Dimension Zero

This is Hell (Century Media)
by Martin Popoff

Comparing this relentless second album to the relentless first one, one finds that the main difference is a layer of enigmatic frenzy massaged into This Is Hell, almost to the point of making the first one sound like a record plagued by something missing, a drop-out. But other than that, this In Flames and Marduk-connected side project mines the same terrain, Dimension Zero getting in and out quickly, with a hilariously merciless, blurry-fast collection of Swedish death thrashers, songs that serve as a catch-basin for Jesper’s more Slayer-esque riffs, ones that can no longer be used in his smarmy main concern. The band have added a second guitarist – make no mistake, this is all about guitars – vocalist Jocke Gothberg cawing along to solid central, circuitous riffs that tug the listener into the band’s uniquely punk rock world view. Still, it’s merely another perfectly headbangable thrash feast among many along the road from Jesper to Jensen and beyond. Half a point docked for a 36-minute album that includes a two-minute intro with bad English accents (“It’s like fallin widou hidding the ground”).
(2323 W. El Segundo Blvd. Hawthorne, CA 90250)