American death metal faction Gruesome is a band I came across that made me relive my 1980’s old-school death metal days. This was when I truly loved death metal, it wasn’t all just unrecognizable vocals and furious drum beats to music that you can’t get into. Gruesome is reminiscent of Death and early Obituary with slower merciless vocals and impressive guitar work. Gruesome is a faction of some of the best death metal bands out there. It features members of bands such as Exhumed, Possessed, Malevolent Creation and Derketa.
GRUESOME is a debilitating death metal faction featuring members of Exhumed, Possessed, Malevolent Creation and Derketa. A respectful celebration of the sound of the early Death records, the collective was borne out of guitarist/vocalist Matt Harvey (Exhumed) and drummer Gus Rios’ (Malevolent Creation) mutual involvement with the Death To All tours — Harvey serving as frontman for the original nine-member mini-tour and Rios performing “Baptized In Blood” and working with DTA drummer Sean Reinert on the following US tour where Exhumed filled in as support on a several dates. The pair stayed in touch and discussed their mutual love (obsession?) for the early half of Death’s catalog. After deliberating and ultimately discarding the idea of putting together another incarnation of DTA to focus exclusively on the first two albums, Harvey half-jokingly suggested writing their own songs in that vein. It wasn’t long before the idea gained traction, and the “band” had five songs written. With Harvey composing in California, Rios recruited Possessed guitarist Daniel Gonzalez and Derketa bassist Robin Mazen to record the material in Florida, while Harvey tracked his vocals on the West Coast. The result is eight-track debut, Savage Land, a truly gruesome slab of late-‘80s/early-‘90s Florida-styled death metal. Tragically, there will never be any truly new Death material, but GRUESOME is humbly determined to keeping the band’s classic sound alive as faithfully as possible.
Elaborates Harvey, “We had such a blast writing and recording this album, I just hope people enjoy it half as much as I enjoyed doing it. It was a great experience working with my friends in Florida and getting to write and record my take on the Death sound. I’m beyond happy with the way everything came out and I hope people take it as the loving, respectful piece of work that it is. I know that sounds counterintuitive for a death metal album, but the whole band is really a super nerdy fan letter to Chuck [Schuldiner], James [Murphy], Rick [Rozz], Terry [Butler], Chris [Reifert], Paul [Masvidal], Sean [Reinert], and Stevie D [DiGiorgio] for making records that have given me literally decades of enjoyment. Having had a chance to meet and hang out with all of those dudes from the early Death days, with the exception of Bill Andrews, has been nothing but humbling, rewarding, enlightening and has only deepened my love for the band and made it that much more personal. So I decided to write an album about ‘80s horror movies and deadly diseases, which is what anyone would do under the circumstances, right? Anyway, if you like late ‘80s Death, I sincerely hope you enjoy our take on it, which is really what this album is, with all the drippy blood and inverted crosses in the logo that that implies.”
Savage Land was recorded by Rios and Gonzalez at Riversound Studios in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, mixed by Jarrett Pritchard at Mana Studios in St. Petersburg, Florida and features a guest guitar solo on “Closed Casket” by James Murphy as well as cover art by legendary illustrator Ed Repka (Death, Megadeth, Massacre, Athiest et el).
Savage Land Track Listing:
1. Savage Land
2. Trapped In Hell
3. Demonized
4. Hideous
5. Gangrene
6. Closed Casket
7. Psychic Twin
8. Gruesome
Savage Land was released in North America via Relapse Records on April 21st, 2015, April 17th in Germany, Benelux and Finland and April 20th in the UK, rest of the world on CD and digitally.
“The turning inside out of Death’s first two albums is in good hands here.” – Decibel Magazine
“This couldn’t come more highly recommended. Buy this and take a trip back to the ‘80s when death metal wasn’t all about blast beats and gutturals.” – Stereokiller
“This isn’t your crusty, nasty, run-of-the-mill retro death metal. Hell no. This the advanced, dripping-rot-from-the-corners-of-a-coffin, putrid, vile death metal throwback that you’ve been waiting for. Observe.” – Metal Injection
“From this nod to the past comes a fertile energy that raises the excitement levels of the music. Each song is charged up, never falling victim to parody… It’s an ode to a time in death metal where there were no guidelines or strict formula to work from. It was evolving into something nobody could predict, and this album fits right into that time period effortlessly. 4/5 ” – About.com
“The enthusiasm alone on Savage Land is awe-inspiring… this is a fun romp through the rehearsal space of a bunch of longhairs who love a band so much it hurts. 8/10” – Exclaim
“Metal needs more albums like Savage Land… The legacy and sound of Death lives on ever so faithfully through bands like Gruesome, and wherever he is, Chuck Schuldiner is undoubtedly windmilling ferociously and smirking ear to ear at the deathly sounds of Savage Land. 4/5” – HeavyBlogIsHeavy
“A clear-cut case of a band that is passionate about doing what they do, as opposed to jumping on the bandwagon and putting out a disc of half-hearted junk. GRUESOME is the real deal, and should be an easy sell to all of those Death (and old school DM) fans out there.4/5” – Dead Rhetoric
“Death metal can be a lot of things—technically impressive, sonically abusive, completely impenetrable—but rarely is it this much fun. If you’re a fan of Leprosy-era Death, or just want more solos and breakdowns than you can shake a dismembered limb at, then this beast, now streaming at Decibel, is yours for adoption.” – Free Williamsburg
“This band reinvents old school death metal in the way that its vulgar atmosphere is unmatched. This is one of the few bands combining lurid melodies that bash violently with technical composition, creating the formula for the ultimate death metal sound. 2015 has so far laid down its most annihilating album. 5/5” – The Age Of Metal
GRUESOME:
Daniel Gonzalez – Guitar
Matt Harvey – Guitar, vocals
Robin Mazen – Bass
Gus Rios – Drums
https://www.facebook.com/gruesomedeathmetal
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https://www.relapse.com
