Metal Underground.com

"This Is Life" is DimmZ's first full-length album, and is an old-fashioned thrashy hard rock release full of Megadeth-patterned tempos and chugging bass lines. There's the occasional flashy guitar shred, but the vocals are far from pretty, and overall DimmZ’s sound is aggressive, punk and thrash influenced heavy rock.

The album opens with "So Easy," a tune which reminds me a bit of the old standby "I Wanna Be Sedated." There's just enough distortion and mid-range screamed vocals to give it a punk rock feel and have you moving in your seat. If that tune doesn't get you moving, "Cancer" is sure to do the trick, with its chorus custom made for headbanging, and fantastic chugging bass. The guitar work is a bit rough around the edges, but who said metal had to be pretty?

"Way Of Life" is more melodic, and with its repetitive instrumentals, more in line with punk tunes from the 80's. It's certainly more polished than the other tracks, and as a result, a bit more mainstream in sound. The best in show, though, goes to its followup, "Shadows." Sonny's vocals are screamed – not to be confused with screamo – before delving down into near growls that rumble your speakers. Though "Shadows" is a bit repetitive, it's the style tune we've all heard from our favorite home-grown underground bands.

Overall, DimmZ could use a bit of cleaning up, possibly with the help of better production, but for a sophomoric underground band, their sound isn't bad by any means. Though I don’t see a lot of the Metallica influence the band claims, fans of punk and early thrash can still probably find something to like about this Swedish group that is breaking away from the mold of its native land's lighter sounds.