Line #4 Music/Dismember


1	[[quoteright:299:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/dismember_blder.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:299:The band as depicted on the back cover of ''Like an Everflowing Stream'']]
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4	'''Dismember''' are a Swedish old school DeathMetal band that existed between 1988 and 2011, often considered a TropeCodifier for that style of death metal. Although they briefly split up in 1989 after the release of some demo tapes, they got back together in 1990 with a different lineup containing members of the band Carnage (a band featuring future Music/{{Carcass}}[=/=]Music/ArchEnemy guitarist Michael Amott; Carnage disbanded after he joined Carcass, leaving the rest of Carnage to start Dismember). The band released another demo in 1990, which would secure a record deal with now-famous metal label Nuclear Blast.
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6	The band released their debut ''Like an Ever Flowing Stream'' in 1991, considered by many one of the pinnacles of death metal at that time and even today. Along with the aforementioned Carnage's album ''Dark Recollections'', Music/{{Entombed}}'s ''Left Hand Path'', Grave's ''Into the Grave'' and others, the album helped establish Sweden as a major force in death metal. During this early period, Entombed drummer and de-facto leader of the Swedish scene Nicke Andersson was heavily associated with them: Andersson performed the bass tracks on their first demo, most of the lead guitar work on their first post-reform demo and ''Like an Ever Flowing Stream'', named the band, and designed their logo.
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8	The song "Skin Her Alive" had the band make headlines for allegations of obscene content. The band ultimately won the ensueing court battle. avoiding certain claims of being "pornographic, obscene or indecent". This case gave them a name for their second album, ''Indecent and Obscene'' in 1993, also widely regarded as a classic death metal album. Nonetheless this incident and their quality music earned the band a devoted following.
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10	Over the course of the next fifteen years, the band released six more studio albums that experimented with more melody and HardRock influence than their early work ontop of their trademark buzzsaw sound, sometimes to much acclaim, other to more debated stances; these albums are generally not as popular, but still kept the band afloat in the scene and as a touring act. The band folded in 2011 after headlining Death Feast Open Air, having not played a show in roughly 3 years by that point.
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12	Dismember continues to be a very popular and almost universally respected band in the death metal community. They have been seen as extremely influential (generally, in the Swedish scene, only second to Entombed and arguably Grave) for their violent but melodic approach to the genre that, unsurprisingly, has spawned many [[FollowTheLeader derivative bands]] seeking to expand upon their style. One of the aspects they are acclaimed for is the fact although their sound did change, it was not to nearly as drastic an extent to such Entombed or other bands (even outside the Stockholm scene such as Music/AtTheGates) did, earning them what's seen as a much more consistent career. In 2019, they reunited, and have been in talks to begin work on new record sometime in the future.
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15	!!Members (final lineup in '''bold''', founding members in ''italics'')
16	* Johan Bergebäck - bass (2004-2005)
17	* '''''David Blomqvist''''' - guitar (1988-2011), bass (1989-1990)
18	* Richard Cabeza - bass (1991-1998, 2000-2004)
19	* Sharlee D'Angelo - bass (1998-2000; not officially a member, but toured with them at that time and appeared on ''Hate Campaign'')
20	* '''Tobias Cristiansson''' - bass (2006-2011)
21	* '''Thomas Daun''' - drums (2007-2011)
22	* ''Fred Estby'' - drums (1988-1989, 1990-2007)
23	* ''Erik Gustafsson'' - bass (1988)
24	* '''Matt Kärki''' - vocals (1990-2011)
25	* '''Martin Perrson''''' - guitar (2005-2011)
26	* Magnus Sahlgren - guitar (1998-2003)
27	* ''Robert Sennebäck'' - vocals (1988-1989), guitars (1989-1997)
28	----
29	!!Discography
30	* ''Like an Ever Flowing Stream'' (1991)
31	* ''Pieces'' ([=EP=]) (1992)
32	* ''Indecent and Obscene'' (1993)
33	* ''Massive Killing Capacity'' (1995)
34	* ''Death Metal'' (1997)
35	* ''Hate Campaign'' (2000)
36	* ''Where Ironcrosses Grow'' (2004)
37	* ''The God That Never Was'' (2006)
38	* ''Dismember'' (2008)
39	----
40	!!Tropes that apply to Dismember:
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42	* AlbumTitleDrop: Done with SpokenWordInMusic at the start of "In Death's Sleep", the final song on ''Like An Ever Flowing Stream'':
43	-->''From dream to dream we always have been''
44	-->''Like an ever flowing stream''
45	* AppropriatedAppelation: ''Indecent and Obscene'' got its title from a case involving the band being labeled...well, that (mentioned above).
46	* AxCrazy: Nearly every protagonist in every lyric on the first two albums.
47	* BloodKnight: Many songs, but "Of Fire" features an exceptionally badass (and psychotic) one.
48	* ChainsawGood: On the cover of ''Massive Killing Capacity'', [[DualWielding two of 'em in fact.]]
49	* ClusterFBomb: On occasion, with the record holder probably being "In Death's Cold Embrace" which has ''19'' uses of "fuck".
50	* CoverVersion: [[Music/{{Death}} "Beyond the Unholy Grave"]] and [[Music/{{Autopsy}} "Pagan Saviour"]].
51	* DeathMetal: One of the [[TropeCodifier defining bands]] for Sweden's brand, along with Music/{{Entombed}}, Music/{{Unleashed}}, Grave, and proto-Dismember band Carnage.
52	** MelodicDeathMetal: A lot of their post-''Obscene'' work heavily flirts with this, and even those first two albums tended to be a lot more melodic than many of the band's contemporaries to the point a case for them being a UrExample can be made. Their last few albums before breaking up could be best described as a mixture of their early and later sound.
53	* DramaticThunder: "Override of the Overture" opens with this.
54	* EpicRocking: The closing track to the SelfTitledAlbum (and likewise, their entire career), "Black Sun", clocks in at 6:25. "Dismembered" falls just six seconds short of six minutes (5:54); most albums at least have a song reaching the five minute mark.
55	* FireAndBrimstoneHell: Inverted in "9th Circle."
56	--> Motherfucker\
57	Who told you hell was warm?\
58	Infernal winter\
59	The ninth circle closed
60	* FlayedAlive: "Skin Her Alive".
61	* {{Ghostapo}}: The topic of "Black Sun".
62	* {{Gorn}}: As you might guess from their name, often used as a lyrical topic, albeit not to the same extent as some other bands in the genre. Also the cover for ''Indecent and Obscene''.
63	* HarshVocals: Kind of [[DeathMetal comes with the territory]]. That said, the band (very rarely) uses [[SpokenWordInMusic spoken word]], and oftentimes their vocals do not come across as being ''as'' harsh as other bands in the genre. Sometimes.
64	* HorribleHistoryMetal: "Europa Burns" is about UsefulNotes/WorldWarI.
65	* IAmTheBand: Guitartist David Blomqvist was the only member who was in the band the whole time. That said, drummer Fred Estby appeared on close to all of their material (only missing the SelfTitledAlbum) and vocalist Matt Kärki stuck since his joining in 1990.
66	* IndecipherableLyrics: Averted and played straight. Quite a few songs have ([[SomethingSomethingLeonardBernstein fairly brief]]) instances where Kärki is pretty clear (typically when his voice isn't as much of a growl), and even the more growl-based deliveries are relatively more dechiperable than other death metal bands provided you pay some attention. That said, sometimes (especially on later albums) if you want to get the lyrics to a song without the lyric sheet, good luck.
67	* {{Instrumentals}}: "Nenia" and "Phantoms (Of the Oath)"
68	* LeadDrummer: Fred Estby was not only one of the three longest-serving members (only Blonwvisdt and Kärki lasted longer), he was one of the band's main songwriters (particularly when it came to lyrics) and helped with production on not only all of his albums with the band but a large amount of other bands in Swedish death metal.
69	* LoudnessWar: Post-''Obscene'', this took its toll on the band...although it is also worth mentioning the ''Pieces'' EP averaged a [=DR5=]. In '''1992'''.
70	* LosingYourHead: ''Pieces'' depicts the band like this.
71	* MinisculeRocking: They have something of a knack for songs right around or even shorter than the two minute mark, some examples being "Never Forget, Never Forgive" (1:43), "Soon to be Dead" (1:55), "Skin Her Alive" (2:15), "Eviscerated (Bitch)" (2:20), and "Wardead" (2:28).
72	* NukeEm: "Massive Killing Capacity".
73	* NewSoundAlbum: ''Massive Killing Capacity'' made the full jump to MelodicDeathMetal the band always leaned toward. ''Where Ironcrosses Grow'' marked them developing a sound somewhere between their early sound and the one ''Capcity'' started.
74	* NotAfraidOfHell: In "Soon to be Dead", a man who accepts that he's going to Hell as long as he gets to murder Christians "at the end of time".
75	* OfficiallyShortenedTitle: The band was to go under the name Dismemberizer, but this did not fit on their first demo tape, so the band shortened it to Dismember.
76	* OrangeBlueContrast: ''Like an Ever Flowing Stream'' has this. ''Massive Killing Capacity'' is more like Orange/Purple Contrast.
77	* PrecisionFStrike: Quite a few songs, "On Frozen Fields" in particular:
78	-->''Pain twist my body''
79	-->''As my enemy splits my face''
80	-->''Another fucking victim''
81	-->''Left to die in a bloody haze''
82	* ReligionRantSong: A common lyrical topic of theirs, starting with "Skinfather" from ''Indecent and Obscene''.
83	* RevolvingDoorBand: Mildly. Although one guitar spot (Blomqvist) was constant and drums and vocals were mostly constant (Robert Sennebäck filled in at the start before Matti Kärki took over until the end and Fred Estby was behind the skit until 2007, only being replaced once), the other guitar slot and the bassist went through a few changes.
84	* ScaryImpracticalArmor: The TabletopGame/{{Warhammer40000}}-inspired monstrosity on the cover of "Massive Killing Capacity". He has machine gun barrels ''on his feet''.
85	* SelfTitledAlbum: In an inversion of the usual scenario their career ended with one, although the debut album has an almost self-titled song ("Dismembered").
86	* SignatureStyle: Usually fast-tempo music with an instantly recognizable "buzzsaw" guitar tone, a much greater implementation of melodic riffs and soloing than other death metal bands backed by Karki's signature shouted vocals that go up and down in pitch and aggressive, very thrashy drumming.
87	* SpiritualSuccessor: They are basically this to Carnage, whose lone album featured all three of Dismember's mainstays (Karki, Blomqvist and Estby). The band itself has many of these.
88	* StrictlyFormula: Dismember's style has only seen one real major change ever (that being increased melody) and even that's not always too noticeable; of the original major bands of the Swedish scene, they are one of the ones that changed the least in later years.
89	* ShoutOut: "Where Ironcrosses Grow" is a quote from the 1977 Creator/SamPeckinpah movie Film/CrossOfIron.
90	* WarIsHell: Most of ''Massive Killing Capacity'' is built around this, even having some tragic moments in the opening and closing tracks.
91	* YourSoulIsMine: "Souldevourer", we think.
92	* VocalEvolution: Over time, Karki's voice shifted from a standard growl-tinted voice that sometimes shifted into higher, almost but not quite clean passages to more of a roar which ditched the more decipherable side.

Context Music / Dismember