Paganizer – World Lobotomy (Cyclone Empire)
Thursday, 30th May 2013
Yet another Rogga Johansson band, someone whom we’ve already espoused his seemingly endless supply of time and creativity. Does the man even hold a job? Eh, let’s not waste much time pondering that, although it’s one of those things that hover in one’s mind when discussing Paganizer, or his other bands. World Lobotomy is the ninth album from Paganizer, a band who has stuck to their old-school death metal guns in a steadfast manner. It’s as if these guys (and everyone else) don’t want to present anything new…they just want to serve notice that the old sound of Stockholm still reigns supreme.
The band’s fusion of the Stockholm bands (Entombed, Dismember, etc.) helps at least, blur some lines. We’re not out to pinpoint direct knock-offs of the above-mentioned bands, but it’s good to hear some partial flexibility going down, which helps bolster the cause of “As Blood Grows Cold,” where some manic and panicked blast beats enter the fray. Indeed Johansson knows how to create cyclones with this riff-action, whether it be on the excellent “As the Maggots Gather” (nice drum break, too) or the frenzied “Hunt, Eat, Repeat.” His riff approach – while suitably simple – has mass appeal for the bangers of gritty, brutal death metal.
With so many options and similar ideas being tossed about in the vintage death metal horde, Paganizer are able to take an otherwise workmanlike album such as World Lobotomy and give it some legs to stand on. Give it another month – Johansson will have another album out.
