### Paganizer: Dead unburied

#### 03/12/08 || Daemonomania

So we all know that a certain force behind Paganizer and a million other bands lurks in the shadows of these forums, but I’ll do my best to avoid pandering to him and write a brutal, unsparing review of “Dead unburied.” At least, I would write it if the album was bad. Which it ain’t. Paganizer has done a fantastic job of mixing the wonderful world of Grave with a motorboat. Yep, the blasts and fast double bass sound like someone hitched up a couple 225hp Evinrudes to the drum kit. And believe you me, this boat is sailing straight for Death Metal Island. A place of danger and mystery…

During your 35 minute cruise, you’ll see some “Landscapes made of human skin,” a “Napalm burial” or two, and quite possibly navigate “Beyond redemption.” As you can probably guess, the lyrics are not about the effects of British colonialism in Africa, nor do they debate the merits and dangers of nanotechnology. Expect short, punishing stabs of evil, dismemberment, and all-around negativity. As “Even in hell” proudly proclaims:

You’ll know you are dead When my knife tears your chest

Yep, if you didn’t know you were in trouble before, that whole blade through the sternum thing should be your wakeup call.

Teh groove is most certainly present, and in between the somewhat muffled faster sections your head will be banging. Vocals are low and gruff, and if you’ve heard Ribspreader or Demiurg or any band from the land of tasty meatballs that doesn’t feature Tompa, you know the vocals are good. Bass must be there and probably adds to the low, grating, gravelly, gyrating grind. The drumming sounds a bit off-time here and there, but that could just be the production.

Taken as a whole there are certainly some tracks that stand out more than others, like “Hateconsumed,” and the tremendous “At night they come.” But if you’ve got your tunes on shuffle in a certain, nameless and ubiquitous MP3 playing device, you’ll never want to skip a track from “Dead unburied.” They’re all pleasant and comforting, like a warm blanket (soaked in gore) and a cup of hot milk (filled with your mother’s feces) before bed (on a mattress filled with dead babies). That might be my only real complaint – Paganizer doesn’t really break any new ground.

Let me make a logical transition between comparing the album to a sea voyage to comparing the album to food. Gaydonggeyser is like the comfort food of Swedish DM – you don’t want someone to “break new ground” on your pork chop and mashed potatoes, do you? Like add some minced apricots and balsamic vinegar glaze to the respective savories? Well, if you do, you’ve got Opeth for that I suppose.

Does this voyage sound a bit too conventional for you? Need another tasty tidbit to induce you to take the cruise and eat the food? Then vomit, repeatedly, overboard? Well, if the names Skogsberg, Swanö, or Sandström mean anything to you – haul anchor.

8.5 ships to a watery Grave out of 10.

- Information
- Released: 2002
- Label: Forever Underground
- Website: www.paganizer.com
- Band
- Rogga Johansson: vocals, guitars
- Andreas Carlsson: lead guitars
- Oskar Nilsson: bass
- Mattias Fiebig: drums

- Tracklist
- 01. Even In Hell
- 02. Landscapes Made Of Human Skin
- 03. Napalm Burial
- 04. Lobotomized
- 05. Flesh Surpremacy
- 06. Beyond Redemption
- 07. Procreating Death
- 08. At Night They Come
- 09. Hateconsumed