DISMEMBER, long-running bearers of the flag for righteous death metal return, putting many of the genre’s young guns to shame. Formed in ’88, these cats certainly haven’t lost anything with age. All around, the musicianship is tight and impeccable. My hands blister just hearing the merciless blast beat drum rhythms contained herein.

Commenting on individual tracks here is quite pointless, as the whole record blends into one brutal, 200+ bpm musical massacre. I did notice the tasteful, MAIDENesque-guitar work on “Autopsy,” and the nice shuffle beat switch-up in “Phantoms (of the Oath).” As much as I (surprisingly) didn’t mind the cookie monster vocal delivery on here, my favorite track still has to be the instrumental “Into the Temple of Humiliation.” Here, the band’s classic metal influences are the most evident. For a minute, I thought I was listening to some long-lost sequel to MAIDEN’s “Phantom of the Opera.”

There isn’t really much else to say. If you dig death metal, or if you are a peripheral fan of the genre like me, you could do a helluva lot worse than this disc. So turn this mother up full blast, and get ready to punch somebody out.

- Broadbent

OFFICIAL SITE: www.dismember.se

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