubt a big stepping stone for the band in finding their sound and specific style.

Says Nodveidt, "We never limit ourselves even if we feel we play dark, death metal. We don't write our music to fit into a certain pattern." Adding, he explains, "We will not change musically or lyrically in any drastic way. We will do what we have to as long as it makes us feel that we have improved."

On the topic of the album in question, _Storm Of The Light's Bane_, I asked about a possible concept theme for this album. "Everything we do is connected through death in one way or another. This is not an album where all the songs follow a story. On this record, all the songs and music are different but still have that death theme within them to tie them in some form or another."

As mentioned, there is a dark, evil feeling enveloping the album's tracks, but still the album finds time to show off a tranquil state at certain points. "We want to release different emotions with our music, to express them with our sound and music. We want it to be heavy and angry but also putting melancholic styles input into our music."

Also seeping into this death-ish metallic offering is obvious old school metal influences, something Nodveidt and the rest of his band are not ashamed to be influenced by or include in some way into their music. "Old school metal (Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Venom) have meant a lot to us personally as they are found in our musical roots. We think of ourselves as death metal, but we like to try to spread ourselves around musically where we can have our own sound."

He adds, "Of course we have hundreds of influences but we don't use them to copy them. They are used to become more creative. That would be stupid to just copy them now wouldn't it?"

As for the metal music scene there and abroad, how is it? How important are those music scenes for him and his band to follow? "The scene is pretty healthy but the older bands mean more to me than the younger, newer ones that are surfacing here or in North America. The ones that got me into this music are what are close to my heart."

Old school metal with a Dissection-ess twist? The truth of the matter is _Storm Of The Light's Bane_ is an added ingredient to the world of metal as it pays homage to old school metal, but at the same time allows us to witness a style and sound uniquely Dissection's own.