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Putrevore is a collaboration between Swedish musical maestro Rogga Johansson, covering guitars and bass along, and Dave Rotten from Avulsed on vocals. ‘Tentacles Of Horror’ is the third offering from this duo, and like its predecessors, is an old school chunk of Death Metal that is crushing and heavy yet still an easy listen, thanks to Rogga’s vast bank of catchy riffs. There’s no mistake who is behind guitars here, with added terror from the ground-shaking growls of Dave Rotten. The duo is joined by Brynjar Helgetun on drums, who has also contributed on many of Rogga’s other projects .
Juanjo Castellano’s artwork is superb. It has a hideous Lovecraft-esque feel, and gives you an idea what to expect sound wise, regarding lyrical content, track titles, and Rogga’s approach to his guitar work, like the similarly Lovecraft themed ‘The Grotesquery’ albums, he collaborated on with Kam Lee.
‘Tentacles Of Horror’ is an eight track offering, spanning thirty seven-crushing minutes, and ranges from mid to slow tempo , almost doom-laden in places, always maintaining that wonderfully oppressive heaviness throughout. The whole thing is like a terrible nightmare set to music, which, as long as it’s not your own nightmare is great! Beginning with ‘These Caverns Breed Filth’ we’re straight in with intense riffing and ground-shaking growls, before breaking into a classic and unmistakable “Rogga repeat riff”. A crushing low repeat turns tortuous as it morphs into squeals, and is followed by a dark haunting segment, which strongly put me in mind of his ‘The Grotesquery’ work, made all the more hideous by the deep tremor of Dave’s growls. He has to have one of the deepest deliveries in Metal. A great album opener.
We continue with ‘ Madness Beckons’, slow, crushingly heavy and darkly sinister for the greater part, but a few faster segments of Rogga’s signature riffs are dropped in, breaking out into haunting melody just before midway. Starting on a higher tempo, ‘Gable Window Portal Pt. I ‘, later drops down to dark doomy depths, followed, and contrasted by, manic shrill riffing segments. A superbly sinister track, followed by, predictably… ‘Gable Window Portal Pt. II’. Aside from a poignant drop-away, which allows the bass work to come through , this is end to end intense riffing, ground shaking gutturals, and guitar squeals. It has a great repeat that is also echoed by the bass at times,
‘Through The Vortex To Aeons Past’ switches well between squeal laced, rapid riffing and slower sinister passages, along with the ever present menacing vocals which, whilst not entirely decipherable, are packed with atmosphere and intent.
‘The Rotten Crawls On‘ brings another crushing doomy intro, and again, a slower track, enhanced with ground-shaking vocal growls with higher riffing and squeals overlaid for an extra unnerving atmosphere. A more rapid tempo is predominantly deployed for ‘Hyperborean Dreams‘, with hypnotic repeat riffs and squealing lead work .
Just the title of final track ‘A Maw Surrounded by Tentacles’ conjures up hideous visions in your mind. The crushing delivery of this (at times) poignantly slow offering , garnished with an abundance of guitar squeals, vocal growls, and haunting repeats, completes the mental imagery.
‘Tentacles Of Horror’ is a must have for all Rogga fans, and recommended for anyone who likes their Death Metal dark, heavy and sinister. The album is available from Xtreem music.
Review: Jools Green
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