Revolting - Hymns of Ghastly Horror
Fact: I’m running out of shit to say about Rogga Johansson. Cut me a little slack, dude’s in 45 bands that all sound like Grave. That’s enough to give any reviewer Rogga block. I guess it wouldn’t be an issue if all of those bands weren’t totally fucking awesome, but a collective releasing schedule more relentless than an Ultimate Heat Corn Nuts/MGD dump at 4am only adds to the difficulty. Example: this is the fourth Revolting album in as many years. Now throw in multiple Paganizer releases over that span, plus new Ribspreader, Putrevore, and 11th Hour records all in 2012 alone, and you begin to see my plight. Does Rogga even own a bed? How about a TV? Can we at least get the guy a snack in between albums? It’s a truly amazing level of DEADication that’s hard to keep up with, but I’ll try. I get the sense from album #4 that Revolting is definitely Johansson’s fun outlet. Not that Hymns of Ghastly Horror is a joke by any means, but certain elements reveal the man letting his hair down (and if anyone’s earned the right…). The foundation here is unsurprisingly Old School Swedeath, but it’s highly dosed up on Punkish energy and even a traditional Heavy Metal lick or two. Opener “The Mother of Darkness” leads off with such a nod before launching into full-on Crustiness replete with intro-melody-mutated-into-Dismember-hook chorus and Crossover break. Wailing Rock leads infiltrate the otherwise straightforward “Their Thoughts Can Kill” and “Ravenous Alien Spawn,” while the sample-ridden instrumental “The Thing That CHUD Not Be” and strutting chugfest of “Kinderfeeder” are downright danceable! However, when the boys take a more stone-faced approach to the meloD-beat fury, as on grim standouts “Lair of the Black Queen,” “Prey to Katahdin,” and “The Hatchet Murders,” the record is at its strongest. Rogga’s beyond bestial growl —in particularly legendary form throughout— also helps keep the album honest. Summary: this is a much more cohesive effort than 2011’s In Grisly Rapture, and while arguably not as essential as Johansson’s other 44 bands, not a bad time either.
(0) Comment(s)
Page 1 of 1 pages