Johansson & Speckmann album review – Edge of The Abyss

Prolific metal veterans Johansson & Speckmann bring themselves closer to death

Johansson & Speckmann album cover

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While almost 13 years separate them, these two veterans have each produced more music than most musicians would in several lifetimes, Sweden-based Rogga Johansson alone releasing over 50 albums since the early 00s.

They can basically spit out an album like Edge Of The Abyss in their sleep and that’s their third collaboration’s best yet most questionable asset. Thanks to their massive combined experience, this collection is as unpretentious as it is tenacious, and while its two predecessors were more straightforwardly thrashy vein tailor-made for Master frontman Paul Speckmann’s Cronos-like vocals, the end result here is more death metal-based.

As a result, they now sound a tad too much like Ribspreader (one of Johansson most reliable projects) yet with Speckmann’s scruffy voice on top. The addition of Kjetil Luyghaug – another Johansson collaborator – who adds a much more melodic touch with his shredding solos, only further highlights even more how limited Speckmann’s barking can be in that context. Another day in the office then, despite the deployment of luminous lead breaks.