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Interviews
Paganizer, etc.: Rogga Johansson
25/03/10 || Daemonomania
Unless you hate ze Death of ze Metal of Sweden, you’ve heard of Rogga. And if you hate Swedeathery… what are you doing on GD? Maybe it’s time to try out that DIY eye-surgery kit grandma gave you for Christmas. Let me know how it turns out.
That being said, let’s discuss the subject of today’s Proust Questionnaire. Roger “Scarlett” Johansson churns out the wonderful music of his birth country like most of us churn out farts after a night of dark beer and Tex-Mex food. The most observant of readers will discover where he finds the spare time to be this productive. Enjoy the interview below with GD’s favorite mongo, dear friends.
GD: Hello Rogga, and welcome to an interview for Global Domination. A site with which you are quite familiar, yes?
Rogga: I have heard of it, yes.
For those who have been living under a non-metallic rock for several years, give us a brief bio and FULL list of bands in which you participate/have participated.
What a delightful question, haven’t really answered this one before. As
I’m rather short I’ll try to keep the answer that way too. Got into
heavy metal as a wee lad, the usual stuff as vinyl from Kiss and Iron
Maiden, and then that evolved into more extreme stuff both within metal
and industrial music which I was exposed to as well. Started to play in
various projects maybe in seventh or eight grade and after that it’s
pretty much just kept on rolling.
During my teens it was mostly industrial metal, and I didn’t move into the more pure death metal part of it until around ´94 when I started Paganizer, which then went under the name Terminal Grip. And after that, when I turned twenty was when I think my Aspergers really went haywire, and I started spewing out more and more crap. So a list of projects or bands is rather hard to compile, as I don’t remember myself what I’ve done since then. There are loads of demos done prior to the later 90s that I just never go onto CD or released in any form, but to make it simple I could at least list the bands I’ve released something with I guess. Paganizer, Carve, Dead Sun, Ribspreader, Banished From Inferno, Revolting, Putrevore, Sinners Burn, Demiurg, Bone Gnawer, The Grotesquery and Those Who Bring The Torture. From the unreleased stack I remember things like Putashriek, Severed Limbs, Evangleikum and Parasite. I’ve done some vocals too on albums by Edge of Sanity and Nasum, and also on the 11th Hour album which Ed Warby recorded last year.
Let’s say that you suddenly have to drop every other band you’re in and focus on just one – which one would it be?
Before I would have said Paganizer, as we do some gigs and tours now and then, but honestly I couldn’t really say. Maybe The Grotesquery would get the upper hand these days, as it’s very much fun and sounds rather well too.
You’ve gotten to work with many of metal’s greats. Swanö, Sandström, Yngwie. Who was the most entertaining collaborator?
Touring with the guys in Deranged I would say. I’ve never really met any non drinkers before, especially not in metal. It was very weird. I understand them though for not getting back to me after the tour, I wouldn’t have either if I were them.
How crucial is being drunk to the creative process?
I won’t even answer that. Or I will, it’s blue.
Blue? Not sure I get that. Please elaborate.
I’m just being stupid as usual. For me making music and drinking is very much linked together as I get creative when drunk. I mean, it’s the same when I’m sober too but making stupid music is extra fun after a crate of beers. Or during the course of a crate of beers I mean.
Speaking about knowing people in bands, Lord K seems to have a definite opinion of you (recent example: Village Mongo). Is this opinion formed from actually meeting you, or just from your involvement on the GD forums?
We’ve never met, no. We spoke on the phone once though, when he hooked me up with Jörgen’s number, I think. I remember that bedroom voice still today, both masculine and whorish. I have always wondered what he would subject me to, if he got me alone in his love-den one of these days. I think it would be awesome.
Last band-related question, for the moment: which group would you LOVE to be in, either as a vocalist or guitarist?
As I’m only interested in my own music there’s no other band I’d like to be part of. There have been suggestions and questions popping up now and then, that I should do vocals in different bands needing a growler. And sure I could do that for fun on album, as I have done before. But I wouldn’t be interested in doing it all the time like an actual member. No matter how stupid or shitty my music might seem to many people, it’s all I’m interested in. So the answer would be no fucken band at all.
And how about Grave, huh? What was up with “Dominion VIII” and that shit production job? Would you set Ola and the gang straight if you were in the crew?
I thought exactly the same when it came out, that it sounded very boring and the sound was crappy too. Now I have changed opinion though, and to me its an ok album. I don’t think I could set Ola straight even if I tried, I heard he’s supergay. Seriously, that man has more musicality in his turds than I have in alles, so I wouldn’t try to tell them anything really. For me it’s as simple as just not listening to their music if it doesn’t appeal to me.
Switching tracks here… let’s have an answer once and for all – is Sweden a dark, foreboding place filled with evil, misery, and eternal winter? Or is it a playground of tall, lithe, blonde descendants of Vikings?
It’s just like me, a bit of both. Sure I’m blonde and handsome but not very tall and my penis is a bit on the short side too. Eternal winter though is something we have had this year, the fucken snow won’t go. During times like these I wish I knew how to ski, it’s a complete fuck to walk through this shit to get beers at the store.
Are the other Scandinavian countries any match for Sweden (aside from metal production – I’m talking about what would happen if we put the charade of national sports teams aside and decided to settle things through “Braveheart”-style warfare)?
I think Finland would kick the living shit out of Sweden. We’ve gone soft the last hundred years while those guys still seem to have a healthy does of the Russian bear halfway up their asses. As for Norway I have no idea, but the way they speak sound very gay to us. I’ve heard they think the same about how we speak but that’s just bullshit, Norway is the sissy nation. Denmark we would blast to hell I think, those guys just smoke and drink at work, which we would if it were legal, so we would surely catch them drunk and finish them off ninja style. Or Viking style I mean, the ol’ hatchet to the noodle.
How’s yer particular brand of socialism treating you dudes over there?
Very well I would say. I’ve been unemployed for nearly six years now and still afford to get drunk as often as I want to. Sure, I can’t buy a nice car or a decent pair of pants but the beer is flowing so I’m all good.
And how much would it be to buy a six pack of beer in your neighborhood? Please note that this answer will certainly affect any future plans I may have had to visit.
There’s where Sweden goes utterly wrong. We have the Systembolaget monopoly which pretty much means that you can buy the booze and beer at office hours on weekdays at that dedicated store but at supermarkets there’s only piss. Beer at 3,5% isn’t beer, that’s fencepiss. And the cool part is that this pissbeer is more expensive than the regular stuff at the idiot store that closes at six. So whatever you do, don’t fucken move here. Give me your address and I’ll move over there instead, ok?
Back on track again, since ¾ of the fucks on GD are from Sweden and know all this shit already. How’d you come upon that insane growl? Was it years of practice, or were you struck in the throat by a reanimated corpse?
I didn’t start to growl until I was like 16, and back then it wasn’t so impressive really. I mean it sounded pretty much more Cannibal Corpse lowstyled, you know that usual guttural thing. But after hearing Kam Lee on the “From Beyond” album I tried to just do it more relaxed and I guess that’s the only thing. So that moped is built into the throat, I didn’t really do anything to train it.
On the subject Herbert West and friends, I’ll go out on a limb and say you might be a horror movie fan. I know, I know – a death metal phenom as a horror fan – definitely hard to believe. Anyway, your favorite films from this genre please. Unless you prefer romcoms.
I’m pretty easy to satisfy, as I started with the teenslasher movies as a kid. I’m still utterly in love with the first four “Friday 13th” and such movies. The best stuff though, which I discovered as a teen were the Fulci classics. You really can’t beat the feeling of “The Beyond” or “House By The Cemetery”. Actually just today I received a package from a new friend, Leon Marcelo. It was his “Creepy Crawls” book and with it he sent three jars containing dirt collected at the places where they recorded “The Fog”, “Phantasm” and “House By The Cemetery”. That last jar I’m gonna make love to right after finishing this interview.
And on the horror front, how about the lyrics for Revolting? Did the good folks at Razorback just SEND them to you?
Yes they did haha. Revolting was an idea that Billy at Razorback had, and as we have been friends for many many years now he thought it was time that we worked together on something. He created the concept and I created the music, very simple. I bought some beers, or actually a weeks worth of beers, and sat down and recorded like 25 songs and it all turned out to be very Revolting indeed. Its actually one of the projects of mine that I actually like haha.
Wait a minute, let me address something from a few questions back. You’ve been unemployed for nearly SIX YEARS? How is that even remotely possible? In the US of A they call those people “homeless”. Or “dead”. Or “minorities”. Or “Southern”.
That’s the way Sweden have worked the last years, if you get unemployed and doesn’t have any cool skills you instead get thrown into some utterly cool courses and whatnot. There’s the dreaded computer course for instance where the teachers always are dumber than the students. I’ve been spared though, as they consider me retarded I guess so the last years I’ve pretty much done nothing, and as many of my friends around here have the same situation there’s always time for beer and death metal. I don’t complain though, the work I had last was at a cheese factory and fuck that was heavy shit. Free cheese of corpse, which is awesome with beer, but being drenched in cumlike fluids all day and manhandling large cheeses, nah I can do without – haha.
On a non-DM note, staffer and forumer and good buddy Inquisitor Generalis would like to know why the 11th Hour cover is so gay. I’m sure you didn’t pick the cover art, of course, but you’re still gonna have to answer the question.
Is the cover gay? It’s a bird, right? I don’t remember what the artwork is really besides it was some bird influence there. Are birds gay? If they are I guess Inquisitor Retardis should send the album back and get a full refund, but I suspect he only has mp3´s and a jpg in a folder so…
Now comes the part in the review where I name some bands, you give ‘em a score from 1 to 10, and then say which comic book character the band reminds you of. For example:
Entombed: 9 early, 5 now. And Wolverine, because they had an album about Wolverine. Yeah.
Now you…
Broken Hope: 8. And these guys sure are fucken Lobo, good fierce grinding death should be represented by such a fuckugly brutal hero.
Faith No More: 6. Chang Chi, gay Asian buttmusic.
Demonoid: I don’t think I’ve heard this, only heard the name somewhere. So then they must be a manga character, as I haven’t read any manga either. I am mongo though.
The Eagles: 3. The Vulture. I am right on spot there, as the Eagles too are old shitty men, without cool green winged suits tho.
Gorefest: 8. These guys are the sonic equivalent to Socker Conny.
Arch Enemy: Their debut is a solid 8. The rest is meh. As for comic character the debut is as cool as that dude from Hellblazer though.
Dark Funeral: 5. Ricky Raccoon. Is that a comic book character?
Describe a typical Friday night/Saturday morning in the life of a chronically underemployed Swedeath revivalist.
That’s easy, as the chronically underemployed always go for tacos or Thai food and then dive right into the drinking binge. I wouldn’t set Friday or Saturday apart from any other day though, as you should always remember that every day is beerday. If Tankard hasn’t already said that I’m copyrighting it right fucken now.
Speaking of which, would you say the early 90’s and such albums as “Penetralia”, “Left Hand Path”, “You’ll Never See…” etc. represented the pinnacle of all that music could ever be?
NO, not at all, the following albums from the band you mention are actually way better and define the genre much better. Sure everyone masturbates over the debuts of bands, but that’s just because they’re stupid. I pity bands and people that think the debut are always the best, the pinnacle. For Grave that might have been true as “Into the Grave” is just awesome, but also “Soulless” is an equally awesome album just a little bit different. Same goes for Hypocrisy, sure the debut is massive but compared to “Abducted” you can’t really say that the debut would be better. Edge of Sanity is a band with an even broader spectrum, their second third and fourth album are equally good, and all define their pinnacle. As for Entombed as you mention I don’t know, I always liked Dismember better.
So what 18 new bands are you cooking up these days? What might an adoring public expect next from the mighty Rogga?
Not much really, there’s a Ribspreader and a Demiurg album coming out soon. And some reissues I think too, with bonus material added. As for new projects I haven’t been doing much lately at all, I’ve been lazy as hell really.
Will you give me something for free via the mail? Anything will do. As long as it doesn’t contain bodily fluids. No, I don’t want that jar of dirt once you’re done with it.
I could piss on an envelope if you want to, but then you’d have to send me postage.
I specifically said no bodily fluids, right? That’s it, that’s all. It has been a miraculously speedy and pleasant task conducting this interview. Most jerkoffs take months to answer questions. Any last words for the corpsepainted GD hordes?
Love me, for I am mongoloid.
