Trying to stay in shape I play football every weekend with a bunch of friends from all ages and walks of life. Once in a while we play “young guys” vs “old guys”, although not very often. That game is usually pretty spirited with us, older folks, trying to show the young and spry that there is still some juice left in us, and those moves we learned waaay back are still relevant today. My body hurts in the worst possible way after such escapades, but nothing beats the feeling when next morning gingerly climbing out of bed I think “man, did we show them yesterday or what”.

Nothing and nobody embodies old–school more than Dismember, the legendary long-running Swedish death metal act. I never accepted the Baby Entombed label, always giving my preference to Estby, Karki and Co. Too bad the guys would not grace us with the album for four long years between Hate Campaign and Where Ironcrosses Grow. (Or is it actually good, since long wait brought not only anticipation, but allowed the band to stay fresh?) Either way, Where Ironcrosses Grow hit so many right buttons with me, it floated quite high to the top of my list in 2004. The long wait probably had me going just a touch more apeshit than I should have (besides I remember having a mean cold at the time I got the album), so I may have overquoted it just a bit. To the rescue come Dismember, having cut the wait in half, delivering another chunk of Stockholm spite in the form of The God That Never Was.

Some bands are a model of consistency (Kataklysm reviewed last week is one of them), you always know what you are going to get. Is that good or bad? Dismember is a rare case when “same” stands for “good”. In the case of Dismember I would be shocked if we heard violins, female vocals or much in a way of experimentation. The God That Never Was is no different. I could have been blindfolded, my ears partially closed with earplugs, the minute the title track hits you know it is Dismember. That special guitar sound Dismember first helped to invent, then perpetuate, is unmistakable. Bass heavy, thick, distorted, buzzsaw sound penetrates every song on the album. I guarantee that if you are a fan of such guitars, you will like the album based on that sound and production alone. If you are not, well, maybe you can try relating to the prominent melodic side of Dismember, with Maiden style leads splattered all over the Shadows of the Mutilated and Time Has Nothing. The closer Where No Ghost is Holy is no less fast and furious, every lead having passion and purpose. The instrumental Phantoms (of the Oath) is supermelodic as well, broken down in lead and headbang sections.

It seems that the band wanted to step up the NASTY factor on The God That Never Was. Many songs are breakneck speedy bacchanalia, the riffs of Never Forget, Never Forgive and Blood for Paradise are almost mocking the listener. Where speed is ratcheted down, the band is going to dump on you dirt in buckets, pulling those intestines out slowly, one at a time, on Autopsy and ugly creepiness of Feel the Darkness.

Every band member in top form, Matti Karki letting out his gruff shouts, this album is another statement “we may be getting up in age, but we still know how to do this style best”. Those who had the guts to name their album aptly Death Metal back in a day are still more than relevant. Now, I have got to tame my fanboy attitude and score this baby so there is room left for the next time Dismember decides to rock my world.