1.-Disregard
2.-Failure
3.-The Principles And Practices Of Embalming
4.-No One Wins
5.-Death Reveals
6.-Compromise
7.-Betrayal
8.-Last Mistake
9.-Painless
10.-Pure Hatred
11.-Paradox
12.-Abandonment
13.-Untitled
14.-Corporal Jigsore Quandary

  

   Two years passed until The Berzerker decided to unleash again its hellish anger machine. One thing is for sure: I liked this album since the first time I heard it. It's kind of an animal attraction to the relentless riffs and the monstrous voices. It is not perfect, I know, but it still appeal me a lot. In personal taste, I am addicted to this album. But enough of this subjective babbling. Speaking objectively, in technical terms, Dissimulate is a step forward for the band. The composition is varied enough, showcasing work as a band and not merely as a one-man-project. Of course the lyrics still portrait a terrible, merciless world of stupidity and mutilation which cannot be pitied but hated.  I think the brutality in the music reached new levels this time, though. Some of it is result of the overpowering use of the electronic drumming, it is true. But the riffs are heavy nonetheless and the voices, like I said, feature sick and grotesque displays. Even if they still use the synth drums, the whole drum work is more varied than ever, featuring a real, powerful drummer that seems at first very limited in his work but that when showing what he can do, hits brutally the cymbals and occasionally works on all the patches at an unbelievable velocity (not for nothing did he break, unofficially of course, the fastest drummer record ever) The bass is still overpowered most of the times, but sometimes there are notorious bass lines like the one in "Death Reveals". The samples from medical videos are still there but the keyboard work is more relegated than in the self titled, focusing more on the guitars. Mainly, there are two kinds of songs in this album: one that features around three riffs distributed along the song ("Compromise", "Last Mistake" or "Betrayal") and the other, shorter, with only two riffs ("Abandonment", "Pure Hatred" or "Paradox") so they don't really complicate themselves in the song structure. And of course, the Carcass cover. "Corporal Jigsore Quandary" covered by The Berzerker. I, personally, didn't think they would make it. It was a lot of weight to bear on a band's shoulders. But, surprisingly enough, they reached the level required. Not much about innovation but the solos were nicely reproduced and the different voices sound appropriate.

  

   Through shortness and brutality, The Berzerker wrote a sophomore album that has a lot of lasting power, even if they still need to clear their sound a little bit, for one of the complaints about this album is the lack of clearness in some parts due to the overpowering drumming. The production is excellent, improved a lot since the first album, but the band still abuses the synth drums. The shortness, of course, is an arguable point. Some people will see it as a disadvantage, but I think 35 minutes is exactly the time required to not to fall in a repetive sound. The violence still is very threatening and The Berzerker's hatred for humanity is still latent.

 

88 OUT OF 100