The Spectral Sorrows
| The Spectral Sorrows | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | November 15, 1993 | |||
| Recorded | July–August 1993 | |||
| Studio | Unisound Recordings, Finspång, Sweden | |||
| Genre | Melodic death metal, progressive death metal | |||
| Length | 54:02 | |||
| Label | Black Mark | |||
| Producer | Edge of Sanity | |||
| Edge of Sanity chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic | [1] |
| Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal | 8/10[2] |
| Rock Hard | 9.5/10[3] |
The Spectral Sorrows is the third studio album by the Swedish death metal band Edge of Sanity, released through Black Mark Production on November 15, 1993.
Background and recording
The album was recorded by Dan Swanö in July–August 1993. Bassist Anders Lindberg does not appear on the album as he was completing his mandatory military service at the time.
Release history
The record was both remixed and remastered by Swanö in 2024. Both new editions of the album were released by Century Media in December 6, 2024.[4][5] The remixed album featured a re-recording of the closing track "A Serenade for the Dead", arranged and recorded by Swanö himself.
Music
The Spectral Sorrows continues Edge of Sanity's progression to a more progressive and melodic death metal sound. The album features a greater focus on clean vocals than the band's previous works, specifically on their cover of "Blood of My Enemies" by Manowar and "Sacrificed", the latter having more of a cleanly-sung gothic style reminiscent of The Sisters of Mercy. The clean vocals are sung in the baritone range.[1]
Track listing
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "The Spectral Sorrows" (instrumental) | Sami Nerberg | 1:44 | |
| 2. | "Darkday" | Andreas Axelsson | Axelsson | 4:28 |
| 3. | "Living Hell" | Axelsson | Axelsson, Dan Swanö | 4:19 |
| 4. | "Lost" | Swanö | Swanö | 4:35 |
| 5. | "The Masque" | Axelsson, Swanö | Swanö | 6:38 |
| 6. | "Blood of My Enemies" (Manowar cover) | Joey DeMaio | DeMaio | 3:29 |
| 7. | "Jesus Cries" | Swanö | Axelsson, Swanö, Nerberg | 4:49 |
| 8. | "Across the Fields of Forever" | Axelsson, Swanö | Axelsson, Swanö, Nerberg | 6:07 |
| 9. | "On the Other Side" | Swanö | Swanö | 5:43 |
| 10. | "Sacrificed" | Swanö | Swanö | 3:51 |
| 11. | "Waiting to Die" | Swanö | Axelsson, Swanö | 3:11 |
| 12. | "Feeding the Charlatan" | Axelsson, Benny Larsson | Axelsson, Larsson | 2:45 |
| 13. | "A Serenade for the Dead" (instrumental) | Swanö | 2:23 | |
| Total length: | 54:02 | |||
Personnel
- Edge of Sanity
- Dan Swanö – vocals, piano, electric guitar
- Andreas Axelsson – electric guitar, bass guitar, vocals (on tracks 2, 7 & 12)
- Sami Nerberg – electric guitar
- Benny Larsson – drums, percussion
- Production
- Dan Swanö – engineering, mixing
- Peter in de Betou – mastering
- Maren Lotz – layout, graphics
- Dan Seagrave – artwork
- Åsa Jonsén – photography
- Börje Forsberg – executive producer
References
- ^ a b Rivadavia, Eduardo. "The Spectral Sorrows - Edge of Sanity review". AllMusic. Retrieved 2026-02-05.
- ^ Popoff, Martin (August 1, 2007). The Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal: Volume 3: The Nineties. Burlington, Ontario, Canada: Collector's Guide Publishing. p. 132. ISBN 978-1-894959-62-9.
- ^ Albrecht, Frank (22 October 1993). "Review Dynamit: Edge of Sanity - The Spectral Sorrows". Rock Hard (in German). No. 78. Retrieved 28 February 2026.
- ^ "The Spectral Sorrows (Remix 2024) [24-bit HD audio], by Edge Of Sanity". Century Media Records. Retrieved 2024-12-06.
- ^ "The Spectral Sorrows (Remaster 2024), by Edge Of Sanity". Century Media Records. Retrieved 2024-12-06.