Ah, classic death metal...is there anything more comforting? While a lot of the comfort comes from the nostalgic warmth of discovery, there's something to the tight, brutal simplicity of good old, Tampa-styled death. Sitting outside on a nice spring day with a pipe, a cup of tea, listening to death metal while being pelted from above by inchworm droppings really makes one happy to have been exposed to lots of life's simple pleasures.

 

Gruesome's first offering, Savage Land, may be 25+ years newer than the wave of death in which it indulges, but the heart and talent is more than enough to make one forget that it's currently 2015. Taking the fun of the Death To All tribute tour and running with it, this death "supergroup" chose to record new material in the vein of Tampa's first wave of death metal. Formed by members of Exhumed, Possessed, Malevolent Creation, and Derketa, this act not only has the chops to pull off an amazing throwback, but the desire to make it stand alone as a modern slice of classic death.

 

Heavily inspired by Death's first two albums, Gruesome's eight tracks of old school death metal thrash, pound, and churn with an intense, raw ferocity that only the truly passionate can establish. Catchy riffs, tight drumming, and gnarly vocals all work in conjunction to create a very convincing stab at late 80's Floridian death. Well placed and thought out tempo shifts evoke the feeling of more experimental albums of the time, like Morbid Angel's Blessed Are the Sick. Talent and tempo aside, Gruesome really nails the tone of the time period by which they're paying tribute. Clearly knowing the ins and outs of this scene, Matt Harvey and crew know the sound they're going for and hit it square in the nuts. If this album were released in the Tampa heyday, it would've been a classic for sure. Even the cover art screams "late 80's death." This is no surprise, considering it was illustrated by scene legend Ed Repka (the hand behind Death's classic Leprosy artwork). No matter which way you slice it, Gruesome's Savage Land is a modern take on classic, Tampa death. 

When reading reviews of Savage Land, one will definitely see "tribute" bandied around quite a bit. While there is a lot of tribute going on with this album, calling it so does the album a huge disservice. Gruesome's debut is it's own rad piece of metal and will be enjoyed by all genre fans.