Review by Tomek on April 8, 2010.

Name Dismember should be well known for any Death Metal fan, and if you’re a Dismember fan, name “Live Blasphemies” should be well known to you. Finishing their 2003 “Death Metal” campaign all over Europe, Dismember played last concert of the tour in their hometown of Stockholm. Fortunately for all of us, they decided to hire the right people and record the whole thing professionally, and I have to say that this is probably one of the best concert DVD’s out there.

Dismember put themselves ahead of the pack by giving all the best there is out there when it comes to viewing concert DVD. Widescreen format shows full view of the stage, so the whole band can be seen performing and nothing can get missed. Everything was recorded with multiple cameras so we can view the concert from every part of the venue, all directions, distances and all kinds of different angles. Directed and put together in a way that shows the intensity of performance, professionalism of the band and passion not only of musicians but also the fans (just watching most of the headbanging on this DVD almost gave me a whiplash!). Fantastic lighting accompanies and enhances Dismember’s performance, allowing things to be seen when they need to be seen, but the real treat is the sound. Way too many times I’ve watched DVD’s that looked awesome, but sound on them destroyed or lessened the experience. Dismember sounds incredible from beginning to the end, both individually and as a whole. Song choices span their entire career and it is a pleasure to listen to all the classics in such a great quality. Drums, guitars, bass and vocals all sound audible but still harsh as they should at the concert. Menu choices give you Stereo, Dolby 5.1 or DTS and all of them sound amazing. This DVD should be used as an example of how to record sound and video at the Death Metal concert. Both thumbs all the way up!

Disc two is the documentary - and this is a pure bonus for fans of the band. Matti, David and Fred get interviewed and give full history of the band (in Swedish, but subtitled of course) with their own comments and all kinds of stories from back when they started the band up to the present (missing lyrics, censorship, name origins and such). Interview section is cleverly intertwined with raw concert videos from early days all the way up to the 2003 tour, after show backstage with the band, some really funny drunken related tour footage with all the jokes attached and occasional appearances of some known members of bands they toured with (conversation about church burnings with Dan Lilker from Brutal Truth being my favorite). Priceless!

DVD also includes: History of the band and current members, Dismember discography, DVD credits, image gallery and subtitles (Matti talks in Swedish through the whole concert), chapters and audio options.

Dismember- “Live Blasphemies” (concert and the documentary) is one of the best concert DVD’s you can buy and I highly recommended it not only to the fans of the band but to all fans of Death Metal. Check it out and get Dismemberized.

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Musicianship:9
Atmosphere: 8
Production: 10
Originality: 8.5
Overall: 9

Rating: 8.9 out of 10

Review by Tomek on April 8, 2010.

Name Dismember should be well known for any Death Metal fan, and if you’re a Dismember fan, name “Live Blasphemies” should be well known to you. Finishing their 2003 “Death Metal” campaign all over Europe, Dismember played last concert of the tour in their hometown of Stockholm. Fortunately for all of us, they decided to hire the right people and record the whole thing professionally, and I have to say that this is probably one of the best concert DVD’s out there.

Dismember put themselves ahead of the pack by giving all the best there is out there when it comes to viewing concert DVD. Widescreen format shows full view of the stage, so the whole band can be seen performing and nothing can get missed. Everything was recorded with multiple cameras so we can view the concert from every part of the venue, all directions, distances and all kinds of different angles. Directed and put together in a way that shows the intensity of performance, professionalism of the band and passion not only of musicians but also the fans (just watching most of the headbanging on this DVD almost gave me a whiplash!). Fantastic lighting accompanies and enhances Dismember’s performance, allowing things to be seen when they need to be seen, but the real treat is the sound. Way too many times I’ve watched DVD’s that looked awesome, but sound on them destroyed or lessened the experience. Dismember sounds incredible from beginning to the end, both individually and as a whole. Song choices span their entire career and it is a pleasure to listen to all the classics in such a great quality. Drums, guitars, bass and vocals all sound audible but still harsh as they should at the concert. Menu choices give you Stereo, Dolby 5.1 or DTS and all of them sound amazing. This DVD should be used as an example of how to record sound and video at the Death Metal concert. Both thumbs all the way up!

Disc two is the documentary - and this is a pure bonus for fans of the band. Matti, David and Fred get interviewed and give full history of the band (in Swedish, but subtitled of course) with their own comments and all kinds of stories from back when they started the band up to the present (missing lyrics, censorship, name origins and such). Interview section is cleverly intertwined with raw concert videos from early days all the way up to the 2003 tour, after show backstage with the band, some really funny drunken related tour footage with all the jokes attached and occasional appearances of some known members of bands they toured with (conversation about church burnings with Dan Lilker from Brutal Truth being my favorite). Priceless!

DVD also includes: History of the band and current members, Dismember discography, DVD credits, image gallery and subtitles (Matti talks in Swedish through the whole concert), chapters and audio options.

Dismember- “Live Blasphemies” (concert and the documentary) is one of the best concert DVD’s you can buy and I highly recommended it not only to the fans of the band but to all fans of Death Metal. Check it out and get Dismemberized.

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Musicianship:9
Atmosphere: 8
Production: 10
Originality: 8.5
Overall: 9

Rating: 8.9 out of 10

Review by JD on June 16, 2012.

You know... I have been seeing a trend happening lately. Mixing old school and new school metal into a cohesive melding. I find that fucking exciting as all hell - and perfect for todays metal scene. Let me put out there a band that truly does this seamlessly and with a dump truck load of talent and a huge amount of attitude to drive it. The name is Lago and you need to remember this name well.

Hailing from one of the new hotbed of metal, Phoenix Arizona, comes a mind melting Death Metal band that is challenging the status quo in the genre. Combining wicked Old School Death Metal like Morbid Angel with more up to date stuff like GraVil, they mash the two together in such a way that is it hard not to notice it. Brutality and musicianship collide, and that is the best thing ever.

As an EP, Lago’s "Marianas" is a violent ball-buster despite offering only five songs and clocking in at a light twenty minutes. With sheer power that is matched by the ferocity that Lago plays with, they come across as a straight ahead Death Metal band but has way more to offer up than a wall of distorted riffing chaos and blood splattered lyrics. They offer up traditional DM and add in that originality that comes from within. My favorite song happens to be the looming heaviness and lyrical smartness of 'Youma', one of the impressive slabs of Death I have heard in years.

This is a young band that have old metal souls and that makes their future look amazingly bright. They just have made what Death Metal needed... something to fill the gap between Old and New School that is original, honest and bone crushing heavy. Lago is a band that is true to themselves and metalheads around the globe. A formula for long term success.

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Musicianship: 9.5
Atmosphere: 10
Production: 9
Originality: 9.5
Overall: 9

Rating: 9.4 out of 10

Review by JD on June 16, 2012.

You know... I have been seeing a trend happening lately. Mixing old school and new school metal into a cohesive melding. I find that fucking exciting as all hell - and perfect for todays metal scene. Let me put out there a band that truly does this seamlessly and with a dump truck load of talent and a huge amount of attitude to drive it. The name is Lago and you need to remember this name well.

Hailing from one of the new hotbed of metal, Phoenix Arizona, comes a mind melting Death Metal band that is challenging the status quo in the genre. Combining wicked Old School Death Metal like Morbid Angel with more up to date stuff like GraVil, they mash the two together in such a way that is it hard not to notice it. Brutality and musicianship collide, and that is the best thing ever.

As an EP, Lago’s "Marianas" is a violent ball-buster despite offering only five songs and clocking in at a light twenty minutes. With sheer power that is matched by the ferocity that Lago plays with, they come across as a straight ahead Death Metal band but has way more to offer up than a wall of distorted riffing chaos and blood splattered lyrics. They offer up traditional DM and add in that originality that comes from within. My favorite song happens to be the looming heaviness and lyrical smartness of 'Youma', one of the impressive slabs of Death I have heard in years.

This is a young band that have old metal souls and that makes their future look amazingly bright. They just have made what Death Metal needed... something to fill the gap between Old and New School that is original, honest and bone crushing heavy. Lago is a band that is true to themselves and metalheads around the globe. A formula for long term success.

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Musicianship: 9.5
Atmosphere: 10
Production: 9
Originality: 9.5
Overall: 9

Rating: 9.4 out of 10