With a lineup including Jocke Gothberg (ex-Marduk) and Jesper Stromblad (In Flames), we should be able to expect a good album. While some didn’t like Dimension Zero’s debut, I thought it was ok. I did expect more from their next release and they have delivered. This is a collection of pretty standard death metal songs but they do have some nice touches. Stromblad plays bass on the album for some reason but his style can be felt in the guitar work as well. Adding to the In Flames influence, Anders Friden produced the album at his own studios which are adjacent to Studio Fredman.

The song “Dimension Zero” opens the album and is one of the least melodic influenced songs on the disc. The guitars are crunchy and punchy, adding a raw feeling and power to the track. It sounds similar to the guitar sound of Reroute to Remain without excessive detuning. After a while, it does get repetitive though. The choruses have a cleaner guitar sound that hearkens to Melodeath style guitars work. “Immaculate” is an example of this motif. Aside from the vocals, it is very At the Gates influenced. This formula is used for the whole album and this is the problem. Each song is good but it feels as though the same song was written and re-written several times for this album. This is not an attack on the quality of the songs but there was just not enough variation. After several listens, it becomes hard to discern between certain songs. For example, “Into And Out Of Subsistence” and “Killing My Sleep” are quite homologous. Gothberg’s vocals are well suited for this style of music. I was never a big Marduk fan but this seems a good application of his vocals. The bass is strong on the album thanks to Stromblad and Daniel Antonsson provides the solid guitar tracks.

These are only minor flaws as the album does shine through most of these flaws. The craft of creating a good album is not lost here and we have a classic death metal release that will hold its own. It is possible that In Flames fans will not enjoy this album much because it is significantly harder than In Flames normally is. You could compare Dimension Zero to say Carnal Forge much more easily than you could to In Flames. They do possess the melody but the music is much more brutal than Melodeath usually is. Regardless, fast-paced masterful works like “The Final Destination” should not be overlooked. These songs are good no matter what influences or styles are brought to the table. Dimension Zero have recorded a good album and I don’t dispute this. Breaking out of the image of In Flames is a mighty task. I think they are faring much better than Anders Friden’s Passenger project but there is no way they can dodge the ever-present and undeniable shadow that looms overhead. This is a shame since the album is quite good.