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Dismember > Pieces > Reviews
Dismember - Pieces

Pieces of Death Metal - 88%

CHRISTI_NS_ANITY8, May 3rd, 2008

This is one of those EPs that a death metal fan should love, as for example Entombed’s “Crawl”. Here we can taste the greatness of Swedish death metal in its strongest period, even if I think that Dismember were the only group that believed in this genre from the early days to the recent days. They didn’t care about the trends, so here we have another fist of pure heaviness. After a very short intro, the fury is unleashed through several up tempo and chainsaw guitars.

The vocals, as you know, are not too extreme but quite raging and raw. The production is sharp and follows more or less the same one on the debut album. Here the only more “intelligent” parts are some more mid paced parts where the band focuses the attention on the pure heaviness through the riffs. “Pieces” is a great song that mixes in a perfect way the mid paced parts with the faster ones, while “I Wish You In Hell” is an incontrollable piece of metal that just by the end decides to slow a bit, filling the mid tempos with a good solo.

If “Carnal Tomb” marks a slower part at the beginning, then it restarts under up tempo. The vocals here, as in “I Wish You In Hell” are far more brutal and screamed than on the first song. The solo here is just sick and obscure while in the rhythmic guitars pats we can find a hint of dark melody, that, anyway, is not the one on Massive Killing Capacity. We all know that hyper fast “Soon To Be Dead” that is truly lethal at the end of this great EP. Two minutes of infernal death metal.

Well, Dismember succeeded in recording a very good EP that doesn’t lose anything in impact and sound if we compare it to their debut. It’s a great follow up by one of the greatest Swedish death metal bands and that’s it.

Pieces Taken From Hell... - 92%

Wacke, January 17th, 2008

Although this is a pretty small release by a great band called Dismember it's still a great release that's legendary to this day. I don't know where these pieces came from, if they are old demos, promos or if they actually was recorded for this EP. It all sounds like it's been recorded in Hell & I've never heard something that's rawer than this one...

I'm not a big fan of short songs, I usually say that a song must be at least 3 minutes long & not longer than 5:30 minutes but in this case I make an exception. It starts off with a intro featuring screams & then all hell breaks loose in one of my all time Dismember favorites "Pieces". The riffs are great, the solo is awesome & everything just screams HELL. It's followed by a shorter song called "I Wish You Hell" & they do, believe me. You don't need any further description on that one. The 4th track is the 2nd best (after "Pieces") track & it's called "Carnal Tomb". The distortion is set on the highest while Fred is pumping on with some dubble bass drums, everything's just excellent. I don't know why but they included "Soon To Be Dead" on this one too & you probably already know that one from "Like An Everflowing Stream". There's a difference between the vinyl editon & the CD edition of "Pieces". The vinyl includes a new recording of the old Dismember classic / Carnage song "Deathevocation" while the CD features a new recording of another Carnage classic called "Torn Apart". Both are great & released on the laster re-issue of "Like An Everflowing Stream".

The production is pretty bad but that's the thing with this EP, it's not supposed to be good. As I said earlier, it sounds like it's been recorded in Hell with Satan as the producer. You will probably never hear anything that's more raw than "Pieces" & I bet that Dismember themselves is surprised today that they recorded the rawest album ever.

To the last notes then... Every member of the band does a great performance as usual & the tunes are of top quality, Death Metal you've been dreaming of hearing for ages. I can also strongly recomend this release because even though it's a small album, it's a legendary one. Top class all the way through with no thoughts of stroke your ears anywhere.

I wish you Hell with "Pieces", enjoy it until the day you die!

May its competitors rest in pieces! - 86%

stickyshooZ, September 8th, 2004

Taking influence from thrash and traditional heavy metal, Dismember managed to forge the existence of a monstrous and dangerously barbaric EP that lives up to (and in aspects, ascends) death metal standards. The early 90’s are when death metal was becoming less obscure and being recognized more as a complex, and to a degree, a sickening art. No longer was death metal considered mindless noise, and it is bands like Dismember that broke and continue to break that stereotype. Well, Dismember were already on the frontlines with the classic debut, "Like an Ever Flowing Stream," and soon after they gave birth to what death metal fans craved - something more unstable and more brutal than their past efforts. This kind of work makes a full-length Morbid Angel album look like a little weak girlie-man.

While the mix as a whole feels somewhat hollow, it’s different from any production they’ve done in their entire career, which only makes it that more unique and standout. When you put on Pieces, you know it’s what you’re listening to, the sound is so grimy and menacing that it couldn’t be anything but that small EP that never got the attention it deserved. The guitars are loud and scream with the violent unrest similar to rusty chainsaws. The riffs show definite thrash influence with the fast strumming and heavy down strokes that demand undivided attention. What shows the most influence from both the heavy and thrash genres are the scanty solos and distinctive melodic properties – this is something unusual and almost unfathomable in death metal at the time of this release.

The presence of the bass is very vague. Often, it hides itself within the mist that the loud chainsaw-like guitars create. Although it seems secluded, it secretly booms behind the erratic wall of sound given off by everything else. It’s somewhat disappointing to not be able to get a clear conception of the brutal and hefty bass work at some parts due to being drowned out, but normally, I think anyone would be able to hear it showing off in the constricting mix. It pounds away with the power of a jack-hammer; it’s aggressive and never ceases with the equally militant guitars.

Although nothing amazing, the drums do provide a steady beat with insanely cool fills and louder than Hell blast beats. The drums are earsplitting and possess a unique “thump” sound. This is like an axe chopping away at a tree – it sings loudly and is attentive to the extreme sound that the band was going for. Matti sounds nothing short of insane and menacing with his deep and somewhat belching vocal style. This is one of the best representations of his abominable and pure evil screams.

Only a madman wandering the confines of his cell could make such a crazed and malicious sound. This vocal delivery is nothing short of death metal brilliance, making Chris Barnes in the early days sound like a wimp. Dismember are almost unparalleled compared to the majority of their peers…and I hope it will continue to stay that way in the years to come. This is death metal done right and most certainly not for weak ears. Definitely give this a listen when you have the chance…it’ll grind you to pieces!