Sol Niger Within is the first release by Fredrik Thordendal's Special Defects, a side project of Meshuggah guitarist Fredrik Thordendal. The album was originally released in 1997 on the Ultimate Audio Entertainment label. The album was remixed and re-released by Ultimate Audio Entertainment and Relapse Records in 1999 under the title "Sol Niger Within version 3.33". The re-release contains two bonus tracks but omits several parts of the original version. The album is a combination of complex jazz fusion elements influenced directly by guitarist Allan Holdsworth's unique guitar style and overall musical approach. The disc comprises one long song, which is indexed into 29 tracks. The length of each section ranges from around 20 seconds to 2–3 minutes. The album contains several references to the work of Meshuggah. The last track, "Tathagata", is very similar in melody to the ending of the song "Sublevels" from Destroy Erase Improve. The album features drums by Morgan Ågren and keyboards by Mats Öberg, members of the Swedish Mats/Morgan Band.

Track listing

Original 1997 release

Antanca – The End (The Uncompounded Reality)

3.33 release

Personnel

Trivia