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BACK
 DISMEMBER
– The well-traveled path
By Adrian ‘The Energizer’ Bromley
According to Dismember’s drummer Fred Estby, the secret to
success and longevity in the death metal scene comes down to one
important factor: pacing.
"We have always been a band that doesn’t like to push
ourselves too much. I mean, we record an album every few years and
then go on tour for a month at a time, come back and rest and then
tour some more and take some time off between records. It isn’t
rush or hurried at all; just well paced," he starts off. "And
when we have time off we can all go off and do our own things and
when it comes time to record we are itching to go and the magic
once again takes over us all."
And it seems as though this "pacing" has allowed these
Swedes (the band is rounded out by singer Matti Karki, guitarists
David Blomqvist and Martin Persson, and bassist Richard Cabeza)
to truly master the art of making albums that will shine with enthusiasm
and expression. Nothing hurried or sloppy has ever been released
by the band, and fans worldwide can rest assured that when a new
Dismember platter is served up, it will be worth the wait.
Where Ironcrosses Grow (Karmageddon) is a punishing death metal
album, a non-stop brutal attack the way you expect Dismember to
deliver it. With a nod to their older sound on several levels, it’s
good to see the band harnessing such a tight, controlled production
here. Like a fine wine, this band gets better with age. Too bad
other veteran acts couldn’t follow the same route as Dismember.
"The funny thing about recording an album – even if we
feel all good about the album in the studio – you never know
how people are going to react to the album," he states. "Chances
are if you feel good in the studio about something, then you can
pretty much bet that an album will be received well, but then again
that isn’t always the case. Lots of bands have tried great
new things with an album and people rejected it. We’ve been
very lucky with our forward movement as a band."
Ever have any doubts about any album that you’ve released?
"Well, the Hate Campaign [2000] album was an album I was a
bit worried about because the label Nuclear Blast in Europe wasn’t
really doing a lot of promotion for it, and that made me feel a
bit unhappy and somewhat unsatisfied with the album."
But since then it has all been good news, right?
"Yes," he responds. "I mean, I personally think it
is a lot easier for people to like our band with each release that
we put out because they are very similar sounding, even if we do
try new things. You always know what to expect with a Dismember
album. We’re never going to let anyone down. At the same time,
people do react and get bored with bands that try the same thing
each release. I guess we change it up enough each time out that
the fans keep coming back for more, huh?" he laughs.
Thirteen years ago when their debut Like an Ever-Flowing Stream
surfaced, death metal was in its early stages, and while the death
metal scene has grown and changed quite a bit over the years, that
old, classic death metal sound is popular once again. How does Fred
feel about that?
"I’m cool with that. I mean, these death metal bands have
taken death metal as far as they can and now are taking the full
turn back to the early roots of where it came from. That’s
cool for me."
I hear hints of that style on the new album, but I also hear a cool
and confident Dismember in 2004 unafraid to take on death metal
and enhance it.
"It feels good to try new things, Adrian. I’m a bit allergic
to playing and recording the same album over and over," he
says with a laugh. "I hate it. I react quite strongly when
we are working on music and I hear a riff or sound that we have
used before. It needs to be rooted in the classic Dismember sound
for sure, but not copying it exactly to make a new song. Let those
other bands out there rehashing songs each time out do that and
let us continue to find something new in our death metal approach."
Did you try something new this time around with the recording?
"Sort of. I mean, we never plan out how a record will end up,
but we do welcome multiple ideas into the fold each time out. I
think this record has a real thick groove to it, as well an aggressive
edge that works well with the nice tempo changes we have added throughout."
Tell me the significance of the album title
"A lot of Matti’s lyrics are inspired by war stories,
tales from the front line and whatnot. The title refers to the graves
that soldiers get when they are dying on the frontline and there
is no way they are going to get home. You leave an iron cross where
they died out of respect and their bravery because they died on
the front line and will never see their families again."
There are many people who would say bands that sing about the war,
use iron crosses as symbols – and Motörhead has faced
this too – that the band is somehow promoting a strong NS theme
and viewpoint. I knew when I heard the album title – same as
when I heard the title Hate Campaign – that people would react
to it that way.
"There have been a few people in the past that have been angered
by this and asked us because of these lyrics or images if we have
any ties or views in that direction. Of course it is controversial
that we use stuff like this, but I think people know the difference
between what we use the symbolism or words to represent rather than
be an all-out neo-Nazi band."
He ends off, "We have always used words and images as a tool
to enhance the record, but when it all comes down to it, it’s
all really about us being Dismember and playing brutal death metal."
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