 
They just don't make albums like this anymore. Massive Killing Capacity was Dismember's third album and represented a radical departure from their early, Autopsy-inspired death metal days. Following Entombed down the "death'n'roll" route, this record swaps speed for concise songwriting. The classic "Sunlight Sound" production of Thomas Skogsberg is fully exploited here. Guitars crunch like they fell in a garbage disposal. Vocalist Matti Karkis' grunt mimics a constipated elephant. Drums smash with the bone-jarring intensity of a Jake The Snake DDT. This record, along with Entombed's Wolverine Blues, is arguably one of the best produced albums to come out of Sunlight Studio. While Dismember may have slowed down a bit, Massive Killing Capacity is still very much a death metal album. The Darth Vader-with-strep-throat vocals and blender-pureed guitars keep the record sounding authentically tough. Much like Slayer did after Reign in Blood with South of Heaven, Dismember realized that racing through songs had its limitations. Massive Killing Capacity is like a caged tiger; restrained, yet dangerous. Frighteningly approachable. The songs chug along with the radio-friendly pace of an AC/DC hit. In fact, this could almost be the Australian quintets' lost follow up to Back In Black. Well almost, if not for the tar-stained death roar, disturbing homicidal lyrics, and menacing guitar riffs. Other than that, they're essentially one and the same! Reissue notes. The prerequisite re-mastery, which basically just makes this CD as annoyingly loud as the today's records, is used as a selling point. Included are 4 demo tracks. The first, “Justifiable Homicide,” is a b-side, yet is remarkably strong. The remaining tracks are of varying sound quality ranging from bad to worse. Also, the last 3 are lacking vocals, which I'm not so keen on. Overall, Massive Killing Capacity is an important album in that it represents the direction of Swedish death metal in the mid '90s. Now a decade old, it has aged quite well and proves that more often than not, simplicity prevails. --Andrew Andermatt |
Dismember