Gruesome – Savage Land (Relapse)
You can divide Death\’s discography in two more or less distinctive parts. On the one hand you have the first three albums, \’Scream Bloody Gore\’, \’Leprosy\’ and \’Spiritual Healing\’ and on the other hand you have the later albums. Personally I am a huge fan of the first three. It\’s pure death metal, but built on that creative, original foundation only Death mastermind Chuck Shuldiner could have come up with. Gruesome\’s \’Savage Land\’ takes parts of these albums and is bringing us so close to Death\’ original sound it\’s almost scary. It has the same twists, riffs and grunting vocals. Even the lyrics and the amazing cover, by none other than Ed Repka, play an important role. That is what the band wanted, and they have succeeded above and beyond. What better ode to the inventor of an entire genre, than this amazing record? Martijn Welzen