Dismember
Casket Garden

An imposing granite cross has stood for time immemorial at the center of my city's cemetery; and in the morning, as always, I paused for a few seconds before it. On these days of commemoration for all the deceased, Dismember came to mind; particularly an EP of theirs with a "cemetery" artwork where ancient crosses emerge from the bare earth. Under a sky laden with black clouds, heralding the arrival of rain.

There is no need to spend too many introductory words on the Swedish band; together with Entombed, they created Scandinavian Death Metal that is so recognizable thanks to that crushing and explosive guitar sound. A bloody trademark that has been a beacon and guide for dozens of bands that came after them.

The year is 1995 on the eve of the release of Dismember's third album; that "Massive Killing Capacity" which, at the time of its release, left me with many doubts, given the band's determined search for a more accessible, more controlled sound, less explosive than in the previous two albums. A work that is somewhat interlocutory and, as far as I'm concerned, not successful.

But this EP, released a few months before the third full-length, does not suffer from the band's so-called commercial shift; just under ten minutes divided into three tracks. A production finally worthy of note that highlights the lethal sound blend of Dismember.

The lethal feast is inaugurated by the track "Casket Garden," which opens with one of the most well-known and relentless six-string riffs ever heard in the discography of these five guys. A gargantuan moving Death-Doom that also highlights Matti's livid growl; vocals always intelligible despite their monstrous heaviness.

With the following "Wardead," they want to remind everyone that they are among the best creators of the classic Death Metal sound; and so they delight us with two and a half minutes of this nuclear bomb that explodes during its haunted progress. And the speed continues to rise, up to a finale where the instruments are abused, merging with the voice to create a frightening sonic wall. Pure and simple "dismemberian" madness...

"Justifiable Homicide" closes the triptych: a mid-tempo that tells of a murder committed in self-defense (cheerful!!). Yet another song that encounters no obstacles or resistance in its aggressive stride; like steamrollers...LIKE AN EVER FLOWING STREAM...

Ad Maiora.