The Germs of Circumstance

A collaboration between the prolific Rogga Johansson and Master's Paul Speckmann seems like it would fit together perfectly. It does sound good, in fact, though the whole is no more than the sum of its parts: Speckmann brings his sneering slime-choked gurgle to the vocal side, while Johansson appears to be the contributor of much of the songwriting. Of course, that doesn't mean this is a bad album. We get hints of Speckmann's touch on things (Generations Antidote and Provoke the Collective struck me as the most Speckmann-influenced), but overall most of the tracks are a lot more structured and containing less pure fury than what you'd normally get from Master. There's plenty of aggression though, as one could imagine from two death metal greats combining forces. Provoke the Collective, my favorite, is the most pummelling and relentless of the lot; for those who like Johansson's style better, the d-beat-driven One World One Leader might hit the spot. Only a few tracks suffer much from this dual approach to songwriting style, but I couldn't get myself to like I Was Left to Stare no matter how much I listened to it. This isn't the two at their most creative, but then, the Johansson and Speckmann show's draw is partially its novelty, so most who will appreciate The Germs of Circumstance won't be expecting anything radically new from either of these guys. It's solid and serves its purpose.