They say rust never sleeps, and clearly, neither does the creativity of Death Metal legend Rogga Johansson as he returns with the fourteenth Paganizer full-length studio album, As Mankind Rots. Not to mention the EPs, split releases, live albums and compilations, fourteen in twenty-seven years, an impressive achievement in itself. But as we all know, this is just one of a huge number of bands and projects he has been involved in. Clearly, his creativity knows no bounds, and long may it continue.
Paganizer – As Mankind Rots
Release Date: 5 February 2026
Words: Jools Green
Paganizer have never done a bad album. It is not in Rogga’s remit, and As Mankind Rots is up there with my all-time favourite Paganizer offerings, 2013’s World Lobotomy, 2017’s Land of Weeping Souls and The Tower of the Morbid in 2019.
The album does not just open, it bursts forth, no intro, just straight into driving, unrelenting savage riffage and pummelling drum rhythms with album title track, As Mankind Rots. A full assault on your senses, it switches to a galloping, undulating drive as the vocals arrive and carve a harshly brutal swathe through those driving riffs.
When the pace drops back to a slower one, it turns dark and ominous, with the pace switching repeatedly and seamlessly between these two aspects. This is a piece that grabs and holds on to your attention, a gloriously brutal start to the release.
Possibly my favourite track, but to be honest, it is a close thing across the album. Devoured opens on a groovy, addictive chugging repeat, turning ominous and sinister as the vocals arrive. It is a superbly suspense-filled piece packed with dark atmosphere, with some excellent vocal protractions from Rogga, closing with that groovy repeat, and the final blood-curdling vocal elevation is superbly unnerving.
The sinister tones continue with Aftermath Bleeder, a punchy driver that quickly ramps up to a gallop, pausing and switching dynamically. I love the closing leadwork. It is straightforward but very haunting and takes a brief break from the driving onslaught. Again, you get another closing blood-curdling vocal elevation following on from the final protracted growls.
Brace yourself as Only Maggots opens on a wave of pounding drumbeats and squealing riffs, briefly levelling out to a sinister wave of riffs before assuming a galloping assault on your senses. It ebbs back to the slower, sinister waves again, adding more impact to driving swathes. Who needs a second-half solo when you can have wave after wave of vocal protractions from Rogga instead? They hit like a tsunami. I love the closing fade out ending on an otherworldly vocal echo.
Engagingly catchy and unrelentingly driving Put On Your Gasmask might be the shortest piece but it is a well filled two and three quarter minutes. The riffs undulate tantalisingly, the vocals are delivered with snarling punch and the militaristic drum rhythms and ominous riffing in the second half are totally on point. You even get a wailing air raid siren. What more could you want?
The next piece, Hollow, comes in initially slower with dark undertones. But this is a piece where the pace builds and ebbs in huge waves. Its twists and turns are aggressive, and it is fascinatingly unpredictable too. A great piece that is full of surprises.
A Testament To Madness is like a crawling monolith. Slow and heavy to open, it builds as it edges unrelentingly towards you. The growls smother as it gradually gathers pace, ebbing back just enough to build more crush before surging forward again, casting a bigger and darker shadow as it progresses. Even the mid-point leadwork oozes sinister intent, and if that is not enough, the latter part tormented scream and deranged edge to the vocal delivery surely is.
Afterworld brings the driving pace up a bit. The riffs are crunchy and punchy, and the vocals carve through with menace. The drum rhythms hammer with dark intent, and the searing guitar solo is haunting and ominously atmospheric, bolstered by another of those blood-curdling screams from Rogga.
Initially eerie and unnerving, but brace yourself for another furious rampage as The Rotting End opens up. Again, packing an engaging punch, but that eerie, unnerving element starts to creep back in, becoming particularly apparent after the haunting midpoint leadwork and is compounded by the vocal delivery towards the close.
This continues into the next piece, which is not surprising given the title One Way To The Grave. I do like the addition of the sound of earth being shovelled as the piece closes, as it completes the atmosphere.
Final piece Vanans Makt (The Power Of Habit) originally appeared on a couple of Paganizer compilations; Compiled Ammunition back in 2020 and 2021’s Born To Murder The Filth. It offers yet another twist to the Paganizer sound. Written by Dennis Blomberg, it is a piece where Rogga decided to unleash some unusual creativity. Firstly, making it more crushing than Dennis envisaged, and also to give it a different edge, just to surprise him.
Given that Dennis is a bit of a Punk fan, he invited Bulten from Swedish punk band Lastkaj 14 to do guest vocals. I think it works really well. It adds extra energy to the punch of the piece, and her higher punk delivery also adds an interesting contrast to Rogga’s ground-shaking growls and blood-curdling protractions.
I think it is a great closing piece. It thinks outside of the box, and now, for the first time, appearing on a studio album will give it a wider audience and maybe ruffle a few Death Metal gatekeepers’ feathers in the process, which I think is always fun.
As Mankind Rots, released on 5 February 2026 via Xtreem Music, is essential listening for all Death Metal and Rogga fans, but if that’s you, well, you do not need me to tell you that. The sinister monochrome artwork is by Ivan Bragin, and it will be available as a CD, 12″ vinyl, cassette and as a digital download.
