How does a band manage to maintain the status quo as true masters of their craft while still, somehow, improving upon their sound little by little? The answer is a simple one but immensely daunting: you become absolutely unrelenting in your pursuit. Whether it’s the pursuit of the ultimate record of its style or simply making as much as you can, it truly does not matter. The very depths of the underground are littered with throngs of bands that seek to become prolific with large discographies that capture the imagination, attention, and respect of any who come across them, but few have become as ubiquitous to the idea as Paganizer has become. Since their first demo in 1998, Paganizer has been a name to know and revere in the world of Swedish death metal, and it’s with their twelfth full-length album that they manage to still retain their throne of undeniable greatness.

With the longest gap between full-length albums for Paganizer being four years, it wouldn’t be any stretch to imagine that the band would either burn out creatively by now or simply have a sharp decline in their quality, and that’s not even taking into consideration the band’s numerous EPs, splits, and compilation appearances. Yet, never once has Paganizer allowed themselves to become a name where the terms “lacking”, “decline”, or “bad” should come anywhere near them with every effort being a true tour de force of what the band is able to do at this point in their illustrious career with the members constantly showing us their excellence both in and outside of this act, and it is every single possible thing about their newest opus, “Beyond the Macabre”, that needs to be taken at face value. I say that because what you see here, face-smacking death metal that holds nothing back, is essentially all that you get here. There’s nothing overly fancy at play here or Paganizer daring to attempt a sound that betrays their roots or their reputation up to this point with the riffs, the flesh-melting power, and the sheer levels of intoxication making up the very whole of what Paganizer is, has always been, and perfected with “Beyond the Macabre” just the latest testament to such. It would be a true defilement to even walk into this record and expect anything less than awesomeness out of a band like this for all that they’ve accomplished in their utterly massive career of setting the standard for what death metal can and should be, but I don’t think anyone could possibly look at what’s been achieved with “Beyond the Macabre” and find themselves no absolutely enthralled with what’s at play here. This is Paganizer at their peak. This is what it means to have death metal perfected.

How does a band manage to get to this point? There’s no true single answer that can lead to a band like what Paganizer has become, but, if anything, that makes the reality of this act all the more captivating for what they’ve accomplished despite the odds against them with their talent always doing the style justice with everything about them aging like the finest of wine. There’s no way that anyone could go wrong with all that is “Beyond the Macabre”, and if Paganizer were to tragically end tomorrow then I truly can’t imagine a better stepping off point.

“Beyond the Macabre” releases on June 24th via Transcending Obscurity Records!

LISTEN to advanced tracks from “Beyond the Macabre” on Bandcamp here.

LIKE Paganizer on Facebook here.