If the (often fractious) community of metal were a nation, Rogga Johansson would be rightly regarded as a national treasure. The Bard of Gamleby has left his mark through a host of bands and personal projects extending back into the golden ’90s, too numerous to count even if you used all your fingers and toes. Attempting to group all of them under the unitary banner of “Swedish death metal” is tempting (because he is Swedish and does mainly indulge in death metal), but the permutations in sound and style can evade the genre characterizations that usually spring to mind when seeing that label.
Of all the many endeavors to which his name has been attached, only one actually bears his name, and now Rogga Johansson (the band) has a new album on the horizon. Entitled Entrance to the Otherwhere, it will be released on July 19th by Transcending Obscurity Records. We had the pleasure of premiering a song from the first Rogga Johnasson album, 2017’s Garpedans (which was conceptually connected to the last Demiurg album), and now we have the opportunity to premiere a song from the new one. But before we get to it, how ’bout that fucking cover art?!? Continue reading »