When All Is Said: The Best of Edge of Sanity

When All Is Said is a two-disk compilation of the best of Edge of Sanity. It is “very remastered” by Dan Swanö, the mastermind behind over twenty groundbreaking Swedish metal bands, including Edge of Sanity themselves. For those not familiar with Edge of Sanity, they fuse traditional death metal with progressive rock, traditional metal and even sometimes glam rock.

The first disk of When All Is Said consists of EoS classics, ranging from their early, less developed days of Nothing But Death Remains to their more melodic albums such as Infernal. It is remastered very well, many problems from the earlier releases (such as volume dropouts, incorrect balance etc.).

The second disk of When All Is Said contains 80 minutes of continuous music, from the consecutive masterpieces Crimson and Crimson II. Most people would shudder at the sound of 80 minutes of music with no stopping, however it is not repetitive, and never boring. It contains sensational vocals from Mikael Åkerfeldt from Opeth, Rogga from Paganiser, and even a cello solo.

Crimson and Crimson II tell the tale of a post-apocalyptic future where humans are unable to breed (Yes, it was written before Children of Men!), and the rise and fall of power over the people, and the superstitions involved. This storyline is perfectly complemented by the music, which varies in emotion accordingly.

This compilation sums up the progression of Edge of Sanity perfectly. My only gripes about this album are the inclusion of two tracks from the 1997 album Cryptic (which did not feature Swanö at all), and that some of the earlier material could have been replaced with a few more off Infernal!