[photo by Niuvis Martin]
Uniting members of Exhumed, Possessed, Malevolent Creation and Derketa, GRUESOME pays homage to death metal’s most celebrated founding American acts, Death. As such, their debut full-length, Savage Land, released earlier this week via Relapse Records, is a delightfully punishing display of late-’80s/early-’90s Florida-styled death metal that keeps the true sound and spirit of Chuck Schuldiner and Death alive.
In commemoration of its release, today Bloody Disgusting offers up the charmingly gore torn new video for the record’s title track. A deliciously cannibalistic wonder world of blood, barbarians and blatant brutality, the visual accompaniment to “Savage Land” is truly… gruesome.
Expels guitarist/vocalist Matt Harvey, “The kind folks at Relapse put together a really cool clip video for the title track of the GRUESOME album. The video perfectly captures the violence and gore of the tune and takes me back to the early days of my teens when I devoured gore flicks and the first three Death albums with equal enthusiasm. This video is definitely not safe for work and not for the squeamish. Enjoy!”
Elaborates the carnage keepers at Bloody Disgusting: “The video uses footage from Umberto Lanzi’s 1980 cannibal film Eaten Alive! (Mangiati Vivi!) as well as Antonio Margheriti’s Cannibal Apocalypse, which also came out in 1980. As a result, this video is packed to the brim with gore, nudity, and violence. There’s people being torn apart, eyes gouged out, limbs being eaten, and that’s probably just grazing the surface. If you’re at work, I recommend waiting until the coast is clear before pressing play on this one!
Savor the savagery at THIS LOCATION.
You can also check out a track-by-track play-by-play as explained by Harvey at Decibel Magazine HERE.
GRUESOME was borne out of guitarist/vocalist Matt Harvey (Exhumed) and drummer Gus Rios’ (Malevolent Creation) mutual involvement with the Death To All tours. After discarding the idea of putting together another incarnation of DTA to focus exclusively on Death’s first two albums, Harvey half-jokingly suggested writing their own songs in that vein. The idea gained traction, and the band had five songs written. Rios later recruited Possessed guitarist Daniel Gonzalez and Derketa bassist Robin Mazen to record the material in Florida. Savage Land was tracked 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 is out now via Relapse Records on CD, LP and all digital outlets. Physical orders are available now at THIS LOCATION, and digital orders HERE.
“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
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