UMUR
"Rehearsal Tape - 88" is the first demo release by Swedish death metal act Dismember. It´s was released under the band´s original Dismemberizer monicker in the autumn of 1988. Dismember formed in May 1988 and released two rehearsal demos and two studio demos before disbanding in October 1989, as a consequence of drummer Fred Estby leaving to join Carnage (shortly after guitarist David Blomquist also followed). Since this rehearsal tape was released under the Dismemberizer monicker it´s not always counted as part of the Dismember discography and it´s basically a bootleg, because the band only circulated the demo to friends. The material from the demo is for example not included on the 2005 "Complete Demos" compilation album (Regain Records), which otherwise features most of the early demos material recorded and released by Dismember. However since the rehearsal demo has become available in these digital times, I think it´s fair game to review it as part of the Dismember discography.
The demo features an intro and four "regular" tracks. It´s arguably an early example of Swedish death metal but with a strong grindcore influence, so it doesn´t sound like what most people today would perceive as the Swedish death metal sound. There´s an occasional thrash metal influence here too, but it´s actually not that often it´s heard, which is rather unusual for a 1988 death metal demo. Not surprisingly since this is a rehearsal demo, the sound production isn´t exactly pristine, but on the other hand it´s not bad sounding either, and you are able to make out what´s going on. Upon conclusion this probably works better as a historical document than it does as listening material, but then again there´s promise and some decent musicianship found here which warrant a 2 - 2.5 star (45%) rating.