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Soooo.... Jon's out of jail, and Maha Kali is the first new song released by the band in some... 8 years or so? The "band" is an overstatement, since he's the only original member left. Anyway, it's been a while since I listened to any Dissection, so I can approach the new material with slightly lower expectations than if I had had their older stuff on regular rotation. I remember hearing Maha Kali off the web back when it was leaked, and I wasn't really impressed. But it's not as much as the music being "crap" as it is not being Dissection. Gone is the blackened aspect of their earlier material, "Maha Kali" is more of a melodic death metal sound, in the more commercial sense that is. Taken strictly as such, it's not a bad song. A bit too polished for my taste, it almost has a "pop" feel to it (good thing Jon steered clear of clean vocals - except for a couple of short passages - otherwise this would really sound too commercial.) There are some background female vocals that have a bit of a far east tone to them. It fits the song, but it also really waters it down more. So, overall an OK song, but nothing to get excited about, and definitely not what one would have expected from Dissection. I guess we'll have to get over it. The question that remains is whether the next full length will be in the same vein, or if this is just a one-off thing. I suspect the former.

The second song is a re-recording of "Unhallowed". I can't say I recall the original much, it's been so long since I listened to "Storm of the Light's Bane". This one is a little more polished production-wise, but still sound a hell of a lot better than "Maha Kali" (that's not much of a challenge to begin with.) It's slightly more extreme than your average melodic death, and the vocals give it a more blackened feel. But you'll most likely want to stick with the original version.

The Dissection of the past is seemingly over. That was to be expected after such a long hiatus, and Jon's stay in the slammer which is bound to change someone. What seems to be their new sound will surely make them lose a good number of fans, but they'll also gain some who are into that more commercial sound. Personally I think I'll pass.