Damn, Swedish death metal veterans Dismember are certainly back with a vengeance on this latest self-titled, rip-roarin' platter 'o' brutality. Dismember is old school Swedish death metal, nothing more, nothing less, as the band seems to have channelled the late 80's/early 90's sound perfectly here, complete with ultra distorted guitar riffs, effective vocal growls, and pounding drums. Guitarwise, the team of David Blomqvist and Martin Persson have done a great job here, combining elements from Iron Maiden, Slayer, Death, Entombed, and Morbid Angel (not a bad bunch huh?) into these tracks, giving each of these songs a real punch as far as the rhythms, leads, and dual harmonies go. In fact, the dual harmony leads on "Under A Bloodred Sky" are simply marvelous, evoking not only Maiden, but also Thin Lizzy, early In Flames, and At the Gates. Tunes like "The Hills Have Eyes" and "Legion" almost have a Slayer-meets-Deicide type of pummeling intensity to them, while "No Honor In Death" and "Tide of Blood" are just solid, grueling old school death metal, the former with some great doomy guitar riffs permeating the mix underneath the blasphemous screams & growls from Matti Karki. The CD closer "Black Inn" is a 6+ minute mini-epic that simply screams vintage death metal, complete with deliciously distortion saturated guitars, breakneck drum & bass patterns, and Karki's evil barks and growls.
There's nothing fancy or flashy about this latest from Dismember, just prime old school styled death metal. A lot of younger bands today would be well advised to give this release a listen, as I'm sure they could learn a lot about what extreme metal is all about from these Swedish veterans. Recommended.
Track Listing
- Death Conquers All
- Europa Burns
- Under A Bloodred Sky
- The Hills Have Eyes
- Legion
- Tide Of Blood
- Combat Fatigue
- No Honor In Death
- To End It All
- Dark Depths
- Black Sun
Printer Friendly Page
Send to a Friend
