Review Summary: And you thought that bands would become bad with time? Then you were totally wrong, Dismember is here to show you how to play death metal.
It is quite amazing how long metal musicians can hold on to their music.
Dismember is one such band, created in 1988
Dismember became one of Sweden’s proudest death metal band which has been one the road ever since. Alongside
Dismember there were also bands like
Entombed and
At The Gates, even today
Dismember carries the death metal banner with pride. This band has been active in almost twenty years and they have released classics
Pieces and
Like An Ever Flowing Stream.
Dismember has sometimes been described as a melodic death metal band but for whose who thought that I have to say no,
Dismember is not melodic death metal. But I still have to counter strike my statement,
Dismember actually uses melodies in their material, mainly in their solos but also sometimes in their riff lines. But when you listen to
Dismember and compare them to bands like
Dark Tranquillity or
In Flames you will notice that
Dismember is far more brutal and aggressive.
Dismember would sound more familiar to bands like
At The Gates or perhaps
Unleashed. Either way,
Dismember plays heads down death metal which is very heavy, quite brutal, aggressive and intensive.
In 2006
Dismember released their ninth album called
The God That Never Was. Even after nearly twenty years
Dismember still knows how to kick serious a**.
The God That Never Was is a very heavy death metal album. The music in this album is raw, very intense and just plain awesome. You got some fast shredding tracks like the opening/title track
The God That Never Was,
Trail Of The Dead and
Blood For Paradise. You will encounter some heavier and somewhat slower songs like
Autopsy,
Feel The Darkness and
Into The Temple Of Humiliation. I mentioned that
Dismember actually uses melodies from time to time so if you want some songs with small splashes of melody then you should go for
Time Heals Nothing which also has a quite dark atmosphere to it, you also have
Where No Ghost Is Holy. Did you know that death metal bands sings about death, violence, anti-religion, war, hate and stuff like that? Just kidding, I can only say that
Dismember marches on with typical themes which are typical for the death metal genre.
Matti Karki really shines in this album with his rampaging vocals. I think that he has a special singing voice, he sounds quite aged/old but his vocals still has a brutal and harsh choked sound. It really adds a lot to the albums raw and thick sound.
Martin Blomqvist and
Martin Persson really kicks the s*** out of the guitars! These are some of the best death tremolo riffs I have heard in a while. The riffs might become a bit repetitive but these riffs are very effective, bone crushing, intense, precise, catchy and varied. Some of these riffs actually have a melodic structure at times but it is in the guitar solos you will notice the melodies. The guitar solos are all more or less melodic; they are still well executed with great skill and precision, plus, the solos works as a fine contrast to the brutal music.
Tobias Christiansson is unfortunately not the one who shines with his instrument. His bass only plays alongside the rhythm guitars so there are no standouts; instead the bass adds a great backup sound the crunchy guitars.
Fred Estby, drummer and main engine in the band. You might not experience a huge variety of drum patterns from him in this album. There are lots of mid-paced drum patterns, or ‘’thrash drumming’’ as like I call it. His drum performance has a decent variety of intensive drumming and slower drum parts but there is a small lack of variety here if you ask me.
I think that should be enough, there you have my full opinion about this death metal album. My first
Dismember album was
Maximum Killing Capacity, I enjoyed it but I wanted something with a bit more fire and energy. Then a friend tipped me about this album so I got it, but it took me some time to get used to it. First I thought it felt very repetitive, I stopped listen to it for a while but then I just had to give it one more chance, I loved it. The things I like about this album are the guitars because they deliver a crunchy, crushing and raw sound. A second thing I enjoy is the vocals from
Matti Karki, he might be an old geezer now but his voice really stands out in this album. One last thing I enjoy is the use of melodies that the band uses, some riff lines has a slight melodic touch while the melodic solos creates a nice contrast to the brutal music. The only thing I didn’t really enjoyed was the drum performance, even if the songs flows well I still think that
Tobias Christiansson could’ve used some more variety in his drumming. My last words: If you like any kind of death metal, technical, brutal, old-school, modern you should listen to this album.
The God That Never Was is one of those albums that has an old-school feel even if it is made in modern times, like
Midvinterblot from
Unleashed. This is an album that would suit every death metal head out there, if you see this album then grab it before someone else does.
Positives
+ A very energetic, raw and devastating death metal album
+ Lots of awesome tremolo riffs and melodic solos
+ Great vocal performance
+ Very good variety among the songs
Negatives
- Can be a bit repetitive at times
Recommended Favourites
-- The God That Never Was
-- Blood For Paradise
-- Time Heals Nothing
-- Autopsy
Only veterans as Dismember can create music like this, this album will be given a rock sold 4/5.
