Dismaed

One of the unsung heroes of Hellenic Death Metal, DISMAED was founded in Veria (Central Macedonia) in 1992 as a continuance of MORIBUND. The original lineup included former MORIBUND members Mike Thursen (vocals, bass), George “Sad” Karaliopoulos (guitars – DISCRETION), Dimitris “Jim” Tsiompanikas (guitars) and George Hatzopoulos (drums – CELTEFOG, DISCRETION). With this setting, DISMAED entered Rover Studios (Thessaloniki) to record their first demo, “Amain” (1992). A step up in comparison to their previous work with MORIBUND, “Amain” offered dark and doomy Death Metal in the vein of old AUTOPSPY, complemented with some rather weird melodic passages.

Their second demo “In Memorium” (1993) saw the band adopt a more technical angle (probably a result of becoming more skilled musicians), with three tracks built according the classic Death Metal “riff salad” approach to song structuring. Definitely a more busy (and occasionally chaotic) release than “Amain”, with more melodic parts and riffs crammed into the compositions. While we don’t know the complete lineup for “In Memorium”, it would seem likely it was around this time that George T. (vocals, bass) and George Georgiou (drums) from fellow Veria-based Death Metal band ARTIFICIAL PEACE joined the DISMAED ranks. Listen especially to the third track “Dreams of Pain” and compare it to A.P.’s “Beastly Instincts” demo – the resemblance can’t be denied.

While both “Amain” and “In Memorium” were fine releases, it was with their third demo release “Messages from the Place of the Dead” (1995) that DISMAED showed their true potential. With two years having passed since their last work, the band had obviously spent a lot of time developing their song-writing skills as well as infusing their otherwise muscular, old-school sound with atmospheric elements. With its flowing, narrative-structured compositions (this time enhanced with a tasteful use of keyboards) and subtle employment of melody, “Messages from the Place of the Dead” is a veritable mind-trip experience, recalling the early works of countrymen SEPTIC FLESH (“Temple of the Lost Race” in particular).

Then, DISMAED sadly went into a lengthy phase of public hibernation. The band made a brief return around 2001 with some new promotional material, but this time with an almost completely new lineup (except for the founder/guitarist Jim Tsiompanikas) and with a rather different sound. This is the last known release by the band to date. Interestingly, in 2010, three former DISMAED members (all named George!) decided to form a new, yet distinctly old-school-sounding Death Metal band named DISCRETION. So far, they’ve put out two full-length albums (please see the DISCRETION band page for more information).

Compilation appearances:
* Delictum Compilation #2 [Cass, Comp, Numbered: Self-released (Delictum Zine), 1993]
* Black Creation [Cass, Comp, Numbered: Self-released, 1995]