Far Away from the Sun
| Far Away from the Sun | ||||
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| Studio album by Sacramentum | ||||
| Released | May 1996 | |||
| Recorded | June-July 1995 | |||
| Studio | Unisound Studios, Finspång, Sweden | |||
| Genre | Melodic black metal | |||
| Length | 45:59 | |||
| Label | Adipocere Records (1996) Century Media Records (2013) |
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| Producer | Sacramentum | |||
| Sacramentum chronology | ||||
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| Professional ratings | |
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| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Chronicles of Chaos | 8/10 |
| SputnikMusic | 4/5 |
| Metal Temple |   |
Far Away from the Sun is the debut album of the Swedish black/death metal band Sacramentum. It was released through Adipocere Records in May 1996. The album features cover artwork created by Kristian "Necrolord" Wåhlin. The album's style has been compared to contemporaries such as Dissection and Unanimated, and the album is frequently considered an often-overlooked classic in the genre.
Following the release of their demo EP Finis Malorum (later reissued on Adipocere Records, to whom the band had signed in 1994), bassist Freddy Andersson and drummer Mikael Rydén left the band, "unwilling to go on after Brolycke and Karlén had decided to move to Gothenburg." Following this, Karlén switched to bass to allow himself to focus more on vocals. After moving to Gothenburg they got in touch with Johan Norman (Decameron, Satanized). Sacramentum asked him to join the band, and Norman offered to bring Nicklas "Terror" Rudolfsson with him. "Ironically, Norman stayed in the band less than six months, before quitting to join Dissection. However, "Terror" did stick around and proved to be "a perfect match"." Thus the lineup that recorded the album was Brolycke, Karlén, and Rudolfsson.
The album's style has been frequently compared to fellow Swedish black metal band Dissection. However, Chronicles of Chaos wrote that "Their style is less aggressive than Dissection, but more intricate" and "their melodic parts are usually either harmonized or have countermelodies". According to Rudolfsson, "When I entered the picture, most of the album was already written and ready to be rehearsed, but I still helped with some riffs, lyrics and arrangements." It has also been described as "cold, raw and epic", and "For most of the record tremolo guitars, blast beats and an oversaturated vocal dominate. There is a touch of Gothic Metal that a lot of the mid nineties black metal releases incorporated."
The artwork was created by Kristian "Necrolord" Wåhlin, a friend of the band at the time and who lived in the same city. Karlén later purchased the original painting from Wåhlin, and is therefore one of only three he has ever agreed to sell, along with Tiamat's albums "Wildhoney" and "Clouds". According to guitarist Anders Brolycke,
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