Disminded traffic in a satisfying blend of old school DM and thrash, with doses of Testament’s thick riffs, Slayer’s viciousness and classic, Swedish melodeath. The gutturals evoke Vader’s Piotr Wiwczarek and the higher-pitched shrieks often accompany fiery tremolo picking, adding a blackened edge to the proceedings. It’s a well-traveled lane Disminded have chosen to stay in, but they do yeoman’s job of setting themselves apart. They’re able to remind the listener of some of the giants of the genre without claiming to tower above them. Perhaps most importantly, they pay homage to the masters without outright aping them. As a result, The Vision is an album that feels equal parts old and modern; like your childhood baseball mitt filled with broken glass, this is a platter capable of delivering both comfortable familiarity and searing novelty.
While I’ve often used my reviews to malign the unnecessary atmospheric intro that so many bands appear contractually obligated to include on every album, “A Melting of Worlds” is a solid opener, filling the 2-minute runtime with a great riff that carries over into “Nightmare.” Together, these two tunes serve as a nice one-two punch, endearing the listener by artfully blending death, thrash, and just an eye dropper’s worth of blackened char. “Unleash the Hate” continues the onslaught, doling out both a throwback squealing riff and high-pitched vocals bordering on pig squeals. We get a pinch of grunge on the opening riff of “Judgement Day” and “World War 3” offers up an 80s-era battle-themed thrash anthem, with plenty of emotive, melodic guitar and a beastly, memorable chorus.
Disminded pack a lot into a short run time. You get another great round of riff n’ chorus on “Dead Water” and that Dead Skin Mask-inspired opening on “The Cult” is undeniable. They close out the proceedings with a 7-minute behemoth that finally provides the gang chant I’d been waiting for since I first hit “play.” These last two tracks though, clocking in at a combined 13 minutes and change, aren’t the best way to wrap up an album that has otherwise done a good job of building and maintaining momentum. While it doesn’t damage the overall flow, I’m not sure backloading The Vision with the two longest songs back to back was the best call on Disminded’s third outing.
The Vision is an album that I can see revisiting plenty in the coming weeks. Disminded are clearly able to blend different genres while still sounding like a unified whole; they can deliver deathened vox, thrash instrumentation, contemplative, melodeath guitar work, blackened tremolo and shrieked vocals, all in a way that feels organic. I certainly came away with the sense that I was listening to mature musicians honing their craft and building towards something big. While there are a few minor issues here and there that hold The Vision back, I’m not at all concerned about the path Disminded are on. Well trod? Sure. But very well executed? Most definitely. As for my mind – well, it wasn’t doing me many favors to begin with, so I’m more than happy to hand it over.
Rating: 3.0/5.0
DR: 8 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Black Sunset/MDD Records
Websites: facebook.com/dismindedofficial | disminded.de
Releases Worldwide: March 3, 2023
