Roger "Rogga" Johansson – איש של דת'

Roger "Rogga" Johansson is definitely one of the busiest people in extreme metal today, the guy single-handedly brought Swedish death metal back to the forefront of extreme metal in Europe, through his activity with many outfits – among them Paganizer, Ribspreader, Demirug, Those Who Bring The Torture and quite a few others. While sticking to a formula of creating no-nonsense, catchy and brutal oldschool death metal, Rogga has created more than 20 releases in less than 10 years – thus making him one of the most important revivalists of that almost-forgotten art of true Swedish death metal. With a few new releases out, we found it’s the best time to speak with the death metal purveyor which is Roger "Rogga" Johansson.

Hey Rogga, thanks for doing this interview! I'd like to start with your most recent projects. I know of two new albums – The Paganizer and Ribspreader, what new albums are out by now?

Just recently the Ribspreader "Opus Ribcage" album was released. It was recorded back in 2066 but has been delayed until now actually. Also there is a bunch of Paganizer stuff released recently too. Last year VIC Records released the album "Carnage Junkie" and a few days ago Cyclone Empire released "Scandinavian Warmachine". We also have a demo/unreleased compilation out called "Basic Instructions For Dying" as well as a mini CD called "Born To Be Buried Alive". So its quite a lot of stuff…

How would you categorize these two albums? Their similarities and differences?

I guess you mean "Opus Ribcgae" and "Carnage Junkie", right? Well the difference between them is probably that Paganizer as usual has more grind and crust influenced stuff in the riffing while Ribspreader is more basic midpaced oldschool stuff. To make it easy, if you like Vomitory or Extreme Noise Terrors later albums you should get Paganizer and if you are more into the old Six Feet Under or mid era Grave stuff you should go for Ribspreader.

Which bands are you the most active with right now, with shows etc?

Paganizer is the band that we are doing shows with. This summer we'll be playing the Party San festival in Germany, and maybe some other gigs too. All other bands are just projects, but Paganizer is the one with a lineup and that plays gigs.

Why the different labels for each album? Why not center them all in a certain one?

As we usually work with only smaller labels we tend to try different ones. I think its for the best, at least its cool for us. But if there would be a label that wanted to release all the crap we usually put out it'd be cool as well, but usually labels just wanna release maximum one recording every year by a band and we like to do more than that.

Let's get back to the beginning, how did you and death metal first meet?

I don't really remember the details anymore but it was in school around grade 7 I think when I was 13 or 14 I came across stuff like Dismember. then a bit later I got the Massacre "From Beyond" album and that's basically all the death metal a person needs haha. It's the best shit ever.

Which bands influenced you the most when you started out?

At first I didn't play death metal, I was playing more industrial death metal really. So besides the usual death metal stuff also early Fear Factory and Skinny Puppy and Godflesh was really important to me. And I also love crustpunk, bands like Disfear and Driller Killer is something that has influenced me too.

What is it about the genre that attracts you to it? Why is it different for you than any other metallic genre?

I like the downtuned massive guitars, and the raw power of midpaced heavy death metal. I never have been a fan of really fast grinding death metal or technical stuff either. i like it midpaced or semifast and very simple. That's the best stuff for me, as its heavy and really catchy in all its ugliness.

Which death metal musicians that you used to listen to did you get to meet and work with? How did it feel moving from listener to one of the genre's biggest revivalists?

Dan Swanö and Kam Lee are a couple of them, and that is really cool. Ive also been a while in Deranged wich is the best of the more ultra brutal stuff. Its been very much fun and honoring to be able to work with my own idols really. Ive been working or am in contact with more old idols too like Ed Warby and just recently Bob from Asphyx, its all very cool really.

What was the first death metal album you were a part of?

The first album that was released was the debut of Paganizer. Before that there were shitloads of demos as usual, but nothing that ever was released on anything more than tape.

You branched out with more bands than most metal musicians, to the point you're known as the man of many bands, why work through several corresponding outfits? What are the differences between the bands that are currently active?

It's all because I like to write and record simple music, and if people wanna release it I'm totally happy about that too. That's why it has become many different bands, as labels don't wanna release the same band as some other label has released just months before. The differences between my bands isn't very big I'd say, some are more melodic and more worked through while others are just drunken projects done for fun on some weekends really. Its all for the fun of it.

I understand you have a non-death project with Ed Warby called The 11th Hour, how did you two know each other and decided to work together?

We met on a forum, and Ed told me he had bought and really liked my Demiurg album. After that we came to talk about our love for doom and eventually he realized the idea of making such a band. The 11th Hour is totally Ed's band, I just do the growling and some of the lyrics, and I could never write such massive stuff that he does really. The man is a pure genius.

One of the many turns death metal took in the last few years, is end up being melodic, and then combining with hard core and creating metalcore, what is your take on that genre and the bands that create it?

Its nothing that I like at all, and I haven't really heard much of it either. I come across it every now and then on compilation cd's but I always skip on it. To me its all too professionally thought through and polished.

It always interested me, why is Sweden so big for death metal? Tampa Florida was big during the early 90's, but Sweden is still spewing quality extreme metal today, what is it about Sweden that does that to people?

That is a good question with no answer haha. The only thing I could think of is that Sweden has always been an easy country to play music in, we have lots of places where young people can begin play without even owning their own instruments at first. And also the long wintersand climate perhaps makes people more into playing more brutal music? I mean if lived in a country with sun all the time I wouldn't be playing this much music, I would be at the beach drinking beer all day haha.

Several old school bands have recently regrouped, with the Dutch Pestilence and new group Hail Of Bullets serving as examples of current death metal, what is your take on these current death albums?

The Hail Of Bullets album is really killer, both oldschool and fresh at the same time. And the new Pestilence is really more of the same, as they sound like a mix of their old stuff but with more brutality added. Both bands are really good, and Hope they'll make more albums.

How do you come up with as much material as you do? How can you keep writing quality riffs at the speed and amount that you do?

I don't know if people would say that i have any quality in my riffs haha… But its not very hard making new music, I just sit down have a few beers and then a song is finished really. Right now I think I have a total of like 25 songs written and partly recorded that I don't even know what to sue for. So there's no shortage of material yet anyway haha.

One of the most important people in the death metal genre is Dan Swano, how would you describe you're experience with him? Did you learn some secrets of the trade through your work with him?

Dan is not just a legend in metal, he is also one of the coolest guys I know as well. He actually set me up with my home studio, as it was his old stuff. So I don't know if he taught me any secrets but he at least taught me how to records stuff, and on his old equipment too.

What would you say is needed to make a good death metal album? What do you try and inject into the albums you create?

It needs to be catchy, not melodic but the music needs to flow nicely. I doesn't matter if its the riffs or the vocals or a cool drum beat, but a song needs something that makes it a bit catchy and not just brutal, that's at least what I think. And also try to incorporate different beats or types of riffing in each song, there's nothing more boring that a song with just blasting all the way through it.

Finally, what's next for you now? What albums or projects are you going to involve yourself now?

The debut of Bone Gnawer has been done for some months now and is waiting for release on Pulverised records. It's me and Ronnie from Ribspreader together with Morgan from Naglfar and Kam Lee. It's very brutal but very catchy death metal. Like a cross between kam Lee's former bands really. Also Kam and I are working on the debut of The Grotesquery which will be a huge massive death metal album totally in the style of the early Florida albums.