Maximum Metal Rating Legend

Dismember - The God That Never Was - 2006 - Candlelight Records

Track Listing1. The God That Never Was 2. Shadows of The Mutilated 3. Time Heals Nothing 4. Autopsy 5. Never Forget, Never Forgive 6. Trail of The Dead 7. Phantoms (Of The Oath) 8. Into The Temple of Humiliation 9. Blood for Paradise 10. Feel The Darkness 11. Where No Ghost is Holy

God bless the boys of Dismember, those old leathernecks that continue to wave the flag for those speedbound fist raisers, the old school traditionalists firmly embedded within the death metal community. This is Dismember, who have jumped leaps and bounds from their limited original moniker of "little Entombed". This is Dismember, one of the pioneers for Swedish death metal and an outstanding charter member of the inner circle. This is Dismember, this is the the high octane, high caliber, high performance machine that sets the standards for others to follow. And they have returned....

The group follow up their fantastic offering "Where Ironcrosses Grow" with this rolling terrorizer of traditional Dismember sound. Yes indeed the Swedes have returned in glorious fashion with their new slab entitled "The God That Never Was", a hulking mammoth beast that sees the group holding their pioneer true sound in an iron tight grasp. Once again drummer Fred Estby produces the affair, giving extra attention to the group's stripped down raw sound. In a lot of ways this new record is a return to the early days of the band, with albums like "Indecent & Obscene" and "Like An Ever-Flowing Stream" an obvious earmark for the band to closely watch. Once again the group find themselves with a different bassist, this recording featuring Tobias Christiansson, who coincidentally has already fled the group.

The solid Dismember sound is clearly evident here, with fast, quick punches like "Trail Of The Dead" and "Shadows Of The Mutilated" sounding as if it was 1991 all over again. The fast cuts that are present demonstrate that punk sensibility that seems to be such a uniform approach for almost every record. Perhaps my favorite element of this band is the slower tempo tracks that involve the most wicked and sadistic sonic grooves. You'll find plenty of that on cuts like "Into The Temple Of Humiliation" and "Feel The Darkness", both of which contain bottom heavy slabs of monster hook and groove. The group even go as far as showcasing some excellent leads and melody, both of which are a huge part of the stellar instrumental "Phantoms Of The Oath". You will also hear a slightly different track from the guys in "Where No Ghost Is Holy", an ode if you will to the more Swedish melodic death sound.



--EC 2.16.06