I have followed this genuine old school Swedish death metal band since their first couple of demo’s, following the release of their debut album (‘The Esoteric Order’) last year, Puteraeon have gone from strength to strength. With each release that passes there is a development in both their sound and musical vision. This latest effort shows much more mature and strong song arrangements, the guitar sound is beefed up a bit more in the production and with maturity, this band have also managed to write songs that are not fast as the proverbial, they have marginally slowed (especially compared to their demos of 2008 ‘Fascination for Mutilation’ and ‘The Requiem’) and with this, the tracks are much heavier, they have more impact, its more rotten.
Whilst it is true to say that this is another SweDeath album, some people may yawn, but in my case I smile, I love this sound, you probably already know this, but rather than becoming a tribute act to past masters of death, Puteraeon have substance. Jonas Lindblood (vocals and guitars) has been helped by the rest of the band on this effort in the song writing, this shows, as I mentioned earlier the arrangements are tighter and more effective, it has always been a issue of mine with one person writing material, this material can be one dimensional, you need other influences, Puteraeon have it nailed into the coffin right at this very moment, and on June 1st you will all hear this. Speaking of outside influences, Puteraeon are not short of talented friends, Rogga Johansson (Paganizer/Ribspreader/Demiurg etc) lends his vocals and the mixing/mastering was done by Andy LaRocque who is famed for his work in King Diamond and on one Death album amongst many other appearances as a guest musician. Tracks that bury your soul into the earth include ‘Children of Dagon’ and ‘Conlaceratus’, both have their own merits, but both are brutal. The PR material gives a heads up for fans of zombies and H.P. Lovecraft (yeah him again!), that is if you can separate these lyrics from the crushing music buried beneath. That is not to say it is mixed bad, its bloody perfect, I simply pick out the music more in any album, that’s just me.
Three demo’s and two albums in, Puteraeon can only get stronger especially if ‘Cult Cthulhu’ is anything to go by. Those who adhere to that HM2 pedal guitar tone with a more mature song arrangement need to check this album out (it will also be on LP vinyl too for the DM purists out there). Whilst not a raw as earlier material of their peers, Puteraeon make on hell of a rotten racket, this is very reassuring and ‘Cult Cthulhu’ is worth every penny or cent.
(7.5/10 Paul Maddison)
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