Revolting “Night of The Horrid”
In the global metal scene there are two camps when it comes to nostalgic sounding bands. The first camp appreciates the effort to keep the sound of the earlier eras going within “the new blood” and are more likely to embrace any additional flair these new bands add to somewhat differentiate themselves. The second camp would rather listen to the classic albums from the “old guard” and shy away (or even reject) any newer bands that actively emulate the old school sound for the sake of purity. After all, why take the risk of listening to something that is bland or trying too hard to live up to something that has already reached legendary status? Revolting is a project from the “old guard” that lives suspended in time, delivering old school Swedish death metal that is purposefully composed to remain a permanent love letter to the early 90’s golden age.
The mastermind behind this putrid sound is Rogga Johansson (aka Revolting Rogga), a guitar & vocalist that has contributed to or played in over sixty bands over his 30 year career. Taking influence from his native country’s scene, the iconic Swedish death metal sound, is his bread and butter; seldom deviating from the formula. As previously mentioned, this truth makes him a paradox since you’ll easily be able to hear his influence on the projects he is a part of without finding too much distinction between them. For example, the bands Paganizer and Ribspreader, who Rogga also leads, are quite similar to Revolting with the only difference truly being the lyrical content and the D-beat influence from drummer Mutated Martin. With that said, the musical signature that Rogga creates is indeed iconic, serving both the nostalgia of seasoned metalheads and delivering consistent material that helps introduce new listeners to this style of death metal.
Night of the Horrid marks Revolting’s ninth full length studio album since their inception in 2008. Listeners from their back catalogue can expect a full serving of riff worship, horror story inspired lyrics, a D-beat bludgeoning, and iconic deep mid growls that the Swedes excel at. In a recent interview with Lelahel Metal, Rogga stated that:
“Early on we found the sound that was to be Revolting, old school death metal in the Scandinavian vein with catchy choruses, like a sing along up-tempo death metal [...] And we don't feel we wanna change that sound really.”
Their trademark sound is best represented in the title track “Night of the Horrid” where we get launched into a Dissection-esque melodic opener followed by a bouncy yet crunchy death metal riff. The song speeds through with the help of a rock solid rhythm section showcasing D-beat drumming, some tasteful use of blast beats, and a chainsaw bass tone that will have you headbanging in no time. These hallmark elements of the Swedish sound are tied together with the monstrous Amorphis-like vocals and the concise solo towards the back half of the song.
Tracks like, “Shapeshifter” and “Blades Will Cut,” play out in a very similar formulation; only varying in how melodic the riffs are and the odd addition of an atmospheric horror sample that does not linger more than 20 seconds. This is done on purpose as Rogga states later in the same interview with Lelahel Metal,
“...I don’t like when it gets too melodic [...] I personally hate too brutal music that is just brutal for its own sake [...] I try to make the perfect combination of the two really. Often verses and bridges can be harder, and then the more epic parts can be done in the choruses. It's a simple way to work I guess but I like it.”
Is there anything different or exciting here based on Revolting’s back catalogue or the genre itself? No, and whether that is a good thing is up to which camp you are in when it comes to bands sticking to their tried and true musical formals. Either way, what is undeniable here is the dedication to this death metal style. Rogga unapologetically sticks to what he does best and is not looking to chase trends of the time; thus making this project a sort of timeless classic. With a short run time of 33 minutes, Night of the Horrid is a worthy background listen when working, going to the gym, or drinking with friends but probably won’t enter into your regular listening rotation nor your favorite albums of their discography.
SCORE: 2.5 / 5
FFO: Dismember, Unleashed, Bloodbath
You can pre-order your physical or digital copy on Xtreem Music’s Bandcamp today.
