Live Reviews : Dismember (Melbourne) – 18/07/2008

REVIEW: Dismember Australian Tour, Melbourne – 18th July, 2008

Courtesy of Evelyn Tan

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As I approached the HiFi Bar & Ballroom in all of my non-metal glory, I could feel the eyes of countless metalheads sporting Dismember, Iron Maiden, and shirts of various other metal bands. It was a relief to finally step into the dark HiFi Bar so that I could blend in more with the environment. I arrived just as Earth was setting up the stage. I had high expectations of the band, after what I’d heard of their music. And, sure enough, they didn’t let me down. The music was engaging, and more stepped onto the floor to join the headbanging. It was difficult to hear the keyboards through all the noise except for the occasional synth, but the guitars, bass and drums made up for all of it.

Fuck… I’m Dead was up next. The words “Assuck” on the bass greeted the audience as the band took the stage. In contrast to Earth, everyone in this band had short hair, or none at all. The humour of frontman Jay Jones made up for the lack of headbanging though. Just before the band started, he called the drummer “Frank Fuckin’ Stinko” after Frank took his shirt off.

He then proceeded to tease the bassist Tom Raetz while he was tuning his bass, claiming how it didn’t sound any different even after Tom had tuned it. In between the songs, Jay went on about World Youth Day and the pope, and some obscenities were shared, stirring the crowd up. “Everyone should go kill the religious cunt!” was the quote of the night. The songs they did were stunning. However, just as it seemed like it was getting into the heat of things, the song would end. But then again, seeing as how intense the drumming was, it was no surprise. Let’s just say I’ve got newfound respect for death/thrash/grind metal drumming.

After Fuck… I’m Dead finished their set, the stage crew started setting up Dismember’s various props. Cloths with Iron Maiden, Judas Priest and Motörhead’s album covers covered the amplifiers and a large backdrop with their logo on it was put up. Also an addition to the props was a duck doll with its belly taped up in the shape of an upside down cross. Matti Kärki introduced the mascot to the crowd midway through the set. What’s more metal than a duck doll which can wiggle its head?

The drummer Thomas Daun made it seem all so easy even though his hands couldn’t be seen most of the time. Even though this was death metal, the band didn’t make it seem like it. Yes, there was the usual guitars-and-bass-in-a-row-headbanging, but the band also seemed rather playful. Martin Persson, one of the two guitarists, would stick his tongue out in after dishing out a ripping solo with a dash of tapping every now and then, seeming as if he’d done something mischievous. Matti was running around left, right, centre to shake hands with the crowd, and Tobias Cristiansson was teasing the front line with his bass and his whipping long hair.

Not only was the band amusing to watch, the music was mindblowing as well. The sound was below average for the first couple of songs, but thankfully the guitars were turned up and the crunching solos could be heard. The variety of songs they played left me astounded. They had the deeper end of the death metal spectrum, with strong guitars and bass and pumping growls and screams. And then, there were ones with breathtaking basslines and beautiful melodies. The last song before the encore and Dreaming in Red really struck a chord with me. Their setlist not only included songs from their latest album Dismember, but also pieces from their first album Like An Ever Flowing Stream.

There’s such a difference between the crowd for a local gig and an international gig. The audience last night was so supportive of the band, and it was visible that everyone was enjoying themselves. Even though the mosh pit was only about half to three-quarters full, the moshers were headbanging and going insane to the music. A fight almost broke out between two punters, but was broken up when the both of them got pulled apart. The crowd went on cheering unfazed, and there were a couple of times when members of the audience climbed up on stage and jump-surfed back onto the feeble few rows of the mosh.

Dismember was definitely a good band to have as my first death metal band experienced live. I’ll also be looking out for more Earth and Fuck… I’m Dead gigs. I’m not usually a fan of death metal vocals, but surprisingly enough, the night was relatively painless.

score: 9/10