Dismember - Dismember
Regain Records - RR118 - 18 February 2008
By Paddy Walsh
After the success of 06's
The God That Never Was,
Dismember once again return to blow a wad of old-school Swedish death metal all over our eagerly gaping ears. Their uncompromising ability to consistently deliver the goods - despite the absence of any meaningful progression in their sound over the years - is to their credit, and
Dismember continues this trend with consummate ease. As soon as 'Death Conquers All' springs out of the starting gates with frantic enthusiasm it's immediately apparent that
Dismember will be something of a treat for afficionados of the old school Swedish sound. Its mid-paced midsection is beset by ominous churchbells, and as an opener this is perfect - a rollicking death metal song that covers all the requisite
Dismember bases. 'Europa Burns' is something of a highlight, its frankly awesome riffs crawling along in a cavernous fashion whilst Matti Karki delivers a distinctly feral roar with aplomb.
Dismember have never been about the bells and whilstles, and their latest offering is no different. The gnarly riffing is both ferocious and disarmingly catchy in equal measure, with the excellent yet sparing use of melodicism a perfect embellishment to the omnipresent death metal on display. 'Under a Bloodred Sky' may chug along furiously, but its latter half is beset by some very
Iron Maiden-esque lead work - a trick
Dismember have pulled in the past more frequently - and it works very well in this instance as an odd reprieve to the dirty death and roll that dominates their sound.
Dismember indeed features a variety of tempos and superbly strong songwriting, their skill and experience very evident throughout, yet the album wilts slightly in its final third with 'Black Sun' ending the album in a disappointingly bog-standard fashion. Despite this,
Dismember are a band still capable, after all these years, of churning out a remarkably consistent set of excellent and entertaining old school Swedish death metal that's just as worthy of your attention as the
Bloodbaths of this world.
Official Dismember Website
Official Dismember MySpace
Official Regain Records Website
