Severed Limbs - In Each Scenario You Die

SEVERED LIMBS - In Each Scenario You Die (SEVARED Records - CD 2013)

It is very easy to lose track on how many bands is Rogga Johansson involved in at the moment and what are his recent recordings. This guy is a living death metal phenomenon, being a part of over 20 death metal bands… Sometimes I wonder if he still remembers what bands he’s in and if he can remember and flawlessly play and growl songs from each of them hehe. Obviously we can hear many opinions that it is pointless to have so many bands, if half of them play similar type of music and is rather hard to distinguish and also that the quantity not necessarily goes in hand with quality. Personally I have no such problem, as I really fuckin enjoyed most of Rogga’s bands and already have a huge collection of his work. Sure, sometimes I wonder how he can know that riff or song he just came up with will fit Ribspreader and not Paganizer for instance, if it’s a matter of priorities he gives to certain band at the moment or what… Anyway, every year brings some new stuff, which Johansson is involved in and 2013 also brought us several new bands - Megascavenger, Dawn Among the Men, Johansson & Speckmann, Just Before Dawn… and also Severed Limbs. I haven’t heard about the last one, until Rogga has sent me CD of the first Severed Limbs album “In Each Scenario You Die”. It is funny, because until that day I haven’t even heard this band’s name, even Metal Archives didn’t have it in their “files”, so it was kind of unexpected surprise… As Rogga told me Severed Limbs was formed already back in 1999 with original Paganizer drummer Jocke Ringdahl (now in Sinners Burn), but was kind of put on ice quickly, with just one rehearsal demo from 1999 and another demo from 2005 recorded. It would probably never see the light of the day if Rogga wasn’t asked by the guy from Sevared Records if he has another project, which he could release. And the choice was Severed Limbs. New material has been composed and recorded, by Rogga solely and here is the final effect: “In Each Scenario You Die”, with nine new songs plus all four from the original 2005 demo.

You know why I like most of Rogga’s bands? Because most of them sounds just fuckin awesome. And here is new band, Severed Limbs, new album “In Each Scenario You Die” and all I can say is that this album is just an excellent death metal crusher. It is unbelievable that yet another band and yet another album come and this guy again manages to record some truly killer death metal tunes and really severed me hehe. And no, it isn’t an exaggeration, I really mean that “In Each Scenario You Die” is just one of his best works ever. It is more than just a solid and decent record, it is a fuckin crusher with some truly excellent riffs and memorable, gut ripping parts. Stylistically it may not differ so much from Bone Gnawer, Ribspreader, The Grotesquery or Paganizer, but the quality is here as well and I can honestly say that as overall “In Each Scenario You Die” is a must have for gore death metal freaks. The album has a great groove, a lot of awesome, almost catchy, headbanger’s friendly riffs and is just flawless in this type of death metal, you know? Obviously there are some faster songs (“Lunar Obscenity”) and those slower, mid paced tempo songs (“10 Ton Warhammer”)… but everything seems to be played just as it should be, with awesome as always growling vocals of Rogga, great production and even the drum machine sounds excellent – I bet no one would ever guess it is an inhuman drummer here. And with such songs as “Hollowed Out” (“…I cut you open, leaving a huge hole. I rip your guts out, you are now empty…” – these lyrics say it all!!!), “In Each Scenario You Die”, “Thirst for Human Liquids” this albums shreds totally.

Every song is a real blast in the face, crushing relentlessly, I am also surprised that some of these riffs are even kind of melodic like in “Where the Dead Still Walk”, what certainly is not common in gore death metal… and so it turns out that Rogga Johansson did it again – once more he recorded a death metal killer. “In Each Scenario You Die” is definitely a must have for all the fans of his work and death metal generally. I can assure you that if you’re into Grave, Facebreaker, Bloodbath then this is just a must have for you. In my opinion Severed Limbs on “In Each Scenario You Die” is walking the path, which Bloodbath was taking on their first (and their best) LPs such as “Resurrection Through Carnage” and is just as good as them. So, if you’re crazy for Bloodbath, then get Severed Limbs. And for the bonus we get Severed Limbs’ demo from 2004, which is a good addition to the whole album, even if the production of it as well as the songs are not quite as awesome as rest of “In Each Scenario You Die”. Any more doubts? No, this is obligatory stuff!

Standout tracks: “Hollowed Out”, “In Each Scenario You Die”, “Thirst for Human Liquids”, “Open Graves”

Final rate: 80/100