"The only good human is a dead human."

Side projects are almost always intriguing, but are rarely as good as the stuff from the original band(s). I've also often wondered if it bothers the members of the primary band when their expansive colleague uses a great riff or idea for the side venture. Do they worry about creative dilution of focus?

Anyway. "He Who Shall Not Bleed" is the latest from Dimension Zero, which was born as a side project for guitarist Jesper Stromblad of In Flames, and now also features Daniel Antonsson of Soilwork on guitar, Marduk's former drummer/singer Jocke Gothberg, and Luceferion/Crystal Age drummer Hans Nilsson.

Yes, Dimension Zero sounds a lot like In Flames. . . Gothberg's vocals take me back to some of their earlier days. It works. “He Who Shall Not Bleed” is pure aggression release, from the opening title track, straight through to ‘Stayin’, a not-immediately-recognizable Bee Gees (!) cover that will stop you in your tracks - and the bonus closing song, ‘Rovarvisan’.

While this is a fine specimen of muscular, speed-driven, melo-death metal, there are enough tempo changes, vocal deviations, and melodic forays to keep the tunes diverse and interesting on a straight album listen. Mostly.

Standout tracks are the aforementioned title track and ‘Stayin’ (it actually works on its own, once you stop grinning and shaking your head), ‘I Can Hear the Dark’, and ‘Way to Shine’.

Nothing epic here; the longest tune clocks in at 4:05. ‘He Who Shall Not Bleed’ could really be called a collection of Swedish death metal haiku.

Dimension Zero. I can hear the dark, can you? Good metal album.