Sonrise

The style performed by Schaliach was variously described as doom metal,[2][3] death metal,[1] death-doom,[4] Gothic metal,[5] black metal,[5] melodic death metal,[6] and progressive metal.[7] The guitar playing by Ole Børud — likened to a "metal symphony" — is strongly influenced by classical music and was compared to that of Metallica as well as Dream Theater, Threshold, Shadow Gallery, and Teramaze.[2][4][6][7] The instrumental track "Coming of the Dawn" is accompanied by piano and string instruments.[2] The overall sound of the album was described as similar to Amorphis.[4][6]

The lyrics on the album are explicitly Christian, drawing heavily from the Bible and referencing Christ and the love of God for all of humanity.[2][4] "You Maintain" is written from the perspective of God pleading with an unbeliever, and "A Father's Morning" from the perspective of God speaking to a wayward Christian.[1] Though an instrumental, "In Memoriam" is dedicated to unborn children who were aborted.[1]

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Matt Morrow	90/100[1]
The Phantom Tollbooth	[4] [7]
Rock Hard	4/10[5]

Sonrise was received very well by most critics. Alex Cantwell from Chronicles of Chaos described the record as "excellent doom with a distinct Norwegian flavour."[3] HM writer Matt Morrow in their review of the 2005 re-issue rated the album 90/100 and called the album a "classic". They expressed the opinion that while Sonrise "may not have been the best the genre has ever seen, but the emotion that a band with a brutally heavy sound and growled vocals could convey was quite impressive."[1] Josh Spencer from The Phantom Tollbooth rated that album four-and-a-half out of five, calling the duo "astounding!"[4] While they felt that the production value and overall sound was not at the same level as Amorphis's Tales From the Thousand Lakes, it was great enough for them.[4] Shari Lloyd, also of The Phantom Tollbooth, said that they were not disappointed, and they gave the album a four out of five.[7] Lloyd stated that though growled vocals are not usually their style, on Sonrise they did not mind them since the music was the main focus.[7] Rock Hard was far less favorable to the album, rating it 4/10.[5] They considered Schaliach boring and that the sound on the album was muffled and mashed together.[5]

• Peter Dalbakk - vocals, rhythm guitar on "A Whisper from Heaven" and "Coming of the Dawn"
• Ole Børud - guitar, bass, drums, additional vocals