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Released on May 22, 2015 via F.D.A. Rekotz
Rogga Johansson! No, not Marilyn Manson. Not Scarlett Johansson. Mr. death metal riffs, Rogga Johansson. Devil incarnate! This is Rogga’s thirty-fifth album. Just kidding. Fact is, there are countless releases to his credit. Rogga is like that madman in the woods who just happens to be an alchemist. He has a guitar, an amp, and a Boss HM-2 pedal.
This time Rogga comes courtesy of Revolting. The Swede straps his boots and gets rid of the Boss. Revolting sound heavy, even without the damn buzzsaw guitar this time around. He weaves little melodies in and around shredding, downpicking and nasty chugga-chugga, doing an At The Gates for this gold bullion of albums, Visages of the Unspeakable.
Lots of strumming and punk riffs means classic in the making? No. Entertaining listen? Mayhaps. Still, I can’t help but think Rogga has gone to the well for some of these songs once too often. Maybe it’s just me, but I am somehow possessed with the notion that album highlight, ‘Severed and Blessed’, is really a hackjob.
Visages of the Unspeakable reminds me of Goatwhore’s tribute take, Blood For The Master. Both albums use a ton of riffs that have been used so many times before. It’s classic for a reason, and shit, Rogga doesn’t give a damn what you think. You like it? Bang your head. You don’t? Don’t show up at one of their gigs.
Album highlight might really be track one, ‘Shunned to the Shadows’. It’s powerful, blistering, catchy and memorable. By the third track, you will wish that they stop the demented d-beat.
They blast, they thrash, they double-kick with ugh! They groove like they own the moves. They’re the Michael Jackson of death metal. Do that thang. Do that thang. Make your body sing. Like motherfuckin’ ugh!
The first time you’ll hear version one of the same damn punk riff is in track two, ‘Whispers of the Hanged’. It’s catchy like a frisbee. Rogga does a good job tossing in some other riffs to make things interesting. The drums mix things up some on track two as well. Let’s face it. Rogga’s brilliant. He can flat-out play any riff your grampa did in his own metal band. Back to the future, death metal style!
Track three,’ Fathoms Unto Forever’ picks up the pace again. This time, its melodic and sassy in the middle. The riff at the 2:10 mark is brutal as fuck! If you think that’s it, he jacks it up again close to the end, before surprise…there’s a keyboard section.
Track four, ‘Dagger Clawed Chaos’, sounds so Gothenburg! Revolting start off screaming and galloping, then, the catchy songwriting kicks in and it’s a change of tempos to top things off. The melodic main riff sounds a little mid-career mark Dismember as well.
Track five, ‘Bloodkurdle’, starts things off with a thrashy riff, then it’s a guitar wail and a good second riff. Rogga mixes them up here like a seasoned chef. Double-kicks take over towards the end of the song and the bass makes a statement.
There’s plenty of leads outside of soloing, scattered about the songs and the rhythm guitar like Rogga’s secret weapon. It’s really too bad, Rogga starts off track seven, ‘Riddled With Worms’, with a guitar lesson. Damn it, Rogga! I don’t need you to give me a heads-up on finger tapping. It sounds infantile, but without that, Visages of the Unspeakable would be a raging beast of an album. Albeit, a beast with a used arm, a used horn, used claw, and so on.
Still, metal doesn’t always have to be brilliantly original or artsy-fartsy. Rogga loves to rock. He is shepherd to our flock. Follow the man to whatever end awaits.
