Sol Niger Within

Sol Niger Within
Studio album by Fredrik Thordendal's Special Defects
Released	1997 (Ultimate Audio Entertainment)
Genre	Extreme metal,[1] experimental,[1] experimental metal,[1] jazz fusion
Length	43:26
Label	Ultimate Audio Entertainment, Relapse
Producer	Fredrik Thordendal

Sol Niger Within is the first 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.

The album is a combination of complex jazz elements and the mathematical extreme metal approach of Meshuggah. The disc comprises one long song, which is indexed into 29 tracks. The length of each section ranges from around 20 seconds to 2–3 minutes.^[1][2] The album contains several references to the work of Meshuggah. The last track, "Tathagata", is very similar in melody to the ending of the song "Sublevels" from Destroy Erase Improve.

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

Track listing

Original 1997 release

Antanca – The End (The Uncompounded Reality)

1. "The Beginning of the End of Extraction (Evolutional Slow Down)" – 1:36
2. "The Executive Furies of the Robot Lord of Death" – 1:28
3. "Descent to the Netherworld" – 0:30
4. "...Och Stjärnans Namn Var Malört" – 1:54
5. "Dante's Wild Inferno" – 0:59
6. "I, Galactus" – 1:29
7. "Skeletonization" – 0:15
8. "Sickness and Demoniacal Dreaming" – 1:06
9. "UFOria" – 0:37
10. "Z1- Reticuli" – 2:52
11. "Transmigration of Souls" – 1:28
12. "In Reality All Is Void" – 0:30
13. "Krapp's Last Tape" – 1:16
14. "Through Fear We Are Unconscious" – 0:59
15. "Death at Both Ends" – 0:59
16. "Bouncing in a Bottomless Pit" – 1:14
17. "The Sun Door" – 1:32
18. "Painful Disruption" – 0:29
19. "Vitamin K Experience (A Homage to The Scientist/John Lilly)" – 0:57
20. "Cosmic Vagina Dentata Organ" – 4:43
21. "Sensorium Dei" – 3:42
22. "Magickal Theatre .33." – 1:50
23. "Z2- Reticuli" – 2:52
24. "De Profundis" – 0:30
25. "Existence Out of Joint" – 1:14
26. "On a Crater's Verge" – 1:14
27. "Solarization" – 1:50
28. "The End of the Beginning of Contraction (Involutional Speed Up/Preparation for the Big Crunch)" – 0:16
29. "Tathagata" – 3:03

3.33 release

1. "The Beginning of the End of Extraction (Evolutional Slow Down)" – 1:36
2. "The Executive Furies of the Robot Lord of Death" – 1:28
3. "Descent to the Netherworld" – 0:30
4. "...Och Stjärnans Namn Var Malört" – 1:54
5. "Dante's Wild Inferno" – 0:59
6. "I, Galactus" – 1:29
7. "Skeletonization" – 0:15
8. "Sickness and Demoniacal Dreaming" – 1:06
9. "UFOria" – 1:06
10. "Z1- Reticuli" – 2:52
11. "Transmigration of Souls" – 1:28
12. "In Reality All Is Void" – 0:30
13. "Krapp's Last Tape" – 1:16
14. "Through Fear We Are Unconscious" – 0:59
15. "Death at Both Ends" – 0:59
16. "Bouncing in a Bottomless Pit" – 1:14
17. "The Sun Door" – 1:32
18. "Vitamin K Experience (A Homage to The Scientist/John Lilly)" – 0:57
19. "Sensorium Dei" – 3:42
20. "Z2- Reticuli" – 2:52
21. "De Profundis" – 0:30
22. "Existence Out of Joint" – 1:14
23. "On a Crater's Verge" – 1:14
24. "Solarization" – 1:50
25. "The End of the Beginning of Contraction (Involutional Speed Up/Preparation for the Big Crunch)" – 0:16
26. "Tathagata" – 3:03
27. "Missing Time" – 11:16
28. "Ooo Baby Baby" – 1:15

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]

Personnel

• 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

Release history

• 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". (Relapse 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 is six minutes in length and contains some of the heavier sections of 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).
• MASS CD 1389 DG .(Metal Minds Productions & Nuclear Blast) re-released and remastered with tube technology, and digitally edited onto a golden disc, limited to only 2000 copies worldwide.

References