Sweden's DIMENSION ZERO is an institution consisting of some of the most talented musicians in Metal. The band features IN FLAMES guitarist Jesper Strömblad, SOILWORK guitarist Daniel Antonsson and ex-MARDUK vocalist Jocke Göthberg, along with session bassist Pepa Andersson. With players like these, you can bet your bottom dollar that whatever they create together is going to be something worth listening to. "He Who Shall Not Bleed" is the band's fourth release, and although it has been out in Europe for quite some time, it now finally gets its North American release.

As with their previous efforts, DIMENSION ZERO place strong emphasis on the much heavier side of things, and as expected this one is no different. "He Who Shall Not Bleed" sees the band continuing to push forward, advancing themselves both in style and songwriting. The formula used is pretty straight-forward throughout: Thrash is the name and aggression is the game. It might sound a be a bit repetitive, but that's the nature of the beast. The band waste no time dropping the hammer from the get-go with the blistering title track. Göthberg's vocals sound more vicious than ever and the echo effects add some great depth. "Unto Others" starts off a little slower, but then dives right back into the fast, ensuing Thrash attack. Nearly every track on the disc oozes with blistering fast rhythms for your Metal-loving ears, but some have that bit of extra kick to them that they almost become addictive to listen to (ie "The Was", "I Can Hear The Dark" and "Going Deep"). Surprisingly enough, DIMENSION ZERO also take a crack at the BEE GEES classic "Stayin' Alive". At first it's hard to recognize due to it being at least 20 times faster, but it's pretty funny stuff if you compare it with the much more down-tuned original. Another point of interest is that the album includes additional guitar leads by ANNIHILATOR axeman Jeff Waters.

DIMENSION ZERO may be a side project, but they act as if they have been playing together for over 20 years. The songs are tight, the arrangements are well laid out and the sound production is crisp and clear. 2009 is off to a rocky start with the weakened economy, so that obviously might lead people to be more conservative and selective when buying music. When it comes to quality Scandinavian Thrash Metal, "He Who Shall Not Bleed" is not a bad purchase. In fact, it would be a wise investment if you need to release some of that built-up aggression, and the best part is it will retain its headbanging value.