Puteraeon - Mountains of Madness

Angry Metal Guy

As embedded into the fabric of horror as the works of H.P. Lovecraft are, so too are the myriad contributions of one Dan “The Man” Swanö enmeshed into the Swedish death metal scene. These two titans’ paths cross on Mountains of Madness, the fifth long-player from Sweden’s Puteraeon, who’ve tread the left-hand path of genre forbears like Grave, Entombed, and Dismember, peddling Lovecraftian Swedeath since 2008. After debuting in 2011 with The Esoteric Order and through 2020s The Cthulhian Pulse: Call from the Dead City, Puteraeon has four albums of fair to middling Swedish death under its belt. With Mountains of Madness, its second album helmed by Swanö for Emanzipation Productions, Puteraeon has fully embraced the Cthulhu Mythos, penning an ode to one of Lovecraft’s most popular novellas. Some pressure comes with Dan Swanö’s quote, ‘I dare say this one will go down in the history books as one of the best Swedeath releases ever,’ yet these are the stakes for Mountains of Madness. All that’s left to hear is if Puteraeon has what it takes to honor one of horror’s most influential writers while leaving a lasting mark on a scene rich in death metal history.

Puteraeon takes an Azathothian leap forward with Mountains of Madness while still keeping the HM-2 pedal firmly to the metal. Jonas Lindblood and Rune Foss put a big fat checkmark in the Swedeath box, leveling tons of fat riffs blazoned in those tried-and-true buzzsaw tones while dotting this frigid landscape, too, with harmoniously melodic leads and solo work that sticks long after the last note has floated into the frosty ether (“The Nameless City”). Even as Puteraeon weaves in some icy black melodicism that casts Old Man’s Child shadows (“I Am the Darkness”), no one will mistake Mountains of Madness for anything but quality Swedish death. And while the Unleashed speed of the riffs on “Remnants” or the Bloodbathic cadence and horrific Sabbathian trills of “The Rise of the Shoggoths” may warrant comparison, Mountains of Madness solidifies Puteraeon in a sound all its own, one that is more engaging and mature, filled with cinematic majesty and excellent performances.

Mountains Of Madness by Puteraeon

Shifting its aesthetic, Puteraeon has traded the thorny logo and cartoonish covers for a tasteful font and excellent artwork by Ola Larsson, both dripping with a seriousness that evokes a strong movie poster vibe. Similarly, the songwriting on Mountains of Madness draws listeners further into its harrowingly cinematic, Lovecraftian experience with an ever-flowing stream of atmospheric nuance. Whether it’s the creepy leads and monstrous chords that bring to life the “Horror of the Antarctic Plateau” or the delicate, trepidatious piano and swirling screams of “Gods of Unhallowed Space,” Mountains of Madness casts earthly realms aside, establishing Puteraeon‘s dominance and reminding us just how inconsequential we humans are. Within the span of its forty-minute runtime, and with nary a moment wasted, Puteraeon has opened a portal into a nether world, expertly manifesting Lovecraft’s vision through music that demands attention.

As Puteraeon‘s riffs and melodic leads swirl and swarm like a Cthulhian mist, Daniel Vandija’s bass and Anders Malmström’s devastating drums lurk beneath like hulking, tentacled behemoths. Swanö found the perfect amount of space in the mix to showcase this rhythm section’s talents. Vandija shines brightest with Steve Harris-like flair throughout Mountains of Madness. Whether coalescing with the harmonic leads in “The Land of Cold Eternal Winter” to create a crushing heaviness or laying the soft-handed foundation for the atmospheric interlude of “The Nameless City,” his contributions make both tracks absolute album highlights. Puteraeon‘s last cap feather belongs to Lindblood and his bestial throat work. In tandem with Foss’s backing vocals, whether guttural (“The Rise of the Shoggoths”) or clean (“The Nameless City,” “Watchers at the Abyss”), the two men deliver a devastatingly brutal performance that leans toward the inhuman. I found almost nothing of importance to critique other than perhaps a slight drop-off in the songwriting in the album’s second half, but that’s a near-inconsequential quibble.

Mountains of Madness succeeds as a cinematically dramatic, black-tinged slice of Swedish death metal, serving as Puteraeon‘s finest moment. Maintaining a consistent lineup since forming, Puteraeon has matured into a merciless machine intent on destroying your ears with Swedeathly intent. Whether or not it will stand as one of the genre’s best releases ever, only time will tell, but Mountains of Madness has withstood this Tyme‘s test and is thereby worthy of yours.

Rating: 3.5/5.0
DR: 7 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Emanzipation Productions
Websites: Bandcamp | Facebook | Puteraeon.com
Releases Worldwide: May 30th, 2025

The post Puteraeon – Mountains of Madness Review appeared first on Angry Metal Guy.