Search - Dismember :: Hate Campaign

The Swedish Slayer??

maddman7820 | Indianapolis, Indiana | 03/18/2000

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Remember when the thrash bands were easy to characterize just by where they came from? I mean, we all gush when we hear "Bay Area" right? Then there were the boys from the East Coast. You remember how you could easily tell the difference between Exodus, Testament, Metallica, compared to say, Nuclear Assault, or Overkill, and Anthrax??? Well, there seems to be a new base of operations for metal in the new millenium.....way north of here... Sweden. And it all sounds pretty nuch the same. True, certain bands have developed their own signatures, like IN Flames, and dark Tranquility, and Arch Enemy....but they all sound Swedish!!! Enter Dismember. The album checks in at about 33 minutes, with very short to no breaks between tracks, and that harkens back to the effect of a timeless metal opus...you guessed it.. Reign In Blood. If Slayer had been born in Gothenberg, then Reign in Blood may have sounded like Hate Campaign. The biggest comparison here is the sheer speed and energy of this album. While most of the Gothenberg bands are injecting power metal viruses into their pre-existant death metal, most have shed the element of sheer brutality.... but not Dismember. Hate Campaign is 11 tracks of brutal thrash metal which will shred your face at high volume. The Swedish sound is in the down tuned guitars, but the thrash is complements of late 80's Slayer. Hate Campaign is Fueled by ripping guitars pumping out the pummelling riffs, bottom heavy bass complements of new metal journeyman Sharlee d'Angelo, and drumming that relies on standard thrash tempos rather than tose annoying blast beats. The opener "Suicidal Revelations" is a typical blaster, relentless from start to finish. "questionable Ethics" is much the same highlighted by a drop to mid-pace riffery toward song end, while the highlight of the album "Beyond Good and Evil" is some darn fine riff heavy sonic intensity. "Retaliate" and "Enslaved to Bitterness" are the songs where the Gothenberg style is really prevelant, usually through the choruses. The rest of the songs keep to the same formula of thrashing twin guitars (which produce many a fine solo here too!!) and excellent thumping bass with the traditional thrash drumming. In short, Dismember is doing nothing new, but what they do churn out makes the old head bang furiously. The vocal delivery is typical Swedish death stylings, and there are more similarities to Reign in Blood with Araya like vocal patterns and even lyrics to "Thanatology" which could almost pass for lost verses for "Angel of Death." If you are a fan of the more polished, melodic Swedish bands, Dismember may not be your cup of tea, but if you like your metal churned up like Entombed, Napalm Death, and Slayer in a three way title match, then you will enjoy Dismember's hate Campaign. I really give it 4 1/2 stars, and it will see some extended time in the disc tray."

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stigmatamartyr | 07/10/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This album prooves that Dismember is still a force to be reckoned with in the overcrowded realm of Swedish death metal. These guys practically wrote the book (with help from Entombed and Centinex, among others), and Hate Campaign finds Dismember in top form. There are throbbing, raw riffs, shouted sore throat vocals and the occasional guitar harmony... in other words, everything Dismember should be. Imagine the strongest elements of Massive Killing Capacity and splice them with a little pre-92 aggression."Patrol 17" and "Enslaved to Bitterness" are more melodic than anything they have done since Collection By Blood... the gothenburg labels are misguided, however, because Dismember pre dates that movement by a good 8 years or so. The albums tracks are split between driving, back to basics Stockholm death ("Mutal Animosity"), and more melodic fare. Most refreshing after the poorly produced mess that was 1997's Death Metal."

SOLID EFFORT! Check it out!

Clint Frederici | Phoenix (hell) AZ | 08/16/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I've been a Dismember fan for several years and this is definately their best effort to date. Hate Campaign is their most polished and their best album from a techn. standpoint. Fred Estby did a good job mixing this album and the drums really stand out to me, but of course Estby is their drummer. Sharlee D' Angelo (also of Mercyful Fate) puts out a fine job as bassist and he makes a nice addition to the band. I hope more bands can put out this level of quality thrash metal. This kind of album makes me want to rename the genre pound metal, because it gives your ears a good, solid, quality pounding...thumbs up!!"