Silent Night Fever

The success of the band's first recording, Penetrations From the Lost World, inspired a more detailed, musically realized effort the second time around for Sweden's Dimension Zero. Guitarists Jesper Stromblad and Glenn Ljungstrom drive the Century Media release Silent Night Fever with their lightning-fast riffs, infused with dynamic harmony treatments and occasionally clean, arpeggiated breakdowns. Drummer Hans Nilsson matches the intensity with double-kick finesse and precision that are impressive to say the least. Jocke Gothberg's death metal screaming also figures very prominently in the Silent Night Fever mix. While such relentless vocal work can often overwhelm music of this kind, everything coalesces on this, the group's first full-length effort, making it one of the better Swedish death metal releases of 2002. Highlights include the murderous "They Are Waiting to Take Us" and "Until You Die," but all nine songs in this collection maintain an equally high metal standard. ~ Vincent Jeffries