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.
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