Stockholm extreme Death Metal act, DISMEMBER have stuck true to a pedantic path, uncontaminated by any notions of mellowing or experimentation in any capacity. DISMEMBER was formed in 1988 as a trio of vocalist / bassist Robert Sennebäck, guitarist David Blomqvist and drummer Fred Estby. This initial line-up only maintained itself for just over a year but did release two demos in the shape of 'Dismembered' and 1989's 'Last Blasphemies'. The first of these tapes included the song 'Substantially Dead', exclusive to these sessions whilst the remaining material was set to resurface, re-worked by CARNAGE. The original DISMEMBER folded in late 1989 with Estby joining forces with CARNAGE, Sennebäck enrolling into UNLEASHED and Blomqvist opting for ENTOMBED. However, shortly before recording of the debut CARNAGE album, 'Dark Recollections', which actually found the earlier DISMEMBER demo tracks included in re-recorded form, Blomqvist jumped ship from his new act to join the band.

CARNAGE dissolved when guitarist Mike Amott quit to British extreme Metal act CARCASS leaving Estby, Blomqvist and GENERAL SURGERY man Matti Kärki, switching from bass to vocals, to resurrect DISMEMBER. Still a trio, this new line-up released the Tomas Skogsberg produced 'Reborn In Blasphemy' demo, this replete with Nicke Andersson of ENTOMBED handling guitar solos.

The band then invited Sennebäck, then still a member of UNLEASHED, to resume his position in the band as rhythm guitarist. DISMEMBER also augmented their sound with the addition of the CARBONISED and GENERAL SURGERY credited Richard Cabeza on bass. Having signed to Germany's Nuclear Blast label, the first hard product to arrive was the inclusion of two of the latest demo tracks on the 'Death Is Just The Beginning' compilation album.

DISMEMBER garnered huge media attention in 1991 with their 'Like An Ever Flowing Stream' debut album. Recorded by Tomas Skogsberg at Sunlight Studios in March 1991, the album again featured a guesting Nicke Andersson, who also designed the band's well recognised logo. Musically the band borrowed heavily from the harsher spectrum of the antecedent US Thrash Metal scene, crunching through a collection of pummeling, sharply defined riff laden numbers.

'Like An Ever Flowing Stream' scored solid media reaction but it was when the album was confiscated by British and Australian customs, for being 'indecent and obscene' (hence the title of their 1993 album), that the wider global Metal population began to pay attention. Her Majesty's customs had objected to song titles and lyrics such as 'Skin Her Alive' and 'Brutal Orgy Of Flesh' and legal proceedings held in Great Yarmouth would give government officials opportunity to brand DISMEMBER's lyrical content as "hideous, frightfull and repulsive to the senses... liable to inspire a sense of violence in the listener". Naturally the court case shot DISMEMBER's name to the forefront of the current wave of Death Metal acts.

The band toured Europe opening for MORBID ANGEL in June 1991 but these dates were curtailed due to disagreements between the two acts. Further live shows included DISMEMBER's appearance at the Rock Hard festivals alongside DEATH, PESTILENCE and NAPALM DEATH.

The band's notoriety was capitalised on by the October 1992 mini-album 'Pieces', the cover of which depicted the band members severed heads, and had Richard Cabeza going by the title Richard Daemon. 'Pieces' generated more live shows in Europe, touring in conjunction with OBITUARY and NAPALM DEATH. DISMEMBER preceded their record's release with a bout of touring in America in 1993 with SUFFOCATION and DEICIDE before hooking up with MORBID ANGEL once more for a European tour. A second full album, 'Indecent And Obscene' released in December 1993, gave their fans more of the same formula which had so outraged H.M. customs. Wrapped in a cover portraying the band's bloodied logo nestling in a cavity left by evisceration, 'Indecent And Obscene' matched the brutality of its visuals with a collection of starkly lethal death metal diamonds.

Following a lay off period, in which Cabeza worked up the DAMNATION project for the 'Divine Darkness' demo, DISMEMBER returned to the fray in early 1995 as part of the Nuclear Blast organised festivals alongside label mates MESHUGGAH, HYPOCRISY and BENEDICTION. A single, 'Casket Garden', was released as a taster for the new album. The follow up 'Massive Killing Capacity', arriving in August 1995, gave DISMEMBER their first German chart album. This album focussed more intently on groove, reining back the speed somewhat and provoking a degree of criticism from the die hards.

The June 1997 EP 'Misanthropic' included DISMEMBER's rendition of AUTOPSY's 'Pagan Saviour'. The full album 'Death Metal', produced by Fred Estby at Sunlight Studios, arrived in August. By now the group had made their intentions clear that, in a climate coloured by many previously extreme bands exploring far more subdued musical options, Dismember were to remain steadfast. In 1998 DISMEMBER enrolled the CELEBORN and TIAMAT credited Magnus Sahlgren on guitar. This unit cut the January 2000 'Hate Campaign' album at Das Boot Studios. By this juncture Cabeza had been replaced by Sharlee D'Angelo (aka Charles Petter Andreason).

Whilst gaining notoriety within the DISMEMBER ranks, bassist Richard Cabeza had also moonlighted for UNANIMATED and was briefly linked with Norway's SATYRICON. Matti Kärki and Cabeza would also collude with ENTOMBED's Uffe Cederlund and Peter Stjärnvind for their MURDER SQUAD project, Pavement Records issuing the 2001 debut Unsane, 'Insane And Mentally Deranged'. DISMEMBER would be announced as headliners of the June 2002 'Generation Armageddon' festivals in Europe fronting a roster of SINISTER, BLOOD RED THRONE, NECROPHOBIC and MERCENARY.

Yet another DISMEMBER offshoot arrived in 2001, BORN OF FIRE, founded by Cabeza alongside guitarist 'Mr. Dim', and the LOUDPIPES duo of Peter Stjärnvind and Fredrik Lindgren. This act would bow in with the 7" single 'Chosen By The Gods' on Primitive Art. Richard Cabeza would team up with premier Black Metal act DARK FUNERAL for North American touring in the Spring of 2002. European dates for November would be announced with DISMEMBER heading up a package bill comprising SPETIC FLESH, SINISTER and THYRFING.

Embarking upon a mammoth string of European shows throughout October and November 2002 DISMEMBER created part of a deadly union for the 'Generation Armageddon' festival tour. Joining the band would be Norway's BLOOD RED THRONE, Greece's SEPTIC FLESH, Ireland's PRIMORDIAL, Belgium's ANCIENT RITES, and fellow Swedish heavyweights IMPIOUS.

By January 2003 DISMEMBER, having signed to Hammerheart Records, where scheduling a new album with the proposed title of 'Where Ironcrosses Grow' for a September release, later pushed back to early 2004. Meantime, Magnus Sahlgren had been replaced by Martin Persson in 2003. The album would be recorded at Sami Studios in Stockholm during December and saw both David Blomqvist and Richard Cabeza handling bass. Also emerging would be a concert DVD entitled 'Live Blasphemies', a two disc set comprising the band's performance from May 27th 2003 at Klubben in Stockholm with a second disc of documentary and home video footage. Dutch dates in May saw CALLENISH CIRCLE and FLESH MADE SIN as support.

With Rickard Cabeza residing in Dallas, Texas, DISMEMBER announced the addition of bassist Johan Bergebäck of NECROPHOBIC and MORPHEUS to the group's ranks in September 2004. A short burst of Benelux dates in that same month saw the band united with CALLENISH CIRCLE, OCCULT and HEARSE. Further shows had DISMEMBER allied with Australians PSYCROPTIC, fellow Swedes ANATA and Slovakian act SANATORIUM for a full European tour commencing 3rd November in Nürnberg, Germany. The band opened 2005 with a January tour of Finland backed by BONEGRINDER and OMNIUM GATHERUM.

Regain Records picked up the DISMEMBER back catalogue for 2005 re-issue, each release being expanded with extra tracks. The first of these, the digipack 'Pieces' EP in June, boasted an additional ten live tracks recorded in Stockholm during 1993. The 'Complete Demos' release collected together promotional sessions 'Dismembered' from 1988, 'Last Blasphemies' from 1989 and 1990's 'Reborn In Blasphemy'. That same year Robert Sennebäck broke an eight year hiatus during 2005, forging SOULDEVOURER in union with GRAVE guitar player Ola Lindgren and NECROPHOBIC drummer Joakim Sterner.

DISMEMBER parted ways with bassist Johan Bergebäck in August. The band's seventh album, 2006's 'The God That Never Was', would once again be produced by drummer Fred Estby at Sami Studios in Stockholm. DISMEMBER teamed up with VITAL REMAINS, GRAVE, DEMIRICOUS and WITHERED for a North American tour beginning in early October. Night Of The Vinyl Dead Records re-issued 'Hate Campaign' as a limited edition of 500 hand numbered splatter vinyl, adding two tracks.

European show announced for November, dubbed the "Masters Of Death", had the band lined up with a supremely heavyweight Scandinavian cast of GRAVE, ENTOMBED and UNLEASHED. The group then set out to unite once more with GRAVE for a US West Coast tour in December. However, these concerts were cancelled.

Co-founder Fred Estby exited in April 2007, stating "My decision to put my family in first hand makes it impossible to keep on touring and commit to the band full-time."

DISMEMBER's eponymous album, recorded at B.A.S. studios with producer Nico Elgstrand, was issued via Regain Records in February 2008. In early summer the band completed the first leg of its 'Europa Burns' tour alongside HATESPHERE, FALL OF SERENITY and LAY DOWN ROTTEN. DISMEMBER embarked on a tour of Australia and New Zealand in July 2008.

To celebrate their 20th anniversary DISMEMBER scheduled a unique show on 22nd November 2008 at Debaser Medis in Stockholm, Sweden, featuring all the past and present members of DISMEMBER on stage performing songs from all of the band's albums and even early demos. Musicians involved included singer Matti Kärki, drummers Thomas Daun and Fred Estby, guitarists David Blomqvist, Robert Sennebäck, Richard Cabeza and Magnus Sahlgren plus bass players Sharlee D'Angelo, Johan Bergebäck and Tobias Cristiansson. The entire cast of players performed the song 'Casket Garden'.

The band formed up an impressive billing for the December 2008 'Death To Xmas' European tour alongside FLOTSAM AND JETSAM, SAMAEL, HATCHET, HELSTAR, ONSLAUGHT, HEATHEN and MONSTROSITY.

DISMEMBER released a DVD entitled 'Under Bloodred Skies' on 27th July 2009 via Regain Records. The two-disc set included footage of two separate concerts, one in the Netherlands and the other the 2008 'Party.San Open Air festival, held in Bad Berka, Germany, plus the documentary 'Death Metal And More Mental Illness'.