When Gruesome’s debut’s comically gory album cover sparked my curiosity in 2015, I was both astonished and a little bit disturbed by what I was hearing. I knew Chuck Schuldiner was dead, but Savage Land made me swear for a moment that he had somehow risen from the grave to pick up right where he left off. On one hand, it’s impressive how pinpoint-accurate they have Death’s sound pinned down on every single song, but on the other, it’s almost creepy how goddamn close they sound to one of extreme metal’s most legendary and influential acts. Matt Harvey’s vocal performances are particularly uncannily identical to Schuldiner’s, and the compositions Harvey writes are just as convincing of him indeed being Chuck Schuldiner reincarnated. Yet this band’s about-perfect imitation is perhaps the biggest and most committed tribute to Schuldiner’s legacy, and at that, it succeeds in spades.

While Death’s legendary status in metal came partly due to their pioneering of death metal, their ambition carried them from simply being one of the first to do it to being true innovators and masters of the genre as albums like Symbolic and Individual Thought Patterns show. And even their early work has stood the test of time. Death’s participation in a newly blossoming genre was what got them to the stage, but Schuldiner’s compositional abilities and ambitious expansion of the genre’s sound is what cemented their legacy.

Twisted Prayers is no less uncanny than Savage Land, and channels Death’s keystone characteristics with seemingly flawless effortlessness. The only major difference between the two is the slightly clearer production on this new album, and just maybe a tiny farther leaning toward the aspects of Death’s sound more prominent in the latter part of their discography in this album as well (though the cover art clearly tributes Spiritual Healing).

Even though Gruesome hit every check-mark to capture the essence of Death’s sonic aesthetic, Schuldiner’s brilliant songwriting and alchemy-level mastery of the genre seems to be that last, and most crucial, standard that Harvey can’t quite duplicate. It’s no knock to his stellar ability already to recreate Death’s presence in honor of Chuck Schuldiner, but it does also highlight how important Schuldiner’s writing was to Death’s sound. Harvey works up some impressively Death-esque solos and nails the dynamic of Schuldiner’s riffing exquisitely. But what he can’t replicate is Schuldiner’s vision and 6th-sense-esque knack for composing songs within the old-school death metal and technical death metal styles that made the genre look amazing and drew so many in during its primordial stages. That irreplaceable X factor.

If simply not being able to write with the same sense of dynamic as the legendary Death frontman is this this band’s and this album’s only real weakness, that’s certainly not a damning problem considering how few have been able to influence death metal quite as dramatically as Chuck Schuldiner did. And considering Gruesome isn’t exactly about originality in the first place, I’d say it’s forgivable, and Twisted Prayers is definitely a worthwhile listen for any fan of Death or the genre they helped establish.

Band: Gruesome Album: Twisted Prayers Release Date: June 1st, 2018 Label: Relapse Records Purchase:

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Twisted Prayers by Gruesome

Band: Gruesome Song: “Fatal Illusions” Album: Twisted Prayers Release Date: June 1st, 2018 Label: Relapse Records

Frontman Matt Harvey comments:

“‘Fatal Illusions‘ is a track that was truly co-written by Dan, Gusand myself musically and it was a lot of fun to arrange everyone’s riffs while we put the song together. One of the coolest things about this new record, for me personally, is that the…

Band: Gruesome Song: “Inhumane” Directed by: Jeff Sisson Album: Twisted Prayers Release Date: June 1st, 2018 Label: Relapse Records

Guitarist/vocalist Matt Harvey issued:

“We’re very stoked about how this video turned out. [Director] Jeff Sisson (Exhumed, Origin) really took the concept and ran with it, creating something new and unique, while still in the spirit of homage that Gruesomeis all…