Considered one of the fathers of the Swedish Death Metal sound (a.k.a. the Sunlight Sound) along with Entombed, Dismember which shared a rehearsal room at one point with Entombed and whose drummer played lead guitar on Dismember's debut, was arisen out of the ashes of Stockholm's Carnage. Actually first there was a Dismember then Carnage and then again Dismember. Dismember took over the Swedeath throne when after two albums Entombed wimped out and sailed for commercial seas.

Having already released an album through Earache, the newly renamed band recruited a couple of new members and signed to Nuclear Blast on the strength of the Reborn In Blasphemy demo. Previous tapes included Dismembered and Last Blasphemies. The said demo was already a major underground hit and so NB in Germany had hardly anything to lose. Still, the resulting 70,000 copies sold within the first year of the debut (released in May 1991) was nothing short of phenomenal. The band also appeared on the Death Is Just The Beginning I sampler with a demo track.

The album was designed to be, "short, brutal and fast" and the fans loved it. June 1991 saw the band on the road with Morbid Angel. The tour was cut short though because according to Morbid Angel "Markus (NB owner) is an idiot," and the band drove back to Sweden and played a couple of Scandinavian dates. The band returned to continental Europe in December to play the Rock Hard Christmas festivals with bands like Cannibal Corpse, Death and Napalm Death.

March 1992 saw the release of the Pieces EP whose cover makes for strong reactions and the band toured with Napalm Death and Obituary under the Campaign For Musical Destruction banner. Late July of 1992 saw the band entangled in a Norfolk, England court case where the government of Her Majesty the Queen accused the band of guilt under an ancient Indecency law. The crown had gotten hold of the band's Skin Her Alive song lyrics and was attempting to censor the band - the band's CDs are seized upon import into the UK. Despite the crown's assertion that Dismember is "liable to inspire a sense of violence in the listener" (so is the hair cut of Kajagoogoo, what is your point?) the magistrates vote in favour of the band's distributor Plastic Head and the band is released - presumably to unleash more violence. Despite the success, the band's relationship with its label is damaged over who will foot the bill for the costs related to defending the case. Nonetheless the band's next album Indecent And Obscene sees the band in defiant mood and in fine form. The album is supported by a first Canada and USA tour alongside Vader, Suffocation and Deicide. Massive Killing Capacity, which is preceded by the Casket Garden EP, saw the introduction of more melody and is generally regarded as the band's weakest link. 1997 heralded the release of the Misanthropic EP (featuring an Autopsy cover version) and the new full-length album defiantly called Death Metal. The band lost its bassist at this point to Satyricon who had played a show with Dismember earlier. The bassist's stay in Norway was short though.

Hate Campaign was produced by Estby who had been producing bands (and doing live sound for bands like Hellacopters) since circa 1995 (most recently not at Sunlight any longer because of differences of opinion with house producer Skogsberg) and featured bass-for-hire D'Angelo who had never rehearsed with the band prior to the recording session.

The arrival of the year 2001 meant the band moved on from Nuclear Blast Records and signed with Netherlands' Hammerheart Records.

A European tour called Generation Armageddon and featuring Dismember, Ancient Rites, Primordial, Impious, Septic Flesh and Blood Red Throne is announced for the autumn of 2002 but is later rescinded. Bassist Richard Cabeza, who was last heard of in Murder Squad, returned to Dismember in late 2002. Dismember was hard at work at Stockhom's Sami Studio recording its Where Ironcrosses Grow album for Hammerheart Records then. Fred Estby was producing. The album was issued in the spring of 2004. The band also oversaw the release of a DVD entitled Live Blasphemies, which was issued by Escapi in late 2004. The band also recruited second guitarist Martin Persson as replacement for the departed Magnus Sahlgren. The band later announced the immediate addition of bassist Johan Bergebäck to the band's line-up. Richard Cabeza had relocated to the USA.

The band signed yet another recording contract in late 2004 and ended up on Regain Records. The band once again lost a bassist, this time in the summer of 2005. Johan Bergebäck had to leave the band due to a lack of time and the band, which was in the studio now, was looking for new candidates. Tobias Christiansson was recruited in December, 2005. The album, recorded at Dug Out Studio, was released two months later The Swedes lost founding drummer Fred Estby to family obligations in early 2007. Separately, the infamous Rose Productions has also cancelled the band’s Polish tour. Following the departure of founding drummer Fred Estby, the Swedes recruited Thomas Daun of Insision fame to tour with the group. Dismember, Necrophobic, Debauchery, Pitchblack and Illnath were joining forces for the Feel The Darkness Tour 2007 in August and September across parts of Western Europe. The tour was cancelled due to an AWOL promoter however. Dismember’s self-titled album was issued in February of 2008. The band was soon booked as a guest at Vader’s 25th anniversary show.

DISMEMBER - MISANTHROPIC - NUCLEAR BLAST
It is good that a few bands are standing true, either by returning to heavier roots (as with Dismember) or showing maturity by never letting up and maintaining heaviness album after album to begin with (Living Sacrifice comes to mind). After a confusing last album - which admittedly did move some units In Europe - Dismember has come back with a strong EP as a prelude to the forthcoming full-length entitled Death Metal (wimps can begin eating their hearts NOW).
Misanthropic is a damn brutal album chuckfull of chugging rhythms, thick Swedish guitars and pounding vocals - a clear cross between the roughness of Pieces and the fluid leads of Indecent And Obscene. This is vintage Dismember, and although it may not match Like An Ever Flowing Stream (nothing will), it maintains the proud tradition of Swedish death metal. Admittedly, buying EPs does not make the most sense, but Dismember insist on releasing these and seeing that the music wins a thumbs up and that the issuing label does not seem too keen on pushing this, (will the full-length be treated differently?) buying and supporting this makes a lot of sense. - Ali "The Metallian"

Dismember hardly needs an introduction. The band is the quintessential Swedish death metal band and in 2004 is not only focused on maintaining its status and playing for keeps, but taking things one step further with a new vigour and a new push.
The band - comprised of singer Matti Kärki, guitarists David Blomqvist and Martin Persson, bassist Richard Cabeza and drummer Fred Estby - is now signed to Karmageddon Media and has just released its latest album Where Ironcrosses Grow on both sides of the Atlantic. Ali "The Metallian" received a call from drummer Fred Estby one Sunday night and investigated all that is happening with the death metal die-hards. - 12.06.2004

METALLIAN: Fred, it has been too long since we chatted last and a few things have changed since. Why are you not with Nuclear Blast any longer?
FRED: Our contract ran out. There were no options left on the contract to release more albums with them. We thought it was a good time to move on. We have been with them since the first album. They came up with an offer to sign us again, but we thought that offer was not good enough.

METALLIAN: In a related question, one has to wonder why Dismember is not a bigger band given your history and above average albums. Does it frustrate you?
FRED: I know! We haven't played live enough. We play a couple of tours each time, but that is not enough. We should do four tours and also hit North America for every album. It is hard to find a good agent in the USA though. It seems like we have better opportunities now though.

METALLIAN: Is the band's laziness a factor?
FRED: It is not really laziness. We all have families and full-time jobs. We made a decision a long time ago that when we aren't making a living from the music and to get full-time jobs too. Right now we have to quit our jobs to support the new album. It is the other way around this time. Everyone is committed to go for it. We are doing well too.

METALLIAN: Can we talk about how you obtained the new recording contract?
FRED: Yes, we had four different labels which were negotiating with us. We felt that Hammerheart/Karmageddon would be the most dedicated and we saw that we would be the biggest band on a small label that actually was working for the band. Candlelight/Plastichead, House Of Kicks/MNW, etc. were talking to us. At the end we signed to Hammerheart for an album plus an option. We are not making the mistake of signing for too many albums to a label again.

METALLIAN: In the meanwhile, you have managed to create a few rumours regarding the reason for your prolonged absences by giving cagey answers to interviewers. Why did Dismember disappear?
FRED: It never is just one reason. We changed two members, three of us have kids since the last album and we also didn't have a rehearsal spot for a long time. Little, strange things happen at the same time. That's why you get those fishy answers. Sometimes we think someone in the band brings us really bad luck.

METALLIAN: Which one of you is it?
FRED: (Laughingly) we don't know yet. We haven't figured it out yet. You know, when somebody in the band is not dedicated it affects the entire band.. It drags the tempo down. When someone says, "I can't rehearse for two months because I have this important thing with my work," the entire band becomes lazy. We have now quit all those elements. We are not waiting around.

METALLIAN: Which is my cue to ask, who is who now?
FRED: It's me, David, Matti, Richard and the new guitar player Markus. He used to play in Sins Of Omission. He is a really cool guy and a little younger than us. He fits well in Dismember. He didn't play on the album. I had just finished the mix when he joined. He will tour with us. After a couple of gigs we realized he was the man for the job. He has the same sense of humour as us. He is a talented guitar player and is very dedicated to this type of music. He likes being in a band that is going forward.

METALLIAN: Is Richard committed to the band? Over the years his commitment has seemed to falter.
FRED: Yeah, I see what you mean. You know, Richard has ups and downs. We got ripped off after the Death Metal album and were having touring problems so he felt that he would try his luck in a black metal band. That didn't work out at all. We have asked him about his 'Satyricon journey,' and he is not keen to talk about it. He is also very busy. He now lives in Texas with his family. He married an American girl and has a son. Hopefully he will join us on a tour-by-tour basis. We have a session bass player for the shows in Scandinavia. The extended touring will happen after the summer and then we will see what will happen. We have a Benelux tour planned for August and September. We are also negotiating for other countries.
The session bass player is Johan who is the guitar player for Necrophobic.

METALLIAN: What are the band's touring plans?
FRED: We are trying to organize a North American tour for the autumn. We don't know any details yet. We are hitting South America in October too.
We are back. We have loads of commitments. We are also releasing a DVD after the summer. We also own all our rights from the second album and on so we will be re-releasing those as well. We had that in our contract. So fans can expect those in the new year.

METALLIAN: What details are available about the DVD?
FRED: It is a double-disc. It features a show filmed last year in Stockholm, but does not have any material from the current album. The second disc features loads of old material including the third gig we ever did! We culled material from a bunch of VHS tapes. It is kinda funny. The quality is bad sometimes, but it will be worth it.
A label called Escapi will release the DVD . They have worked with Candlemass and others.

METALLIAN: Let us talk about Where Ironcrosses Grow. What does the album talk about?
FRED: It is about wars. It is about graves without tombstones. The songs on the album that are about war are obviously influenced by the wars that are going on today. It is an anti statement. I don't think anybody needs or wants war. Of course, some people do and it is mainly for money.
If you read the lyrics on Me-God you will find a different discussion on war - terrorist type war - which some people use when they don't have the usual money needed for starting wars.

METALLIAN: Some of the songs, titles and lyrics hint at a religious concept taking shape within the band. Is anyone in the band becoming a Christian?
FRED: Hmmm... I haven't thought of it that way. Me-God, since I wrote the lyrics, is about a person who is so religiously fanatic that he feels he is a part of God. That is one weird idiot! It is about current day fanatics and also the Catholic inquisition. People should know what you are talking about.
I am not really sure about the other songs. Matti should answer that question. No one in the band is a practicing Christian. I can answer that.

METALLIAN: The songs are mainly fast, although a couple slow down. Were you consciously mixing it up?
FRED: No, we don't really think that way. We think a song should gain from the tempo, but we don't count the fast or slow songs. We just use the riffs we have.

METALLIAN: Is the music and the choice of cover artwork, among other things, a throwback to the debut Like An Ever Flowing Stream?
FRED: Actually it was Karmageddon that suggested we use Dan Seagrave for the cover again. We didn't know that he was active again. Once we found out we were happy to use him. We weren't really sure which direction he was working in right now. We gave him a couple of suggestions and he did his work. It turned out really well.

METALLIAN: Does the song Tragedy Of The Faithful deliberately try to evoke Iron Maiden?
FRED: Yes, Absolutely. David who wrote the song is one of the bigger Iron Maiden fans in this country. We always have had some melodic influences from Judas Priest and Iron Maiden so it came naturally.

METALLIAN: That reminds me of Massive Killing Capacity which, if memory serves me correctly, you once called a mistake.
FRED: No, not a mistake, but we were hard on ourselves with that album. We were a little bit too... I think we shouldn't have let producer Tomas Skogsberg make it sound weaker, clean and unheavy.

METALLIAN: Was the Death Metal album a reaction to its more melodic predecessor?
FRED: Yes. It's true.

METALLIAN: Do you still produce bands?
FRED: Yes, I do. I don't do it too often though. I get tired of the scene here. You get bands which want to record, but every band says they do not have a budget and that there is no money. They all want to do it in two weeks. Then you have to argue to get your money. The labels are always paying their bills late. That is tough when you have three kids. I got tired of never getting paid in time and of having too small a budget. You can do miracles with two weeks, but you have to work 24-hours a day.
Of course, I can relate to it. I know how labels work. Then again, when you hear that a band like Crematory had a recording budget that was ten or fifteen times higher than the last two Dismember albums, then you think that can't be good for the bands either. They have to recoup it and make some money. You need a minimum standard though.

METALLIAN: Several years ago you had a dispute with Tomas Skogsberg. Is that on-going?
FRED: Yeah, we went our separate ways. We didn't talk much after that. I think he has moved Studio Sunlight to the countryside. He is a cool guy who has taught me a lot, but sometimes we thought totally differently about music and money. We weren't really partners and I was working for him, but he didn't play his cards right.

METALLIAN: Your debut album, Like An Ever Flowing Stream, has worked itself into classic status territory by now. It is considered one of the better death metal albums ever. Looking back how do you view it?
FRED: I think it is fascinating that we came out with such a strong record. Of course, we had a lot of time to write and arrange those songs, and it being a debut we had nothing to be stressed about, but what fascinates me the most is that we recorded that album in 12 days. Our budget was like $1,500 or something. It is ridiculous when you think about it.
I think Indecent And Obscene was a little bit of an overkill. Some of the songs had really good parts which we didn't play more than once. Some of the songs were technical with something like 20 riffs. That is a waste of material too. It could have been simpler, but I like the way we built the songs.
We have talked about Massive Killing Capacity and its melody. I like the Death Metal album and its cover. Death Metal was a dirty album. It was also the first album I produced myself for the band. It was an achievement on my side. We had loads of material. We also used some of the material for the Misanthropic EP. I like the raw edge of that album.
I like some of the songs on Hate Campaign, but the label didn't support us. We also had some member problems. Sharlee D'Angelo was in the band on bass at that time and yet he wasn't able to rehearse with us. He played the bass on that album in two days and he hadn't even heard the songs before. He flew into Stockholm from a tour and David had to show him all the songs. Strange!

METALLIAN: Why didn't you just play the bass yourselves?
FRED: Sharlee is a talented bass player and when he toured with us it seemed like he could have some input into the band. In the end, he didn't have time to rehearse with us and to develop the songs with the bass as an element. It all went the wrong way.
I don't blame him because that's what he knows how to do. He plays bass and makes a living out of it, so why not choose a band that is doing well. I play music for a different reason. I do it because I love it, but sometimes I can't do it in a concentrated fashion because of my family.

METALLIAN: Finally, I mentioned Entombed when reviewing the current album. What do you think of those guys nowadays?
FRED: I am still in touch with them, but when it comes down to music they are a band that has had the urge to go and develop themselves as musicians. If you ask them, they probably would say that I am wrong, but Dismember is very comfortable and does not intend to change. I don't really know why they changed, but they probably wanted to develop as musicians and writers. We don't feel like we have to change music style to accomplish that. Stockholm is not such a big city so we meet them sometimes.

Dismember will be playing live in several countries and with the release of the DVD and the new editions of its catalogue is promising to be in the fans' faces for the next year or so. The new album is called Where Ironcrosses Grow. For more information visit www.dismember.se.