Grisly – Tomb King

If there was an award for most prolific Death Metal artist, Rogga Johansson is likely to be winning it. For those unfamiliar with his works, he’s been the driving force behind Paganizer, Ribspreader, Johansson & Speckmann, the latest incarnation of Massacre and many, many more. It seems like the man’s inspiration never runs dry. In 2023, astonishingly, he’s been involved in eleven albums alone! But, does his gigantic amount of work suffer from quantity over quality and how will it affect Grisly’s third album entitled ‘Tomb King’?

What sets Grisly apart from the majority of Rogga’s other projects is a less refined sound. This is evident in the mixing on ‘Tomb King’, which is less polished than the majority of his outputs. Despite it never becoming too murky and reaching truly cavernous grounds, it does fully invoke the old school feeling. Almost as if Grisly utilized the blueprints that Autopsy has laid down in the nineties.

It will not come as a surprise that ‘Tomb King’ holds lots of melodic lead guitar work backed up by stomping rhythm guitars. It’s much akin to what Dismember started developing from their top notch album ‘Death Metal’ and onwards. If the very first tunes of the opener ‘Shadowborn’ do not make you think of Dismember’s ‘Of Fire’, then what will? It would, however, be unfair to dismiss Grisly as merely just another Dismember look-a-like. On another note, all solo guitars are played by (what seems like) Rogga’s go-to shredder Kjetil Lynghaug. Lynghaug’s contribution pays off greatly, as his solos emphasize the songs perfectly and lift them to a higher level.

Rogga has, of course, carved his own style through the years and it is evident that he’s pulled off another solid Swedeath Metal album. Those initiated will know that 95% of what Rogga does is create Death Metal, but he’ll give a different twist to every project he’s in. It is hard, however, to exactly pin-point what his vision for Grisly is. Apart from the earlier mentioned production, there’s not much to set Grisly apart from his many other projects. With ‘Tomb King’ he’s served yet another Death Metal album that’s got his signature all over it. Little more, little less.

Two standout moments are ‘Souls Last Caress II’ and closer ‘The Purple Testament’. These tracks deviate from the Rogga Death Metal standard, in that they lean more into Death/Doom Metal territory. The closer track might knock some hardcore fans to the head with its Death ‘n’ Roll character. If it weren’t for these tracks, ‘Tomb King’ may have been on the forgettable side.

 All in all, Grisly have served a worthwhile Death Metal album. It’s instantly clear that Rogga Johansson is behind the wheel on ‘Tomb King’. His style is ever present throughout all his releases, including this one. The downside is, unfortunately, that Grisly doesn’t manage to stand out much from his other releases. So, it’s unlikely that ‘Tomb King’ will lend Rogga a huge barrage of new fans. However, for those who love what he does, this one will definitely satisfy your need for Swedish Death Metal.