Remembering Nodtveidt

One of the most respectable Les Paul wielding players in my books is certainly the late Jon Nodtveidt. This Aug 16th marks the second year of his passing, this memory is a tribute to the man & his music, I am not one to sympathize with his spirituality.

The final Dissection release (Reinkaos) was a downturn to many hardcore fans especially so when its two predecessors (The Somberlain/ Storm of the Light's Bane) proved to be landmarks in terms of music genre. What Nodtveidt did was respectable, the materials in Reinkaos proved to be commanding but many failed to see the man deviating from his past by choice, not because of some lethargic former life hauntings. Nodtveidt was also one who took time to deliver his solos, majority of which were down-tempo phrasings; there was no rush for leads, the man took his time.

On the night of 16th Aug 2004, Jon Andreas Nodtveidt was found dead with a gunshot wound to the head, lying in a circle of lit candles (sources stated the time of death to be disputable- he was discovered dead on the 16th but the actual time of death could have been earlier). It was a case of spiritual manifestation where a gnostic proved to the world his end time to be entirely his doing & not pre-determined by a higher power. A Satanic Bible was discovered on his person at the time of discovery but a confirmation by fellow band member (guitarist Set Teitan) revealed it to be a copy of Liber Azerate instead (a publication by the Misanthrophic Luciferian Order).