Paganizer - Beyond the Macabre

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As everyone knows, the contributions of Swedish acts as ENTOMBED, DISMEMBER, UNLEASHED, GRAVE and CARNAGE to the Second Wave of Death Metal is immeasurable, because they paid the elements for what is called Swedish Death Metal School. They’re pioneers, and from time to time, it’s easy to hear some band the ideas they created to make music. But in the case of the quartet PAGANIZER, even being from Sweden, they show an ample set of ideas and elements on “Beyond the Macabre”, their latest release.

‘We don’t want to make anything new at all’ is the sensation that the band’s musical work seems to say to everyone. It’s just a form of Old School Death Metal that inherits some influences from USA School (MORBID ANGEL, DEATH, MASTER) and from English School (CARCASS on some melodic parts, as the guitars on “Left Behind to Rot”, BENEDICTION, CANCER), but bearing some traces of their own country School. It’s filled with many Death Metal hooks, an aggressive and nasty energy flows from the album’s song, and in the end of everything, who cares if they recreating the wheel or not? It’s a very good release, indeed. They used the classic Death Metal sonority created on Sunlight Studio, Slaughterhouse Studios and Morrisound Studio in the early days of the 90’s, but using a modern outfit. It means that their instrumental tunes and effects are into an Old School trend, but the mixing and mastering have the needed definition.

The distorted and nasty ambiences of “Down the Path of Decay” (a classical set of Death Metal tempos can be found, and what oppressive work of bass guitar and drums), the drilling guitars of “Left Behind to Rot” (what lovely set of hooks and bitter melodies appear on this one, along with Hardcore charming influences) and of “Meatpacker”, the sickening rhythmic changes of “Succumb to the Succubus”, the oppressive slow paced tempos of “Raving Rhymes of Rot”, the MASSACRE like elements of “Menschenfresser” (simple technical work with balance between slow and classic fast parts), and “Unpeaceful End” (a slow paced song with very good vocals, and some gutturals are from Karl Willetts, the former singer of BOLT THROWER and actually storms his lungs out on MEMORIAM) are the right ones for a first experience on the album, but all the songs are fine pieces of Death Metal.

PAGANIZER did a very good work on “Beyond the Macabre”, so give the album a spin, and you’ll not regret the experience.

Songwriting: 10
Musicianship: 8
Memorability: 9
Production: 8