Yes it is that man again Rogga Johansson, this time with one of his most long standing outfits Paganizer. Following on from ‘Into the Catacombs’ this sees the further expulsion of filthy old school death and crusty grind going nail in coffin once again. This time, I believe the production to be a little brighter, less raw than its predecessor, it actually sounds a lot more major label without losing the ultra-heavy underground sounds we have all become accustomed to with this band and this really emphasises the tracks on offer in a much more pleasing light.
‘The Sky is On Fire’ heralds a massive chugging bass and drum intro then the full force of this Swedish behemoth comes into being. With the minor reduction in guitar sustain this beefs up the whole package and incorporates the whole band rather than being a guitar driven effort. Although you are never going to get away from that and I certainly would not want that to change but this has much more clarity, it is another immense effort. ‘Ödeläggaren’ is a little over a minute long and more of a grind affair, this is a nice break up and nice extreme form of skill. Some tracks in this style lose their momentum by way of over exuberance, but not this one; this is again a slam in the face of adversity and is really enjoyable. For the more cultured death metal sounds head to ‘Trail of Human Decay’ and bask in the power, the bass, the energy, the deft guitar riffing that Johansson and in fact this band have been made famous and acclaimed for over the years.
I always feel this is the main band, more of a group effort than more than one member’s ever increasing number of projects and recordings which much more emphasis on songs as well as the major player guitar work as I touched upon earlier. ‘As the Maggot Gathers’ starts in such a way I thought it was going to be a Carcass track, the drums that is, it sounds familiar and then the atmospherics continue prior to the main riff and the expectant punishing death metal beat resides in the forefront of your mind but later falls naturally into some d-beat agro, a perfect combination.
So once more, Paganizer deliver more of the same but this time they have a touch of class and maturity entering their sound giving much more depth that pure aggression alone. There are a fair few more dynamics on this release and it is slowly becoming one of my most played death metal albums of the year thus far. You know what, just buy it; you cannot go wrong with Paganizer!
(8/10 Paul Maddison)
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