DISMEMBER — Indecent & Obscene (review)

DISMEMBER — Indecent & Obscene album cover Album · 1993 · Death Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
3/5 ·
UMUR
"Indecent and Obscene" is the 2nd full-length studio album by Swedish death metal act Dismember. The album was released through Nuclear Blast Records in December 1993. Dismember was formed in 1988 and is often considered among the seminal Swedish death metal acts. They released their debut full-length studio album "Like an Everflowing Stream" in 1991. An album which generally garnered praise among fans of the genre. The debut album was followed up by the 1992 "Pieces" EP. The lineup on "Indecent & Obscene" is intact from the first two releases by the band. The title of the album refers to a British newspaper article which called Dismember Indecent & Obscene. A chance like that should of course not go wasted.

The music on the album is old school Swedish death metal. Most tracks are relatively simple and direct but there are a couple of more intricate tracks featured on the album too. I´d characterize both "Souldevourer" and especially the Dismember "classic" "Dreaming in Red" as examples of that. The latter is also notable for being THE highlight of the album. I´m afraid I have to add unfortunately here though, as the remaining tracks simply pale in comparison. There´s nothing that´s of a terribly bad quality featured on the 9 track, 35:06 minutes long album, but way too many of the tracks go by unnoticed, lack hooks, and are forgotten as soon as the album is over. To my ears the only standout tracks on "Indecent and Obscene" are the two above mentioned tracks and "Skinfather".

It doesn´t help that the sound production is slightly unpleasant sounding. Dismember takes the buzzing Sunlight studios guitar sound to the extreme on "Indecent and Obscene", and as a consequence it´s often hard to hear what is being played. The guitar sound simply comes off as messy. The musicianship is also only decent and the way the album is mixed reveals some of the not to tight playing. While "Indecent and Obscene" does features some redeeming qualities ("Dreaming in Red" is for example a splendid track), it´s hard not to feel disappointed by the drop in songwriting quality since "Like an Everflowing Stream (1991)". Sure the "Pieces (1992)" EP wasn´t the greatest release either (compared to the strong debut album), but one could have hoped it was a one off drop in quality. A 3 star (60%) rating is warranted.
Share this review

Review Comments

Post a public comment below | Send private message to the reviewer
Please login to post a shout
Vim Fuego wrote:
more than 2 years ago
Dismember fell off a bit after the debut. It would have been hard to match it. I remember getting this album and being somewhat underwhelmed.

MMA TOP 5 Metal ALBUMS

Rating by members, ranked by custom algorithm
Albums with 30 ratings and more
Master of Puppets Thrash Metal
METALLICA
Buy this album from our partners
Paranoid Heavy Metal
BLACK SABBATH
Buy this album from our partners
Moving Pictures Hard Rock
RUSH
Buy this album from our partners
Powerslave NWoBHM
IRON MAIDEN
Buy this album from our partners
Rising Heavy Metal
RAINBOW
Buy this album from our partners

New Metal Artists

New Metal Releases

Fossil Gardens Black Metal
HAIL SPIRIT NOIR
Buy this album from MMA partners
Из Чего Я Состою Crust Punk
MARIE GUELLA
Buy this album from MMA partners
Surowica / Slavenkust Hardcore Punk
SLAVENKUST
Buy this album from MMA partners
Surowica / Slavenkust Crust Punk
SUROWICA
Buy this album from MMA partners
Nie Wydarzy Się Crust Punk
SUROWICA
Buy this album from MMA partners
More new releases

New Metal Online Videos

More videos

New MMA Metal Forum Topics

More in the forums

New Site interactions

More...

Latest Metal News

members-submitted

More in the forums

Social Media

Follow us