Review Summary: Another solid release by Dismember
When it comes to the 90’s Swedish death metal scene, not many bands even held a candle to Dismember in their prime. 1991’s
Like an Everflowing Stream was essentially a death metal classic, filled to the brim with some of the most brutal and melodic riffs the genre has to offer combined with diverse songwriting helping each individual track stand alone from the rest. Unfortunately, since then Dismember have been pretty hit or miss. While they never released an outright
bad album, nothing they did after
Like an Everflowing Stream really compared, mainly because they set the bar so high not even they could top it. Their fifth album
Hate Campaign was their most stale release yet, with almost every song sounding like a rehashed version of something they’ve already done. Their seventh album
The God That Never Was was somewhat of a return to form for the band, but the album bridging the two, 2004’s
Where Ironcrosses Grow, usually gets passed off as
Hate Campaign pt. 2, or another ‘miss’ on Dismember’s part. In reality,
Where Ironcrosses Grow showed the band slowly but surely getting back on track with an incredibly solid release.
On a song-by-song level, the tracklist follows a relatively straightforward pattern, going from dissonant (Where Ironcrosses Grow) to melodic (Forged with Hate) back to dissonant (Me-God) to melodic again (Tragedy of the Faithful), etc. It becomes a bit too predictable a few tracks in, but the alternating of styles does manage to keep the album fresh during a full listen. It’s hard to call any song on
Where Ironcrosses Grow ‘melodic,’ though, seeing as how the touches of melody are usually used for chorus hooks as opposed to being the main focus of any given song (like the ever-so-fruity ‘Patrol 17’ off
Hate Campaign). Of course, the straight up death metal aspects are as solid as ever. Two-and-a-half minute opener ‘Where Ironcrosses Grow’ is as fast as it is abrasive. ‘Forged with Hate’s opening gun shot sample is very much representative of the relentless riffs found throughout. Closer ‘As I Pull the Trigger,’ my personal favorite, contains the ferocity of the other tracks while also having a wonderful use of the harmonic minor scale in its infectious chorus. Dismember’s signature Iron Maiden-esque riffs aren’t nearly as prominent as they were on previous efforts, which is good since they were getting a bit tiresome ever since
Massive Killing Capacity, but when they do appear (second half of ‘Tragedy of the Faithful’) they’re very tastefully done.
The production, while not as perfect as it was on
Like an Ever Flowing Stream, is well above average for a death metal album. It’s easily their darkest sounding album to date. The guitars have a certain sludgy tone to them making the massive riffs sound almost muddy, but the overall gloominess of the sound compliments the doomy passages in ‘Me-God’ and ‘Children of the Cross’ quite nicely. Unfortunately the bass gets lost in the mix, but that’s to be expected of a death metal band - the guitars and drums are the real powerhouses, and as always, they’re on top of their game. The riffs are much tighter than on the bland
Hate Camapign, and the songwriting in general is much stronger. While most songs on
Hate Campaign flew by as half-realized ideas, each song on
Where Ironcrosses Grow feels like, well, an actual song. What really holds this album back is predictability. We already knew Dismember can provide brutal riffs, but what’s missing from
Where Ironcrosses Grow are the risks. It feels like Dismember were still in their comfort zone, every song treading along one after another, nothing really blowing the listener away like ‘Override of the Overture’ or ‘Dreaming in Red’ did on
Like an Everflowing Stream and
Indecent & Obscene respectively. The album does have its little surprises though, like the nut-crunching breakdown of ‘Chasing the Serpent,’ but it never reaches the same heights as their first two albums. However, when it comes to straight up death metal riffage, not many do it as well as Dismember, and if anything that reason alone makes
Where Ironcrosses Grow worth a listen.
Recommended Tracks:
- Where Ironcrosses Grow
- Forged with Hate
- Tragedy of the Faithful
- As I Pull the Trigger
