JOHANSSON & SPECKMANN — The Germs of Circumstance (review)

JOHANSSON & SPECKMANN — The Germs of Circumstance album cover Album · 2020 · Death Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
3/5 ·
UMUR
"The Germs of Circumstance" is the fifth full-length studio album by multi-national death metal act Johansson & Speckmann. The album was released through Soulseller Records in October 2020. It´s the successor to "From the Mouth of Madness" from 2018 and features the exact same quartet lineup who recorded the predecessor. The project is centered around prolific Swedish guitarist/bassist Rogga Johansson (Paganizer, The Grotesquery)...etc.) and American (living in the Czech Republic) lead vocalist Paul Speckmann (Master, Abomination, Death Strike).

Stylistically the material on "The Germs of Circumstance" continue the old school death metal style of the preceding album releases by Johansson & Speckmann. Don´t expect much development of sound or any compositional surprises. It´s still old school and predominantly heavy and mid-paced death metal with both thrash and hardcore (occasionally some punk influenced riffs and rhythms) with Speckmann´s slurry semi-growling vocals in front. It´s not far removed from the style of the first Master album, and the quality of the music is pretty much in that area too.

8 tracks and a total playing time of 26:14 isn´t much quantity for the money, but it wouldn´t have mattered if the quality and memorability of the material were high, but that´s not really the case here. While "The Germs of Circumstance" is both well performed and features a raw and effectful sound production, the material isn´t particularly memorable beyond the album´s playing time. So upon conclusion "The Germs of Circumstance" is another relatively mediocre release from Johansson & Speckmann. It´s not bad by any means, it´s just pretty standard for the genre. A 3 star (60%) rating is warranted.
Share this review

Review Comments

Post a public comment below | Send private message to the reviewer
Please login to post a shout
No shouts posted yet. Be the first member to do so above!

MMA TOP 5 Metal ALBUMS

Rating by members, ranked by custom algorithm
Albums with 30 ratings and more
Master of Puppets Thrash Metal
METALLICA
Buy this album from our partners
Paranoid Heavy Metal
BLACK SABBATH
Buy this album from our partners
Moving Pictures Hard Rock
RUSH
Buy this album from our partners
Powerslave NWoBHM
IRON MAIDEN
Buy this album from our partners
Rising Heavy Metal
RAINBOW
Buy this album from our partners

New Metal Artists

New Metal Releases

Antibeauty Hardcore Punk
SNOWING IN PERU
Buy this album from MMA partners
Mana Earth Hardcore Punk
SNOWING IN PERU
Buy this album from MMA partners
Intimate Isolation Hardcore Punk
GOOD FALL
Buy this album from MMA partners
Dark Future Sludge Metal
PAIN CHEMISTRY
Buy this album from MMA partners
Violent Delights Hardcore Punk
GALLEONS
Buy this album from MMA partners
More new releases

New Metal Online Videos

Galleons - Electric Emotions
GALLEONS
Bosh66· 17 hours ago
More videos

New MMA Metal Forum Topics

More in the forums

New Site interactions

More...

Latest Metal News

members-submitted

More in the forums

Social Media

Follow us