UMUR "Twisted Prayers" is the 2nd full-length studio album by US, California based death metal act Gruesome. The album was released through Relapse Records in June 2018. It´s the successor to "Savage Land" from 2015 although the two full-length releases are bridged by the two EPs "Dimensions of Horror" from 2016 and "Fragments of Psyche" from 2017.

Gruesome originally formed as a tribute band to Death and the music style on "Savage Land (2015)" was purposely very similar to the sound and style on "Leprosy (1988)" by Death. The same can be said about the the material on "Dimensions of Horror (2016)" and "Fragments of Psyche (2017", except for the title track on the latter, which is influenced by the later more technical death metal sound of Death, so was that just a one-off, or what can we expect from the material on "Twisted Prayers"?

Well...this is somewhere in between, as Gruesome have opted to write an album full of songs which are greatly influenced by (or to some ears maybe a blatant tribute to) Death´s 1990 album "Spiritual Healing". "Twisted Prayers" is in many ways the perfect tribute to the legendary Florida band´s third full-length studio album, and to those of us who can´t get enough of that sound and style, this is quite the brilliant release.

Gruesome nail the riffs, the guitar solos (helped along by a couple of guest solos by former Death guitarist James Murphy), the rhythms, and even the vocals to near perfection, and "Twisted Prayers" is overall a high quality release. It´s impossible not to talk about the clone factor here though, and although this album (and Gruesome in general) is meant as a tribute to Death, it´s probably going a little overboard writing and performing music this similar to the original. At least you shouldn´t be surprised that opinions are divided on the credibility of such a project. Personally I enjoy this greatly and a 3.5 star (70%) rating is fully deserved.

UMUR "Fragments of Psyche" is an EP release by US death metal act Gruesome. The EP was released through Relapse Records in March 2017. Gruesome was formed in 2014 out of lead vocalist/guitarist Matt Harvey´s and drummer Gus Rios involvement with the Death To All (DTA) touring project. Gruesome is basically the band members playground for playing early Death (the band) influenced death metal. Gruesome released their debut full-length studio album "Savage Land" in 2015 and the "Dimensions of Horror" EP followed in 2016. Both strongly early Death worshipping releases.

That trend is continued on "Fragments of Psyche", but that´s only natural as five out of the seven tracks on the 30:59 minutes long EP are demo versions of tracks which appear in their final studio versions on "Savage Land (2015)". In addition to the five demo tracks, the EP features one new original track (the opening title track) and a cover of "Choke on It" (titled "Choke on It '91") from Death´s "Leprosy (1988)" album. Now I wrote above that the material is strongly influenced by the early Death releases, and in particular "Leprosy (1988)", but the title track is actually a technical death metal track, which sounds more like a homage to Death´s "Human (1991)" album, so in that regard Gruesome have developed their sound a bit.

The quality of the material is high throughout, and personally I think the demo versions of the tracks from "Savage Land (2015)" sound slightly more interesting than the versions on the studio album. They have the right authentic old school death metal rawness to them. The cover of "Choke on It" is also well performed, although Gruesome don´t add much to the original. The title track is a high quality technical death metal track, and it´s great to hear that the band are also able to cover other areas of the death metal genre. "Fragments of Psyche" is a well produced EP from the demo tracks to the studio tracks, and upon conclusion a 3.5 star (70%) rating is fully deserved and maybe even slightly too low.

UMUR "Dimensions of Horror" is an EP release by US, California based death metal act Gruesome. The EP was released through Relapse Records in May 2016. It´s the follow-up release to the band´s debut full-length studio album "Savage Land (2015)". There have been no lineup changes since the debut album and therefore Gruesome still consists of Matt Harvey (Vocals, Guitars), Robin Mazen (Bass), Gus Rios (Drums), and Daniel Gonzalez (Guitars). Matt Harvey is known as the frontman/guitarist of Exhumed, but Gus Rios tenure with Malevolent Creation is also worth a mention.

"Savage Land (2015)" was more or less a Death worship album, and especially "Leprosy (1988)"-era Death was a major influence on Gruesome´s sound. That stylistic approach is intact on "Dimensions of Horror", which pretty much continues down the same path as the band tread on "Savage Land (2015)". So it´s more of the same, which of course isn´t an issue if you enjoyed the old school death metal sound of the debut album, but if you aren´t interested in deritative sounding death metal, this probably isn´t the thing for you.

The material on the 6 track, 19:36 minutes long EP, is well written, relatively simple, and quite catchy, and you can growl along to most of the tracks. Matt Harvey does an almost perfect Chuck Schuldiner (Death frontman) impersonation, and at times you wonder if Chuck is really dead. The guitar solo style used on the album also resembles the guitar solo style on the early releases by Death. The EP is well produced, featuring a suiting raw yet detailed sound production, and upon conclusion "Dimensions of Horror" is a good quality old school death metal release, and a worship release to be proud of. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.

UMUR "Savage Land" is the debut full-length studio album by US, California based death metal act Gruesome. The album was released through Relapse Records in April 2015. Gruesome was formed in 2014 by among others former Malevolent Creation drummer Gus Rios (who plays drums and some lead guitars on "Savage Land") and Exhumed frontman/guitarist Matt Harvey.

The goal was clear from the start. Gruesome wanted to play old school death metal like it sounded in the 80s. Listening to "Savage Land" it´s clear from the start, that their goal was achieved. It´s especially "Leprosy (1988)" by Death that the listener is reminded of when listening to "Savage Land", and it´s hard not to think that Gruesome made a deliberate tribute rather than trying to forge an original sound. That´s the premise though, so if you´re surprised you haven´t payed attention.

While the material certainly isn´t original sounding, it´s still quite catchy and well written. The musicianship is also on a high level, and these guys certainly know how to play old school US death metal with credibility. The guitar solos deserve a special mention as they are very well played. They are shared between Gus Rios, Matt Harvey, and Daniel Gonzalez. The vocals are growling, but of the more intelligible type, and they are generally not far from sounding like Chuck Schuldiner (Death, Control Denied).

Featuring a well sounding production too, "Savage Land" is a quality release on most parameters, and if you adjust your expectations to "Savage Land" being more or less a "Leprosy (1988)"-era Death worship album and not a death metal release featuring original sounding material, I think most fans of old school US death metal would get something out of listening to this one. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.