PUTERAEON – Quindecennial Horror
March 18, 2024, a month ago
(Emanzipation Productions)
15 years in, Swedish death squad Puteraeon still have a name that make me stop and type real slow every time the deed has to be done, which, to be honest, is very rarely: these guys never really hopped on my radar, and with new EP Quindecennial Horror (take it real slow there too) I am immediately regretful: opener “The Plague” nails the chainsaw guitar sound, the polka beat, the ham-fisted debut-Entombed stumble to glory perfectly.
I love how “Whispers Of The Dead” then picks things up to a frantic pace before stepping back down to the cobweb-ridden catacombs of classic Swedish melodic death (emphasis on the death, not the melodic). Very well done, as is “Dead Once More”'s blinders-on speedy DM, which isn't without some well-crafted guitar hooks, something the band should lean into even more. We've most certainly heard this sort of thing before, but Puteraeon are for sure in the upper echelon of bands doing it, here taking advantage of the EP format to get it done and get out before we have a chance to take a nervous glance over at the clock, wondering if we really actually need more new platters offering up these ancient sounds.
For the duration of these five songs, the answer is most assuredly yes.
