Members of Exhumed, Possessed Team Up as Death-Influenced Gruesome

BY Gregory AdamsPublished Feb 18, 2015

Exhumed guitarist/vocalist Matt Harvey is currently out promoting the band's Gore Metal: A Necrospective 1998-2015, but he will soon be launching an album from his new project, Gruesome. The death metal band's debut, Savage Land, will be out in the open April 21 via Relapse.

A press release explains that Harvey formed the project with Malevolent Creation drummer Gus Rios over their love for gone but not forgotten genre greats Death. Both musicians had been part of the Death to All tribute project, which also included members of the defunct Death, with Harvey and Rios eventually deciding they wanted to make original music in same vein.

The pair linked up with Possessed guitarist Daniel Gonzalez and Derketa bassist Robin Mazen to form Gruesome, with the intent to produce new music inspired by classic Floridian death metal. The 12-song Savage Land was recorded at Riversound Studios in Fort Lauderdale, FL, and is further described by the band as a "super nerdy fan letter" to the late Chuck Schuldiner and the surviving members of Death.

Thematically, Harvey explained that the songs are about "'80s horror movies and deadly diseases," with the record sounding akin to a late '80s Death LP. Other parallels include having Death six-stringer James Murphy throw down a guest solo on "Closed Casket" and bringing longtime Death visual collaborator Ed Rapka onboard to deliver the cannibalistic cover art.

"It was a great experience working with my friends in Florida and getting to write and record my take on the Death sound. I'm beyond happy with the way everything came out and I hope people take it as the loving, respectful piece of work that it is," Harvey said in a statement.

You'll find a high-speed preview of the platter in a video trailer down below.

Harvey is currently on tour with Exhumed as part of the "Through Space and Grind" tour with Napalm Death, Voivod, Iron Reagan and more.

Savage Land:

1. Savage Land
2. Trapped In Hell
3. Demonized
4. Hideous
5. Gangrene
6. Closed Casket
7. Psychic Twin
8. Gruesome

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