Gruesome Offer ‘A Waste of Life’ Off New Death-Worshipping Album ‘Twisted Prayers’
Inspired by the Death to All tour which famously celebrated the life and masterwork of death metal evolutionary Chuck Schuldiner, Gruesome have dedicated their art to adhering to the blueprints the Death mastermind laid down all those years ago. Twisted Prayers, Gruesome's second album, is their latest slab of Death obsession and they've wretched forth the new single, "A Waste of Life," which you can hear above.
This time around, Gruesome have done their best to imitate Death's third effort, Spiritual Healing, which found Schuldiner lyrically moving away from more surface level gore in favor of more philosophical and existential motives. Instrumentally, the music became more complex, foreshadowing where he'd lead the band next.
The foursome of Gruesome follow this aesthetic on "A Waste of Life," where they not so subtly take their shot at evangelical preachers evidenced by the footage in the video. The music is a dead ringer for Death not only in construction, but in tone and production as well, a notion made clear from the twin leads that open the song.
"'A Waste Of Life' was a great opportunity to channel [Death's] Chuck [Schuldiner] and vent some frustration in a constructive way - through making some good ol' fashioned death metal," frontman Matt Harvey stated. "It's great to move forward in the Death catalog and get some new ground to cover. As much fun as we had working with the raw and nasty stuff on Savage Land and Dimensions Of Horror, it's great to challenge ourselves musically and thematically just like Chuck, James [Murphy], Terry [Butler], and Bill [Andrews] did on Spiritual Healing. Hopefully we do those guys justice and everyone has as much fun listening to the track as we did creating it"
Twisted Prayers will be unleashed on June 1 on Relapse. To pre-order a physical copy in a variety of formats, head to the label's webstore and if a digital copy is more your thing, you can head to this location. For more info, check out the album art and track listing below.
Gruesome, Twisted Prayers Artwork + Track Listing
1. Inhumane
2. A Waste of Life
3. Fate
4. Lethal Legacy
5. Fatal Illusions
6. Crusade of Brutality
7. At Death’s Door
8. Twisted Prayers
See Matt Harvey in the 30 Most Underrated Hard Rock + Metal Guitarists
10 Unforgettable Chuck Schuldiner Moments