Sol Niger Within

Infobox Album
Name = Sol Niger Within
Type = studio
Artist = Fredrik Thordendal's Special Defects


Released = February 22, 1999
Recorded =
Genre = Experimental
Length = 52:50
Label = Ultimate Audio Entertainment, Relapse Records
Producer =
Reviews =

"Sol Niger Within" is the first and only release by Fredrik Thordendal's Special Defects, a side project of Meshuggah guitarist Fredrik Thordendal. The album was originally released in 1997 on the Ultimate Audio Entertainment label.

The album was remixed and re-released by Ultimate Audio Entertainment and Relapse Records in 1999 under the title "Sol Niger Within version 3.33". The re-release contains two bonus tracks but omits several parts of the original version. A number of other releases also exist (see below).

The sound of the album is a unique combination of complex jazz elements and the mathematical extreme metal approach of Meshuggah. The disc contains one long song, which is indexed into several pieces so that you can skip ahead in the track. Certain pieces run the course of 15-20 seconds, while others push toward the two- or three-minute range. [ [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:kjfwxqujldfe Allmusic] ] [ [http://www.chroniclesofchaos.com/reviews/albums/2-647_frederik_thordendals_special_defects_sol_niger_within.aspx Chronicles of Chaos] ] The album contains several references to Meshuggah's works. The last song, "Tathagata", is almost exactly identical to the ending of the song "Sublevels" from Meshuggah's "Destroy Erase Improve" album. Additionally, the song "Sensorium Dei" contains the lyric "Contradiction Collapses".

The album features drums by Morgan Ågren and keyboards by Mats Öberg, members of the Swedish Mats/Morgan Band, which performed with Frank Zappa.

Track listing

The following is the track listing for the original 1997 release:

"Antanca - The End (The Uncompounded Reality)"
#00:00 "The Beginning Of The End Of Extraction (Evolutional Slow Down)"
#01:36 "The Executive Furies Of The Robot Lord Of Death"
#03:04 "Descent To The Netherworld"
#03:34 "...Och Stjärnans Namn Var Malört"
#05:28 "Dante's Wild Inferno"
#06:27 "I, Galactus"
#07:56 "Skeletonization"
#08:11 "Sickness And Demoniacal Dreaming"
#09:17 "UFOria"
#09:56 "Z1-Reticuli"
#12:48 "Transmigration Of Souls"
#14:16 "In Reality All Is Void"
#14:46 "Krapp's Last Tape"
#16:02 "Through Fear We Are Unconscious"
#17:01 "Death At Both Ends"
#18:00 "Bouncing In A Bottomless Pit"
#19:14 "The Sun Door"
#20:46 "Painful Disruption"
#21:15 "Vitamin K Experience (A Homage To The Scientist/John Lilly)"
#22:12 "Cosmic Vagina Dentata Organ"
#26:55 "Sensorium Dei"
#30:37 "Magickal Theatre .33."
#32:27 "Z2-Reticuli"
#35:19 "De Profundis"
#35:49 "Existence Out Of Joint "
#37:03 "On A Crater's Verge"
#38:17 "Solarization"
#40:07 "The End Of The Beginning Of Contraction (Involutional Speed Up/Preparation For The Big Crunch)"
#40:23 "Tathagata"

Credits

*Mats Öberg - church organ, synthesizer (parts 2, 20)
*Jonas Knutsson - saxophone (parts 20, 23, 27, 28)
*Jerry Ericsson - bass guitar (parts 10, 23)
*Kantor Magnus Larsson - church organ (part 22)
*Victor Alneng - yidaki (part 14)
*Morgan Ågren - drums
*Marcus Persson - vocals
*Tomas Haake - spoken vocals
*Jennie Thordendal - shrieks
*Petter Marklund - lyric contributions
*Fredrik Thordendal - guitars, bass guitar, lead vocals, and programming

Versions

*CD RR6417. Sol Niger Within version 3.33 (Ultimate Audio Entertainment & Relapse Records) - a new mix by Fredrik Thordendal and Daniel Bergstrand; no church organs, better sound quality, PQ-coding rather than index, and bonus songs, "Missing Time" and "Ooo Baby Baby". (Nuclear Blast Records)
*CD UAE 4. Original version. (Ultimate Audio Entertainment)
*CD NB 271. Original version. (Nuclear Blast Records)
*CD MICY-1091 (Avalon) Japanese release of original version.
*Fredrik has also edited a short version for Nuclear Blast. It's about six minutes and contains the heaviest sounding parts from the original. Nuclear Blast has released it on a promo record. It features parts 11 (minus the end), 12, 13, 14 (minus the end), 17, 24, and 25 (first half).

External links

* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U5YEqmIIdj8 Video of Fredrik and Morgan jamming a Sol Niger Within medley]

References