Roger "Rogga" Johansson (born May 25, 1976) is a Swedish Death Metal musician. Hailing from the small village of Gamleby, he is well-known for being one of, if not the most, hard-working and prolific musicians in the genre. While most famous for his guitar playing, he is also both a talented multi-instrumentalist and vocalist, having musically contributed in some way to dozens of albums over the years. That's not hyperbole, either - his Metal Archives page
lists him as a member of over 50 different projects, a number that continues growing with time.
His "main" bands (as well as his most famous), Paganizer and Ribspreader, each have a page on The Other Wiki, the former of which being his longest-running group as well as his first, having released their first album in 1999. In both groups, he plays guitar and sings. Musically, both bands play old-school Swedish death metal in the vein of Grave and early Entombed, which is very much an indicator of what his other projects sound like as well.
Of the two, he considers Paganizer to be his only "true" band, as they are the only one of his to perform gigs and tour, with Ribspreader and all of his other projects being studio-only endeavors. He has collaborated with numerous notable vocalists in death metal through his work, including Kam Lee (Massacre)note , Dave Ingram (Benediction, ex-Bolt Thrower)note , Mike Hrubovcak (ex-Monstrosity)note , Paul Speckmann (Master)note , Marc Grewe (ex-Morgoth)note , and Dave Rotten (Avulsed)note .
Paganizer discography note
- Deadbanger (1999)
- Promoting Total Death (2001)
- Dead Unburied (2002)
- Murder Death Kill (2003)
- No Divine Rapture (2004)
- Carnage Junkie (2008)
- Scandinavian Warmachine (2009)
- Into the Catacombs (2011)
- World Lobotomy (2013)
- Land of Weeping Souls (2017)
- The Tower of the Morbid (2019)
- Beyond the Macabre (2022)
Rogga Johansson and his work provide examples of:
- A Good Name for a Rock Band: Many journalists who have interviewed him have expressed a liking to the name Ribspreader, with quotes calling it "one of the most amusing death metal band names ever". Rogga usually responds half-jokingly in agreement.
- Early-Installment Weirdness: The first Paganizer record Deadbanger features a melodic death/power metal sound that was never revisited since, and Rogga uses a high-pitched scream that makes him sound completely unrecognizable.
- Multinational Team: He primarily works with fellow Swedes, but he's worked with quite a few musicians from other countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Spain, Germany, and Denmark.
- Strictly Formula: If you turn on any album involving Rogga, you pretty much know exactly what you're getting. Mid-paced Swedish death metal with catchy riffs, occasional blasting portions, and lyrics about every common death metal subject. Basically, if you've checked out his "main" bands, you'll know what to expect from nearly everything else. The man himself has admitted that he knows all his projects sound the same, but keeps creating because he always wants to stay productive and do what he enjoys.
