DISMEMBER - HATE CAMPAIGN (2000)

One of the coolest looking vinyls in my entire collection is this clear/yellow splatter LP of Hate Campaign from 2006 released by Night Of The Vinyl Dead Records.

Believe me there's a huge difference between a splatter vinyl done correctly compared to so many others I own. It looks even better in real life then on my picture.

Strangely this is the only LP ever released of the Hate Campaign record by Dismember.

This one is a limited release that's numbered to 500 copies it has 2 bonus tracks Live To Hate and Unhealing Scars both great songs and a nice addition to the record.

Included the original Nuclear Blast CD mainly because of the cover artwork differences I do prefer the Night Of The Vinyl Dead Records vinyl cover artwork.

Usually don't like whenever bands/labels messes with the original artwork. But I would never pass on this amazing Dismember LP because of that.

Many changes within the Dismember camp for the bands 5th full length album Hate Campaign.

This does not feature the classic line-up: Matti Kärki, Fred Estby, David Blomqvist, Richard Cabeza and Robert Sennebäck.

This was also the first time the band didn't record in the Sunlight Studios where they had been recording since the Reborn In Blasphemy (1990) demo. If you know your Dismember history another Swedish Death Metal band Carnage should sound familiar. Their debut and only record Dark Recollections (1990) was also recorded there.

Even if the man everyone associate Sunlight Studios with Tomas Skogsberg didn't produce their previous masterpiece Death Metal (1997). It was actually the Dismember drummer Fred Estby who produced that one at Sunlight Studios. Fred also produced Hate Campaign but in the Das Boot Studio that's located in Stockholm, Sweden.

Richard Cabeza left Dismember in 1998 and was replaced by the Swedish bassist Sharlee D'Angelo as a session/live member. He already then had a very impressive resume from working with bands like Mercyful Fate, King Diamond, Witchery etc.

Also no Robert Sennebäck (guitar) on this album that departed ways with Dismember in 1997 and was replaced with Magnus Sahlgren (Lake Of Tears etc.). He was a permanent member from 1998 to 2003. Hate Campaign were the only Dismember album that he and Sharlee played on.

Speaking about Night Of The Vinyl Dead Records they released another favorite vinyl release in my collection last year. That I use as a display piece in my living room Panzer Division Live by Marduk the tank shaped 7" LP.

There's a couple of more releases by Night Of The Vinyl Dead Records I would like to own but they are usually way up there in price also.

Not trying to sound like some elitist asshole collector but I only own 1st print Dismember vinyls. Yeah I’m that guy with some other bands also.

Now is this version of Hate Campaign technically a 1st print vinyl? It wasn’t released until 6 years after the original CD.

It’s definitely the first and only vinyl of Hate Campaign. So I say yes here and don’t consider that I am breaking my own rules.

If they ever decide to reissue the album on LP I might consider picking up a copy. Because even if I play approx 99.5% of all my vinyls, some that are 4 to 5 more expensive also, but with this one I want to keep it as pristine as possible.

Actually I'm only one vinyl away from having my Dismember 1st print LP collection completed are missing Where Ironcrosses Grow (2004). Also my copy of the Dismember (2008) album is just the picture disc vinyl version that I will upgrade someday.

Anyway I highly recommend the Hate Campaign album by the best Death Metal band of all time in my opinion to anyone that’s out for some excellent Swedish Dödsmetall.

DISMEMBER REUNITE FOR ONE GIG

Yesterday on the 14th of January it was announced that they would play one gig in Stockholm at the Scandinavian Deathfest that takes place in the 11th & 12th of October.

Fucking hell!! I'm still hyped some 30+ hours later! Haven't been this excited over something music related since Hekatomb by Funeral Mist was announced last year.

With the classic line-up also:

Matti Kärki on vocals
Fred Estby on drums
David Blomqvist on guitar
Robert Sennebäck on guitar
Richard Cabeza on bass

That’s what I always considered to be “the true Dismember”. Absolutely nothing against those other guys but... I mean just look at these classic releases that this line-up made together:

Like An Everflowing Stream LP 1991
Skin Her Alive 7” 1991
Pieces LP 1992
Indecent And Obscene LP 1993
Casket Garden MCD 1995
Massive Killing Capacity LP 1995
Misanthropic MCD 1997
Death Metal LP 1997

All first print vinyls on Nuclear Blast (missing the insert to one as you probably can see...) and the two MCD’s that are only available on standalone CD.

The songs from the MCD's are available on some reissue LP’s but with Dismember (I’m trying not to sound like some elitist collector asshole) being my favorite Death Metal band ever. I only want the original releases.

Have already told this story thousands of times how I got the Like An Everflowing Stream vinyl from my older sister in the mid 90’s. And me staring at those blood drenched members of Dismember in 1991 when I was 11 years old being completely mesmerized.

I know there were rumors last year about a reunion concert for their 30th anniversary. Just recently mentioned to a friend how bummed I was that it never happened Then this was announced yesterday and me being sick as a dog with a real man cold couldn’t be happier.

Some other great bands on the Deathfest also especially Unanimated. But Dismember could have played with Carola & Christer Sjögren and I still would attended.

Even if Like An Everflowing Stream will always be my favorite Dismember release I really hope they play a bunch of stuff from both Pieces and Indecent And Obscene. Being the original line-up I can't imagine them playing stuff from, although amazing, Dismember (2008) when Fred had left the band.

It's called "for one European exclusive" gig. My interpretation of that is they will do at least one more gig probably on some North American festival. All this just me speculating.

As far as Dismember returning to the scene permanently and do a full comeback I feel isn't going to happen. Last interview I read with Fred Estby he was living with his new girlfriend/wife (cannot remember) in or close to New York City and Richard Cabeza has resided in Texas for a long time.

Sure logistically it's easier nowadays thanks to the internet to interact with each other. Unanimated wrote a bunch of songs that way. So who know I really wish for it but realistically... We'll just have to wait and see. 

Cannot wait for October 2019 now! Already making up dream setlists in my head. Hope they open their set with either Dismembered or Override Of The Overture. Or maybe Soon To Be Dead or I Wish You Hell or Fleshless or Skinfather or Misanthropic or something very unusual for an opening Reborn In Blasphemy. Also what song will they end with?

I will speculate for days just on this subject...

THE SOMBERLAIN 25th ANNIVERSARY

Tomorrow is a very important day for the Black/Death Metal scene. Because on one Friday the 3rd of December 1993 an album was released on the Swedish label No Fashion Records by a band called Dissection. That record was for me the life changing The Somberlain.

In the spring of 1994 I started buying a new and short lived Swedish magazine called Metal Zone. For a couple of issues Jon Nödtveidt (guitar/vocals) did a few of reviews, wrote in the "Extreme Zone" did interviews with Bathory and Emperor etc.

Got really impressed with his writing. Metal Zone also did a interview with Jon from Dissection. You could say I was a fan even before I had heard The Somberlain just based on all the great texts he wrote and what he said in that interview.

Should mention that the Dissection drummer Ole Öhman wrote a couple of interviews with Carcass and At The Gates. Did reviews etc.

Jon and Ole wasn't apart of Metal Zone for more then a few issues and they didn't have nice things to say about the magazine that had covers with shit bands like Bon Jovi and Clawfinger. 

The hardest music that made the cover of it was probably Metallica, Pantera and Megadeth. It also had a bunch of AOR music articles so it wasn't the perfect magazine.

But if it wasn't for Jon's writing and that interview I probably wouldn't have heard Dissection until a couple of years later. Actually when I heard the name for the first time I thought they were some Cannibal Corpse sounding band not anything wrong about that but clearly they didn't sound anything like that.

When I came over a copy of The Somberlain in the summer of 1994 it was spectacular. I do still  remember the first time listening to it in my bedroom and being completely floored by the music. It was a new formula for me yet it felt like something that summoned up every inch of extreme Metal music.

Know about the ancient debate were Dissection a Death Metal band or a Black Metal band. This is probably going to piss off some younger readers but when a 18-20 year old tells me that Dissection is a Black Metal band period, just shut the hell up about a band and scene that existed long before you were even born. I'm not out to offend someone but sometimes you just had to experienced those days.

I think on The Somberlain the band has a much more Death Metal feel to it then on the more blackened Storm Of The Light's Bane (1995). Remember in the very first Dissection interview I read that Jon said they play Death Metal. Is any of this important? Well no. But also yes because it's a topic I can discuss for a very long time preferable with someone in my age as me or older.

For me Dissection lead me into Black Metal that the album was dedicated to Øystein "Euronymous" Aarseth (1968-1993) from "the cursed Mayhem" and the ties that the band had with other Black Metal bands in Scandinavia. Soon thereafter I bought Emperor, Marduk, Immortal etc. albums.


Anyway lets move on. The feeling I got when I
first got the record it was like something very personal something that "no one else" knew about of course there were thousands of people just like me.

But the feeling of knowing about how amazing Dissection was it felt like everyone should know. Soon everyone did know but for awhile I felt like a very "selected" is the best word I can describe it as.

The material on The Somberlain was written as far back as 1989 to 1992. The already mentioned Jon and Ole were joined in Dissection by the longtime bassist Peter Palmdahl (1989-97) and the amazing rythm guitarist John Zwetsloot (1991-94).

Everyone should know the Dissection history, that they had originated from the small Swedish town Strömstad (approx 6 300 people) near the Norwegian border.

Before The Somberlain the band had released the demo also as a 7" Into Infinite Obscurity (1991) on the French label Corpse Grinder Records. Also the demos The Grief Prophecy (1991); The Somberlain 4-song demo from 1992 and also the Promo '93 with Where Dead Angels Lie and my favorite cover song of all time Dissection's version of Elisabeth Bathory originally written by Tormentor.

In March of 1993 between the 1st to the 6th of that month they recorded their debut album in the Hellspawn/Unisound Studio with Dan Swanö. More about the production further down. The studio had already made a mark in the Swedish Death and Black Metal scene with bands I don't should have too mention.

The opening song Black Horizons was the newest track on the album the music was written by Nödtveidt & Zwetsloot in Oct. 92 and the lyrics was written by Nödtveidt a month before that. With its 8 min 10 sec Black Horizons is the longest song on the entire album. It starts of with a backward played phrase. Isn't until 2 min into the song that the vocals starts. The song itself sounds probably the most Black Metal like on the album, it has an acoustic guitar playing in parts of the song. Also that classic King Diamond/Heavy Metal scream done by producer Dan Swanö. A perfect opener and one of the best songs on this masterpiece. 

The title track The Somberlain was my favorite song back when I first started listening to Dissection. With that amazing opening guitar playing sure that Nödtveidt was a great songwriter but his guitar skills aren't talked about as often. In my book he's the 2nd best guitar player just behind Euronymous. Anyway The Somberlain is the second longest song on the album 7 min, it was written by Nödtveidt alone the music in June 92 and the lyrics December 91. If Dissection is to be associated with one song it's likely many will think of The Somberlain it's there anthem song one could say. Actually this song doesn't appear on the 4-song The Somberlain demo from 1992.

The instrumental Crimson Towers is "just" an acoustic guitar played by Zwetsloot alone who also wrote it. Out of the three instrumental songs I think it is the weakest.

The only song that Nödtveidt co-wrote music with bassist Peter Palmdahl was on the song A Land Forlorn. The music was written in June 92 the lyrics dates back to December 90. The band often played it live in the 90's and on The Rebirth of Dissection tour in 2004 but was dropped after that.

On some gigs in the 90's Heaven's Damnation was used as the opening song and with its fast paced start it suits for that. Even if I personally preferred the At the Fathomless Depths/Night's Blood opening. Anyway the entire Heaven's Damnation song was written in April 92 the music is another Nödtveidt & Zwetsloot co-written one.  with a great acoustic guitar which adds much to the mood of the song.

Another one they used to open gigs with was Frozen both in the 90's and also in 2005. The song was entirely written by Nödtveidt himself in December 91. It also appears first on The Somberlain demo from 1992. Definitely a fan favorite also, one of mine as well the verse when Jon sings:
"Tears in my eyes turns into fire
as where I belong
The cold within, it chills my skin,
my heart and soul
In ecstasy I shred myself
to release what's held within
In solitude I'm having my pride
I, Transylvanian son"
is just pure magic. It gets me every time I hear it and sends chills down my spine because it's so fucking brilliant.

The second instrumental song Into Infinite Obscurity is much better then the first one. This one dates back to 1991 and is on the Into Infinite Obscurity 7" that I wrote about earlier.

In the Cold Winds Of Nowhere was another music collaboration by Nödtveidt & Zwetsloot written in Oct. 91. It also appeared on The Somberlain demo from 1992. This album doesn't have any flaws I would say but in my opinion it's the 2nd weakest song on the record. But don't get me wrong! The song is something few bands only could've imagined to write in their entire career.

Only music written by both drummer Ole Öhman and Nödtveidt is on The Grief Prophecy/Shadows Over A Lost Kingdom. The song Shadows Over A Lost Kingdom dates all the way back to November 1989 the same year that Dissection started. It also appeared on Into Infinite Obscurity 7" that version is of course completely different both are great but I do believe that I prefer the 7" version a bit more. At least today on the 3rd December of 2018 but it could change. I'm very glad they included it on the compilation The Past Is Alive (The Early Mischief) (1997) that Necropolis Records put out.

Like I wrote The Somberlain is a flawless album and I would not change anything. But the weakest song of the non-instrumental ones is in my opinion Mistress of the Bleeding Sorrow. It's of course still great also I think that the version from The Somberlain demo from 1992 sounds a little better. It's more raw and harsh of course then this version, yet again very glad it's on The Past Is Alive.

The instrumental by Zwetsloot Feathers Fell ends of this masterpiece and it's the best of the 3 instrumental songs he composed. I often used this one as an ending song on many my mix cassette tapes back in the day. If it had 41 seconds left on a side it was a great way to fit another song onto them. Actually yet again I do prefer demo version with vocals and drums it's 51 seconds and was also used to end cassette tapes with. But both versions are genius so you can't go wrong with either of them.

And that's all the songs on The Somberlain like most debut records it's a lot of "old" demo songs re-recorded. The Past Is Alive does include many but not all of them, but there's been reissued versions of the album and deluxe ones that fixes that if one wants all those songs. But this post is about the 1993 version of The Somberlain the one I grew up listening to.

The production by Dan Swanö was truly amazing. The Somberlain set a new standard for MANY other bands in the scene. Also got to mention the classic amazing cover artwork done by the legendary Kristian "Necrolord" Wåhlin.

Got to do a comparison with the follow-up album Storm Of The Light's Bane that was released almost two years later on Nuclear Blast. I often say it's my favorite Dissection album and my 2nd favorite album of all time. Only beaten by De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas by Mayhem.

Well how much better is really Storm Of The Light's Bane? Extremely little in my opinion when I listen to The Somberlain all memories comes back and I almost change my mind which is the better one.

Many bands even old ones adopted the Dissection style of melodic Death Metal and a ton of newer ones like Naglfar, Vinterland, Gates Of Ishtar etc. It almost got ridiculous with how many Swedish melodic Death Metal with hints of Black Metal popped up.

The style however isn't what I really enjoy except for the records by Dissection, Unanimated and Dawn there's very few melodic Death Metal bands that I like. When done properly it's amazing but take a band like Vinterland their only record is nowadays are praised as something genius. Back then me and my friends used to hate and laugh at all "Dissection clone" bands. I still do that!

When Jon and Vlad was arrested in December of 1997 for murder I was devastated for my own selfish reasons because it meant no more Dissection. At least it felt like that Jon would be doing 16 years in prison or something like that. Being 17 years old at the time and being a huge fan I was truly gutted.

We saw the Live Legacy release in 2003 recorded at Wacken Open Air of 1997 after the murder of Josef. The recording had already circled in the scene and it was released as a bootleg called Frozen In Wacken (1999).

What about Reinkaos (2006)? No thanks... I think it was great that Jon did the Rebirth of Dissection got a new lineup for the band together and did tours. However the songs on Reinkaos sucks... The sound, production, songwriting, arrangements are all terrible.

Sure I think that Maha Kali is a great song even if it sounded quite dated like something from 1996-97 by another band. Other then that its just boring sounding songs on that album. I've tried MANY times and it never gets any better. Actually don't even own a copy of it for myself anymore.

The Somberlain will always be remembered for years to come even at its 50th anniversary it will be regarded as one of the best albums of its time.

Anyway thanks if you read the whole text for a life changing record in this 38 year old man life. 

NECROPHOBIC - MARK OF THE NECROGRAM (2018)

on a gatefold vinyl released on Century Media that also comes with a double sided poster. One horizontal and one vertical a really nice addition to this release.

Next year Necrophobic will have their 30th anniversary but these guys show no sign of slowing down. In fact I think that Mark Of The Necrogram is better then both their two previous albums Womb Of Lilithu (2013) and Death To All (2009). And those two are really great.

The release of the EP Pesta (2017) with the title track of that 2-song EP was a clear indication that the album was going to be great. But I really didn’t think it would be as excellent as it final product proved to be.

The production and the sound on Mark Of The Necrogram is another amazing thing. It was recorded with Fredrik Folkare (Unleashed, Firespawn etc.) at the Chrome Studio. That’s a really great location for many releases. Also got to mention the astonishing cover art done by the legendary Kristian “Necrolord” Wåhlin. I don't think I have to mention all the album cover art he has had his hands on throughout the years.

The album is great throughout but some of my favorites are Mark of the Necrogram; Odium Caecum; Tsar Bomba; Pesta; Requiem For A Dying Sun; From the Great Above to the Great Below and the ending instrumental Undergången.

A bit off-topic maybe. But... I always despised whenever someone says that “this band are the Dissection of today” or "continuing the legacy of Dissection". There will never another band like Dissection!!! There is this band that has been called that for quite some time. I don't think they should be mentioned in the same sentence as Dissection.

But if someone says that about Necrophobic (or Unanimated) they will get a free pass. Once at least. I'm probably guilty of it also on some occasion... Anyway that’s how good the Blackened Death Metal of Necrophobic is and has been for many years now.

Will have to fit Mark Of The Necrogram somewhere on my top-?? of 2018. The competition is murder this year so we'll see where it finally lands. My top-5 is pretty much set already but what happens after that we'll just have too see.

An album you definitely should have in your collection this year. Also a great introduction to the amazing world of Necrophobic.

MY 3 FAVORITE UNLEASHED ALBUMS...

...will probably forever always be Where No Life Dwells (1991); Shadows In The Deep (1992) and Across The Open Sea (1993). All are the original Century Media CD releases.

Would rank the albums in that order of release also. Though that wasn’t always the case. The first album by Unleashed I bought was Shadows In The Deep and it was for most of the 90’s my favorite record of theirs.

But that has changed throughout the years. It’s actually the same case as with many other bands of the early amazing Swedish Death Metal scene. Have discovered that the debut is my favorite album by lots of those bands. You can definitely hear the young musicians being so passionate with their music in this “new” Metal genre.

The debut from 1991 Where No Life Dwells is amazing throughout. So that makes it hard to pick out any favorite songs.  A classic timeless one and must have Death Metal album. Should really get this one on LP even if I'm in no hurry.

Remember I made my mom drive me to a shopping center outside town in the early 90’s (probably at least 1 hour back & forth). Just so that I could buy my first Unleashed CD Shadows In The Deep.

I played that CD to death at the time. Many amazing songs like The Final Silence; The Immortals; Shadows in the Deep; Onward Into Countless Battles etc. I also really enjoyed the cover of what became and is my favorite Venom song Countess Bathory at the time. Even if the original is so much better. I think that Shadows In The Deep is a bit more uneven then the debut nowadays. Songs like A Life Beyond; Crush The Skull and Land Of Ice isn't on par with the others but all in all an amazing album.

Across The Open Sea was a bit of a letdown I thought at first. That soon changed and it was for a long time my second favorite Unleashed album. It hasn’t aged as well as the two others I think but it’s a very nostalgic record for me and I really enjoy it.

I think the sound and production isn't as good as on the two previous albums. Also some songs like I Am God; Captured and even the one they made a video for The One Insane I've never really enjoyed. There's some amazing ones though like To Asgaard We Fly; Open Wide; Execute Them All; Forever Goodbye (2045) etc. The butchering of the Judas Priest classic song Breaking The Law isn't one of them...

Was a huge fan of Unleashed in 90’s before I got lost all in Black Metal they were my 3rd favorite Swedish Death band behind Dismember and Entombed. They also made me interested in Nordic mythology, vikings and got me to wear a Thor's Hammer pendant.

Blind bought Victory (1995) at release and still to this day I cannot stand that album. I still own it and enjoy maybe 1 or 2 songs. Ever since that record all the Unleashed albums has been hit like Midvinterblot (2006) and Odalheim (2012) or miss like Warrior (1997) and As Yggdrasil Trembles (2010).

These 3 records in this post will always be the most special Unleashed albums for me.

MY TWO FAVORITE NECROPHOBIC RELEASES

will probably always be these two albums. The Nocturnal Silence (1993) here on a 2018 reissue vinyl on Hammerheart Records and the Satanic Blasphemies (2009) one is a reissue vinyl from 2011 on Floga Records.

"Det var bättre förr" is Swedish for "it used to be better" it just sounds so much better in my native tongue then in English. That's actually why I wrote this whole Necrophobic post in Swedish on Instagram @herr_perdition. Got my point got across much better that way. I believe at least?

But we'll return to the "det var bättre förr" statement later in this post.

In the mid 90's Necrophobic really didn't mean anything for me. The only release I had was a cassette-tape of The Nocturnal Silence recorded from a CD that a friend owned. Didn't hear the greatness of it back then and I didn't play it often. I just considered them as another band in an already overpopulated Swedish Death/Black Metal scene.

The only thing I really cared about was that the Dark Funeral guitarist David "Blackmoon" Parland (1970-2013) once had been original member when Necrophobic started back in 1989. He was a member with the band until 1996, so he participated on The Nocturnal Silence, all 3 demos before the album and both EP's The Call (1993) and Spawned By Evil (1996). He also made a very short return in the year 2000.

When me and my friend would discuss music of the harder kind in the mid to late 90's Necrophobic was a band I often would refer to as "why do they even bother". What I meant with that was I didn't hear any potential to them ever be something within the scene. Sure it's fun playing music, touring, record and release albums. There's nothing wrong with that at all!

They were signed to Black Mark Production and as everyone knows if you weren't Bathory on that label well then you're not Bathory. I just felt Necrophobic were in a weird spot in the scene.

Necrophobic toiled on during the 90's and released two more albums Darkside (1997) and The Third Antichrist (1999) before those also the rather boring EP Spawned By Evil with a bunch of covers of Venom, Slayer and Bathory.

Think I just listened to those two albums once at a record store in my hometown back when they were released. The production and music I thought sounded weak back then. That was also recorded in Sunlight like The Nocturnal Silence.

When they signed with the Swedish label Regain Records and released the album Hrimthursum in 2006 it was like something had happened with Necrophobic.

Had they finally sold their souls to the Devil? Either way it was a really an amazing album. Maybe they just got a lucky break? But the follow-up to that one Death To All (2009) was also really great.

Also in 2009 the compilation album Satanic Blasphemies was released with two of their excellent demos. Slow Asphyxiation (1990) and Unholy Prophecies (1991) also their brilliant EP The Call (1992). It's worth buying the compilation just for that EP alone in my opinion but to get the demos just adds so much more value to this release.

After realizing that Necrophobic were a force to be recon with I searched out and revisited both the Darkside and The Third Antichrist albums and found them to be really enjoyable. Sure they ain't as good as the others I mentioned but both are definitely worth your time and money.

But back to the "det var bättre förr" statement. How many bands within the early Swedish Death Metal scene doesn't that apply to? I mean so many of my old favorite bands in the genre like Grave, Unleashed, Entombed, Hypocrisy etc. had their best creative outlet and recorded the best albums in the beginning of their career.

While Necrophobic with their latest album Mark Of The Necrogram is a contender for my list of the best albums released in the amazing year that 2018 has been.

Even if their oldest material is my favorite period of Necrophobic. I'm really glad they kept going and that they did "bothered". All the success they have gotten now I would say that they earned it so much more then other more prominent bands that only live on former glory.

Will I do more posts in Swedish over at my Instagram? Well not in the near future but who knows if I feel it's right maybe.

This post was written a couple of months ago and it's not until now I finally decided to post this Swedish & English cross over one.

Anyway two most have albums, check out Necrophobic if you haven't already!

DISMEMBER - MASSIVE KILLING CAPACITY (1995)

Here on a 1st print vinyl released on Nuclear Blast in 1995. See my massive poster (approx 120 cm x 85 cm) included their 3-song MCD Casket Garden from 1995 for size comparison up in the right corner see picture further down the post. Really wished I had enough wall space to fit it somewhere in my apartment that's already have a bunch of Marduk and Funeral Mist posters among others.

The hard 3rd album is a thing in the Swedish Death Metal scene, according to me at least, or every record after Wolverine Blues (1993) by Entombed. 1995 was a weird year in the Death Metal scene the Black Metal scene however was still going steady upwards but in my book the Death scene wasn't the same after 1995. But we'll get to that.

The first time I heard anything from Massive Killing Capacity was when Headbanger's Ball did a great segment on the Dismember, Amorphis, Hypocrisy, Meshuggah & Benediction on the Nuclear Blast Tour in Stuttgart, Germany from the 10th of January in 1995. Of course I had it recorded on a VHS-cassette and watched it MANY times. Dismember performs the song Casket Garden and it sounded great so did Hypocrisy and Amorphis (a must see clip further down in the post). 

Dismember had released a 3-song MCD called Casket Garden in March of 1995 also made a video for the title track. It sounded VERY different from what they had done on their previous ones like on Like An Everflowing Stream (1991); the Pieces EP (1992) and Indecent And Obscene (1993).

Really liked the song and if I remember correctly Casket Garden was on some collection CD that came with a Swedish metal magazine that I was subscribed to at the time (still am).

It had a certain "grow" to it is the best way I can describe it and Matti Kärki's vocals had a different approach to the song then the growls of the earlier albums. Have always hated when people didn't hear the difference between the Dismember and Entombed sound it's like comparing Slayer with Metallica in my ears. But on the song Casket Garden I could hear that Dismember had been a somewhat inspired by the Wolverine Blues album.

Actually didn't buy the Casket Garden EP back in the day, got it now, but back then I thought EP's were to expensive. I rather just wait for the full album of course I made exceptions especially if they had many exclusive songs or if it was by a favorite band like Dissection, Marduk, Emperor etc.

I would like to mention before we get into Massive Killing Capacity that in 1995 when I was 15 years old I was still listening to everything from Marduk, Emperor, Slayer, Kreator, Unleashed, Ozzy, Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest etc. It wasn't until late 1995/early 1996 that everything had to be just Black Metal. What teenager do...

Anyway remember blind buying Massive Killing Capacity on release day and I FUCKING HATED IT... After the first song I Saw Them Die I thought well this can only get better, but then the next song Massive Killing Capacity sure it had some of those classic Dismember riffs but back then I thought it was worse then the opener.

On Frozen Fields I liked imminently, Crime Divine was a disaster and To The Bone was so fucking average about halfway into the album that I probably skipped over to the next one.

Wardead I actually liked even if this didn't sound like Dismember in my ears. Hallucigenia and Collection Of Blood both started alright but then I probably just skipped over them after a minute into the songs I wanted to hear Casket Garden to cleanse my ears with a good song.

The instrumental Nenia I thought had great parts in it sounded very much like the Metallica song Orion to me. But then the ending song... Life - Another Shape of Sorrow, yeah the title was kind of how I felt with this album. I was left feeling so cheated out of a great album, Dismember were after all one of my favorite bands at the time.

Remember being so disappointed on the whole album and cursed myself for not listening to the album at one of my local record stores before buying the damn thing. However being 15 years one had limited funds, I'll admit that I was spoiled enough to afford 3-5 CD's a month. But this must have been a month when I couldn't afford any more albums. So I "had" to listen to it because at least it was a new record that I spent money on it. 

So I skipped through all the "bad songs" that were many I thought back then. I had it on in the background while reading a magazine or doing whatever and didn't skip any songs. Actually the album started to grow on me I started to like more and more of the songs. It was still my least favorite Dismember album but at least I got my moneys worth in the end. Finally I really liked it and eventually thought it was an amazing album.

1995 was a weird year for many Death Metal bands. The North American ones like Death, Morbid Angel, Deicide etc. released brilliant classic records. While Swedish and other European bands released weak ones there's exceptions of course for instance At The Gates with their brilliant Slaughter Of The Soul album. 

In my opinion I don't think the Death Metal scene ever got the same after 1995 sure there were great "new" bands like Angelcorpse, Nile etc. but most of the timeless classic albums in the genre was released during or before 1995.

But back to Massive Killing Capacity I could understand if someone doesn't like this album because it's so different from their other 90's records. Give it another chance and give it time and you might just find the greatness that it really offers in the end. I would never have it on vinyl if I didn't think it was worth it.

Again sorry for the poor quality of my pictures I'll upgrade my iPhone 6S soon to something better.

UNANIMATED - ANNIHILATION (2018) EP

On Friday the 10th of August Unanimated released their new 4-song EP called Annihilation that's 9 years and 4 months after the previous album In The Light Of Darkness (2009). I bought the silver 12" vinyl version of the EP limited to 100 copies released on Century Media.

The LP is single sided so on the B-side there's a etched motive. It's the same as the one on the white page that says Black & Death Metal  kind of hard to see on my crappy iPhone 6S photos (will upgrade soon). I really appreciate the A4 even if it's printed on some cheap paper it's a nice thing to get with the LP release not just for the image but also bassist Richard Cabeza written words. More bands should do this.

Kind of a late post on this one got it a few days ago, but I’ve been extremely busy with working and other things. But wasn’t late to pre-ordering this version of Annihilation though, 5 min after I got the newsletter e-mail from the Century Media webstore when it was announced for pre-order I directly picked out this one.

This 4-song EP was probably my second most anticipated release (behind Funeral Mist) in the year of excellent Metal releases that 2018 truly has been. Never usually keep any my LP’s in the shrink wrapper but for this release I’ll be that guy with a partially “sealed copy” might remove it eventually.

Really nice design altogether on the Annihilation release. The title is kind of boring, just one word, not like the debut album with all its very long title. But who cares? It's the music that I'm after and about that:

Adversarial Fire is a great opening song of the EP. I had heard it when they played it live (on YouTube) earlier this year in Stockholm. It’s in the same vein as their previous album In The Light Of Darkness. On the second song From A Throne Below the tempo slows down and it’s another great one. Of Fire And Obliteration starts with an acoustic guitar when the vocals and electric guitar comes into the song I get goosebumps. Pure Black/Death Metal excellency! Last out is the title track Annihilation really great and I’m left wanting more after approx 21 min of Unanimated greatness.

Unanimated has grown musically since the 9 years that passed since their last release, there's more hints of Black Metal then the melodic Blackened Death Metal of Ancient God Of Evil (1995). Actually I would say that they took a very small inspiration from their debut In The Forest Of The Dreaming Dead (1993). But mostly it's a continuation on what they started with on In The Light Of Darkness

They recorded the EP in the Chrome Studios with Fredrik Folkare as producer he's also Unleashed guitarist and it sounds great. I do believe they will record the upcoming album in the same studio. Even if it sounds amazing I would've preferred if they had recorded in my favorite Swedish studios: Necromorbus Studio with Tore Stjerna like on the previous album or if they had chosen to work with Devo Andersson of Marduk in his Endarker Studio.

The result of working with Devo would've been very interesting in my book even if music is only as good as its written. So maybe on any of the 2 other albums they will release on Century Media?

Even if former original longtime drummer Peter Stjärnvind was replaced as early as 2011 on drums by Anders Schultz from Unleashed and Peter don't play the drums anymore because of an injury he's missed. At least for me because he was apart of all those great albums (and demos) then again Anders does a great job also. Peter now plays guitar in Merciless.

Recently read a 4-paged interview with Richard Cabeza  (or 2,5 because of pictures) from the Swedish metal magazine Close-Up Magazine and Unanimated chose not to do a tour together with Rotting Christ and Watain they got offered. Instead they wanted to focus on the recording of the upcoming album.

In my mind Watain is still a new band even if they played since 1998, but do know that I’m a 38 years old guy. I do believe they’ve got a lot of younger fans (of course older also) but it probably would’ve been some great promotion for Unanimated. They did just play a gig at Party San Metal Over Air in Germany last weekend. There's a great live clip of the band performing one of my favorites the classic Die Alone from Ancient God Of Evil  on YouTube I highly recommend checking out.

Extremely pleased with the Annihilation EP and to summarize best releases of 2018 just got even more harder but I don't mind that at all. The future of Unanimated looks extremely promising!

DISMEMBER - SKIN HER ALIVE (1991) + Dismember interview Metal Hammer 1991

7" picture disc vinyl of Dismember the 2 song single Skin Her Alive released in September of 1991 on Nuclear Blast. This was released 4 months after their debut masterpiece Like An Everflowing Stream (1991).

Also included the very first Dismember interview I ever read from Metal Hammer Extra Thrash issue 3/1991. A magazine that my older sister bought back in the day but gave it to me. I scanned it so you can read it here (see further down). Not in mint condition, was about 12 years old when I got my grubby hands on it.

Also scanned interviews with Entombed, Carcass, Tiamat, Grave, Pestilence, Cannibal Corpse, Slayer, article about the Swedish Death Metal scene at the time. Plus a bunch of more bands from the same magazine like Sepultura, Pungent Stench, Coroner, Benediction, Massacre. Gorefest, Type O Negative, Cathedral, Massacra etc. Might post them here if there's any interest?

Thanks to the stupid fucking young me it's missing 1 of the 2 pages in a Kreator interview... Have done the same thing with other magazines from around that period with articles of Dismember, Morbid Angel and Entombed. Getting posters of Death Metal bands wasn't easy at the time so one did moronic things like that.

Anyway the 2 songs on this 7” single is of course the title track Skin Her Alive and Defective Decay. Which is a song that doesn't appear on the 8 song first print vinyl release of Like An Everflowing Stream. But it's one of two bonus tracks on the original Nuclear Blast CD release.

Defective Decay is an old song that appeared way back on the first ever Dismember demo Dismembered from 1988. Dismember only had 3 members then Fred Estby (drums), David Blomqvist (guitar) and with future rhythm guitarist Robert Sennebäck on vocals. Nicke Andersson of Entombed played session bass on that demo.

About the song Skin Her Alive lyrics, they were very controversial at the time. So much that both  Dismember and their UK distributor Plastic Head ended up in court in England for “charges of obscenity” in July of 1992. It didn’t lead to anything other then Dismember getting a lot of free promotion. Even I remember reading about the fuss around it at the time thinking it was cool that this Swedish Death Metal band got this kind of attention.

The whole thing at least gave inspiration to the title for the follow-up album Indecent And Obscene (1993) because that's what a UK newspaper described Dismember as.

Vocalist Matti Kärki actually wrote the lyrics to Skin Her Alive based on an actual murder. When one of his crazy neighbor actually killed the wife/girlfriend. The lyrics are written through the eyes of the killer. Highly recommend reading the Swedish Death Metal book from 2008 by Daniel Ekeroth where he writes more about this whole mess.

Actually wrote about Dismember and the lyrics to Skin Her Alive for a English assignment in school when I was about 14 years old in 1994. Also shocked a few classmates with a Swedish translation of Life Demise by Unanimated one year later. But it was a cool teacher though and he knew I was into some "weird metal".

Really like this 7” picture disc vinyl and the cover artwork is amazing. Definitely a cool release if you're a Dismember or Death Meta fan!!

Dawn - Nær Sólen Gar Niþer For Evogher (1994) and Slaughtersun (Crown of the Triarchy) (1998)

Two classic albums and the only full length albums by the amazing Swedish band Dawn. Their debut Nær Sólen Gar Niþer For Evogher from 1994 on a orange vinyl reissue from last year limited to 100 copies and the one on top Slaughtersun (Crown of the Triarchy) from 1998 on a red vinyl reissue from last year limited to 100 copies. Both released on Century Media but were originally released on CD by Necropolis Records there was a promo ad (see picture further down) I scanned from an old magazine I own for Slaughtersun (Crown of the Triarchy) to be released on LP in 500 copies with a poster but that never happened.

Dawn started in 1990 and recorded 3 demos before being signed. Vocalist Henke Forss and guitarist Fredrik Söderberg are probably the most notable members in the scene. Henke Forss was also in another rather known band that also was signed to Necropolis Records called Niden Div. 187 he was also a session vocalist on the only In Flames release that I can stand listening to Subterranean (1995). Both Henke and Fredrik has also been involved with a bunch of other bands. 

The debut Nær Sólen Gar Niþer For Evogher was recorded with Dan Swanö in the legendary Unisound Studio aka. Hellspawn Studios located in Finspång, Sweden.

All music was composed by Fredrik except As the Tears Fall and Everflaming that was written together with Henke and guitarist Andreas Fullmestad. 

Actually Shamaatae from the outstanding band Arckanum translated 2 of the lyrics Ginom Renande Lughier and Svarter Skiner Sólen into ancient Swedish the album title Nær Sólen Gar Niþer For Evogher is also in this language.

An amazing debut that in the mid 90’s actually didn't caught my ears. It wasn’t until a few years later I got into Dawn, despite they had so many things going for them that I appreciate like being a Swedish band, a Dan Swanö recorded album and a Necropolis Records release.

Remember listening to Nær Sólen Gar Niþer For Evogher at my local record store. I didn’t buy it then although I enjoyed their aggressive melodic Death Metal. But it was a genre where it was really hard to stand out especially in Sweden during those years. So I passed on it and none of my friends were into them.

The 15 year old me was of course totally wrong at the time I cannot believe that I didn’t buy the CD right then and there now. But being 15 years at the time and with many other amazing albums being released that year. Or the fact there was other older albums that I didn’t own so one had to prioritize on which albums to get.

During those years 1994-1999 Necropolis released so many classic albums. Many Swedish bands like Nifelheim, Dissection, Ophthalamia, Arckanum, The Black, War, Triumphator and of course Dawn just to name a few of my favorites that was released by them and I probably forgotten someone.

Between the two albums Dawn had released a 4-song EP called Sorgh på Svarte Vingar Fløgh in 1996 on CD they had really progressed more on that one.

My absolute favorite Dawn release however is their second album Slaughtersun (Crown of the Triarchy) from 1998 that one I bought the year it was released without hesitation. One can definitely hear a progression to the more aggressive and extreme.

I know it sometimes can sound like I'm dissing Peter Tägtgren but I think he has recorded so many timeless classic albums. This is one example when I do prefer a The Abyss Studio recording and production over a Dan Swanö one. Those occasions are rare but they do happen.

On the album Slaughtersun (Crown of the Triarchy) they definitely got to another level and had grown very much as songwriters since the debut. The band performances and also Henke Forss is outstanding. I wouldn’t describe Dawn as a Black Metal band but the influence is there on this album but still a melodic Death Metal feel to it.

A chronicle at Hatpastorns Likpredikan blog you can read here I highly recommend for everyone. It's in Swedish but with Google Translate you should get at least the core of the subject. It's basically about how many bands that in the 90's considered to be melodic Death Metal nowadays is seen as Black Metal. I'm guilty of it as well because at core a band like Dawn or Naglfar, Sacramentum, Unanimated etc. wasn't Black Metal in my book back in the day or now. I'm getting off-topic and sidetracked but read the text it's one of the best ones I've read in a very long time.

In my opinion both albums and the EP are essential to own. But if I could only have one my pick would be Slaughtersun (Crown of the Triarchy) for sure.

I really think that Dawn should have had a much more successful story then they got. Had they been on a bigger label like Nuclear Blast; Century Media or even Osmose Productions my believe is that they would have gotten that.

Dawn haven't released any new material since 1998 but they are still considered active. Only Henke and Fredrik remains in the lineup but with the drummer Tomas Asklund (Gorgoroth, ex. Dissection, Dark Funeral etc.) an album called The Fourfold Furnace was announced in 2003 but was never released. Then in 2008 they once again said that it would be released clearly that never happened.

There’s talk about a new album being in the works according to the Dawn official Facebook page. Let us hope so 20 years since Slaughtersun (Crown of the Triarchy) now so it’s about time!

Promo ad by Necropolis Records from 1998 that I scanned from a magazine I own. Where they mention a LP release with a poster limited to 500 copies that never got released.

DISMEMBER - DEATH METAL (1997) vinyl & MISANTHROPIC mcd (1997)

The fourth and excellent Dismember album Death Metal on a first print Nuclear Blast LP and the must have EP Misanthropic on a MCD. These were the last releases recorded with the classic Dismember lineup: Matti Kärki (vocals), Fred Estby (drums), David Blomqvist (lead guitar), Robert Sennebäck (rhythm guitar) and Richard Cabeza (bass). I consider Dismember to be the best Swedish Death Metal band of all time maybe even my favorite band in the entire genre.

The 5-song Misanthropic MCD was released in June of 1997 on Nuclear Blast. The excellent title track Misanthropic is the only song that's also featured on the Death Metal album. The 4 other songs are also amazing, one being a cover of Pagan Saviour by Autopsy from their classic 1989 debut album Severed Survival.

The Misanthropic EP has never been released on a standalone vinyl so the MCD will do for me. I'm aware it's on some 2-LP reissue of Death Metal not to sound like a "pretentious record collector asshole" but I only collect and own first print vinyls of Dismember albums.

The 3 other songs on the MCD Shadowlands sounds like classic Dismember and those great guitar leads are amazing. The entirely Fred Estby composed Afterimage starts heavy as hell and it reminds me of Indecent & Obscene in some parts a totally awesome song. Last out Shapeshifter and it's another great one. These songs are so fucking great it's strange that they didn't make it onto the album.

Although Death Metal has 12 songs so I can see why they didn't include them. Anyway this is how a EP is done! 5 songs that are all amazing and gets one hyped for the record. Misanthropic is one of my favorite EP's in the Death Metal genre of all time.

When Death Metal was being released in August of 1997 I remember thinking that the album title was a bit pretentious at the time. But after the massive letdown Massive Killing Capacity (1995) album had been, actually don't think it's terrible I learned to like it after MANY listens to it. But after Dismember releases like Like An Everflowing Stream; Skin Her Alive 7" single; Pieces EP and Indecent & Obscene expectations were huge. The 3-song EP Casket Garden (1995) had been a warning on what was coming, but I'm getting off-topic. I'll write more about those 2 in another post...

Dismember probably wanted to make a statement with the album title. That they were a pure Death Metal band and not part of the disgusting Death N' Roll trend. The first song I heard from the Death Metal album was on a CD compilation that was included in the Swedish metal magazine Close-Up I think it was the song Misanthropic and I thought it sounded great.

But I hadn't bought any Death Metal CD's since 1995 because I was totally into the Black Metal scene since 1995-99 after discovering the genre in 1994. Okay I bought Elegy by Amorphis in 1996 but in 1997 I also was out drinking every weekend with my friends. Being 17 years I could "only" afford 2 to 4 Black Metal albums each month. Also money was prioritized for beer and snus (Swedish tobacco). It wasn't until 1999 when I bought these two Dismember releases on CD because I found a new interest in Death Metal again. It completely blew me away how amazing they both were. 

Me and my friends saw Dismember live in my midsize Swedish hometown when they played at a club in October of 1997. That was a legendary night among our friends except for all drunken craziness that went down, for me it was very special for a specific reason. I was underage to visit the club Dismember played at by 1 year I usually was aloud inside anyway because they never checked for my ID. This night I was drunk as hell on moonshine so the bouncers wouldn't let me in. 

But then I saw Fred Estby and Matti Kärki outside the venue who went out for a smoke me being drunk as fuck stumbled over to them and wanted to discuss their amazing debut album Like An Everflowing Stream (1991). Fred was such a nice guy and I told him that I wasn't getting inside the club so he said come with us. Fred told the bouncers I worked for the band I can't believe it worked haha. Because they recognized me at the club being there every Friday and Saturday but at least I got in and for free. It was beyond amazing and I should have bought the record as a thank you to Fred and Matti in 1997.

Anyway the Death Metal album is a timeless classic. Once again they recorded in the Sunlight Studio but this time with Fred Estby engineering, mixing and producing the album. Their previous producer Tomas Skogsberg and the one everyone associate with Sunlight Studios and the early Swedish Death Metal scene only gets drum engineer credits on the album.

Fred Estby didn't just record the album and EP he has writing credits to 13 of the 15 new songs. On 3 of them he's the sole composer both for the music and lyrics. I also want to highlight the songs that bassist Richard Cabeza contributed music to Of Fire; Misanthropic; When Hatred Killed The Light and Silent Are The Watchers are some of the best on these two releases. David Blomqvist was involved in the songwriting for great 8 songs. Matti Kärki wrote lyrics to 10 of the 15 songs and Robert Sennebäck was involved in the songwriting to 3 of the songs.  

It starts out strong with the very fast and brilliant Of Fire with music composed by Blomqvist and Cabeza. It continues with the equally amazing Trendkiller. Then the brilliant Misanthropic it's great to hear that classic Dismember guitar sound but progressed 7 years since the epic debut Like An Everflowing Stream (1991).

Actually some small parts on the Death Metal album reminds just a little of Slaughter Of The Soul (1995) by At The Gates. I'm not saying that they copy them it still sounds like the classic Dismember sound but new and updated.

The tempo slows down a little bit in Let The Napalm Rain but they keep it heavy as fuck. Also use a sample from the epic and one of my favorite movies of all time Apocalypse Now! (1979). Continuing with the song Live For The Fear (Of Pain) and I don't miss the sound of the Massive Killing Capacity album at all! The slow and heavy Stillborn Ways is entirely written by drummer Fred Estby another great song.

Killing Compassion is the shortest song 1:49 on the album another fast one to start the B-side of the record and it gets you perfectly into the album again. Next Bred for War it's one of my favorites on the album and one they used to play live often. Then the Estby/Cabeza written When Hatred Killed The Light another favorite of mine on Death Metal.

Ceremonial Comedy starts off immediately and one doesn't get time to breathe amazing. Blomqvist / Cabeza written Silent Are The Watchers starts with the Iron Maiden influenced guitars and continues throughout the song, top-5 song on the album for me classic Dismember. Last out is Mistweaver it starts with a cello intro very unusual, but it fits perfectly in the song that's slow and heavy. Brilliant lead guitar playing by David Blomqvist the song ends abruptly and what a great ending.

After 40 minutes of great Dismember Death Metal I am extremely satisfied. The classic lineup I wrote about in the beginning of this post truly made an outstanding last album together. On the followup Hate Campaign 3 years later Richard Cabeza and Robert Sennebäck wasn't in the band anymore and was replaced by Magnus Sahlgren (ex. Tiamat, Lake of Tears etc.) on guitar and bassist Sharlee D'Angelo (King Diamond, Mercyful Fate, Witchery etc.). The band continued for 14 year more after this one and released 4 albums, 2 DVD's and a demo compilation record. Even if Dismember didn't reach as high as this one all are essential to own if you're into the finest sort of Death Metal.

If it wasn't already obvious enough I recommend getting the EP and album instead of reading my text. I would rank the Death Metal record as the 3rd best Dismember release ever. Fucking brilliant!