Dim Mak - Knives of Ice

[circus_brimstone]

Dim Mak – Knives of Ice
Willowtip Records – WT-044 – April 25th, 2006
By Jason Jordan

Willowtip is one of the few go-to labels as far as consistency is concerned. Have they ever released anything subpar? With that being said, questioning Dim Mak, a group rounded out by ex-Ripping Corpse members and the seemingly inhuman John Longstreth (Origin, ex-Skinless, ex-Angelcorpse) on the skins, on the size and holdings of their talent reservoir is like asking to see the cop’s license and registration when you get pulled over; you just don’t do shit like that. Not only do their credentials alone speak volumes, but the technical death metal platter known as Knives of Ice is excellent for a number of reasons.

Unlike other technical death albums unleashed by Willowtip such as Necrophagist’s Onset of Putrefaction and Capharnaum’s Fractured – both of which contain merit in their own right, I might add – Knives of Ice is surprisingly memorable, despite the blistering speed and constant tempo/structure fluctuation. The floodgates open with “Knives of Ice” – an overly brutal track that twists uncontrollably, though at times shines with unbelievable clarity and precision. Traveling at ridiculous speed most often, the musicianship is deafening based on premise alone, and while I did enjoy each of the 10 songs in my own special way, I felt Knives of Ice was most sharp during the second half of its 40-minute timespan. Beginning with “Incident at the Temple at Leng” I started to take note of Longstreth’s expert style and tasteful fills, along with the instruments’ interchanging spotlight time in “Notorious Vectors of Disease,” the guitars, bass, drums, and vocals occupying the forefront at different times. And “Weakener” and “Monolith” serve as the foursome’s respective projections of staggering heaviness.

The shortcomings, however, are easier to find than a fat kid during a game of Hide & Seek. Though Ruth’s vocals fit this brand of technical death – intelligible and clean with occasional growls – they are unremarkable. And again, while the production suits the subgenre and recording itself, it ain’t perfect. At the end of day, the gripes above seem less important when compared to Dim Mak’s third offering as a whole. Still, don’t mistake this for the Willowtip album of 2006, nor as anything but an exemplary technical death long-player. Knives of Ice leans heavily towards the latter, but I believe this style is more expendable than a select few others, which slightly diminished the impact this had on me.

8/10

UM’s Review Rating Scale

Official Dim Mak Website
Official Willowtip Records Website

 

[Hopkins-WitchfinderGeneral]

i like this band, but not the vocals

 

[V.V.V.V.V.]

Great CD!

 

[munstermandeath]

For those of you who like pure death metal and old thrash and black metal this album is for you. I think an album like this is remarkable in every way. The vocals to me are outstanding, I was very happy to hear Ruth use the different levels of his scream, aggressive talk stlye. The Guitar on this album is a lost art in metal these days, Kelley is one of the few guitarists I hear that is always his own style and I mean that in a good way. The bass is great too, it doesn't sound like he's just copying the guitar riffs. Drums are outstanding but by far in my opinion not what makes the album. I'm glad no one really sounds like this album, that's what I always look forward to with Dim Mak actually metal at full blast. In a world where new metal heads are just learning Pantera and metallica songs I'm glad that there is a Dim Mak still present to Level the Plane with originality and brutality.


Brian Munsterman