It happens over and over again; bands change and move on, but in a scene where ideology is placed above musical development, this change is not always appreciated and Euronymous would turn in his grave if he would hear what the black metal scene has become. Nevertheless, development and change cannot and should not be stopped. Ironically enough Euronymous’ own Mayhem has been one of the frontrunners of what is now called the post black metal scene. Of course one should not forget to mention the role a band like Thorns has played in it all.

Post black metal is very difficult to define and in many ways a wrongly chosen term; black metal is all about Satanism and an attack against Christianity while post black metal does not support this ideology per se. But let’s get to the point; the reason for this long introduction is the fact that the Swiss Meridian release their debut album, The Seventh Sun and Season of Mist markets it as one of the first post black metal releases outside Norway. Sounds promising, right?

With high expectations of actually hearing something refreshing for a change I started listening. To my surprise and slight disappointment I noticed that the first song, “Fortune”, starts out as a quite straightforward aggressive symphonic black metal song that strongly reminds of a band like Sirius. Post black metal elements are undeniably present but are limited to industrial sounding background keyboards. The second song, “Immortal Ancestry” slightly improves things and Meridian delivers some excellent guitar riffs but overall it is hardly anything new.

Just when I seriously start to wonder why this album is called post black metal, the third song, “Deep Waters” kicks in and finally my interest is aroused.

Unfortunately the song sounds like it comes straight from Satyricon’s “Rebel Extravaganza” but things are improving rapidly from here, and the fourth song, “Abraham Timecode” finally shows that Meridian truly knows how to play some innovative black metal. This song is slow and melancholic and strongly reminds of Thorns with distorted vocals.

Although more post black metal influences appear in the songs that follow, most of them are nevertheless played in a very conservative manner and it almost feels as if Meridian lacked the conviction to do this album all the way. Besides “Abraham Timecode”, the only other song that is truly 100% post black metal is “Sol Septem Meridian”. Another excellent innovative song that has true feeling and atmosphere to it, but unfortunately the album is limited to just those two songs. The Seventh Sun is therefore a symphonic black metal album with post black metal influences instead of being a true post black metal release.

The Seventh Sun is nevertheless a very decent album with powerful songs. Terje Refsnes, the producer of Carpathian Forest, Tristania, Sins Of Thy Beloved among others, is responsible for the excellent sound of this album, while Jack D Ripper from Morgul has done the vocals exceptionally for this album. As a debut album, The Seventh Sun is certainly successful but if Meridian truly want to distinguish themselves from the masses of other symphonic black metal bands, they will have to take some more risks. That this band has talent I don’t doubt for a single second, songs like “Sol Septem Meridian” and “Abraham Timecode” certainly prove that. Now let’s hope that Meridian will take their music a step forward on their next album!