Another day, another metal band to interview! This time I spoke with Matt Harvey from Gruesome (the best DEATH tribute band ever) about their new album (and some other stuff) Twisted Prayers which is out NOW! If you know nothing of this band… here’s a quick recap:
Gruesome is a four-person band featuring past and current members of Exhumed, Possessed, and Malevolent Creation who are dedicated to keeping the DEATH (90’s death metal band) legacy alive. With every album, they pay homage by basing their albums on one of DEATH’s older releases and making it their own. Twisted Prayers is their fourth full-length album via Relapse Records, and is based on DEATH’s album Spiritual Healing (1990). I’ve listened to some crazy ass death metal before… but this!
DEATH’s Spiritual Healing was all about political issues going on in the world, but… in the 90’s. Now we have Twisted Prayers, and it’s basically a recap of the shitshow going on in AmeriKKKa right now.
Yes, I typed “AmeriKKKa”… and I will CUNTinue to write it that way until the firey red fuhrer is out of the White (supremist) House… *ahem*… #teapoured #nofucks
Talking with Matt, he mentioned that the song “Fatal Illusions” was lyrically based around gun violence. This one incident in particular with some guy in NC (don’t really care to make him famous), who had thought a pizza place was trafficking children. So… he decided to shoot up the place. Luckily, no one was shot (FAIL… and a win for everyone else), and he’s been snacthed up. But there mere fact that he had believed this was going on with no real evidence, and then TAKING HOSTILE ACTION… scary shit. Looking at the lyrics, I’m so glad I’m only fun-crazy, and not “I’m going to kill everyone” crazy (unless you eat my carne asada fries… then it’s on!).
And of course, the social-political commentary isn’t confined to the music — Matt had plenty to say about our society as a whole and our “justice” system:
“‘Fatal Illusions’ kind of seems very topical lately because of all the school shootings. I mean, it’s not particularly written about school shootings. I don’t know what people think. It’s tragic [that] that somebody could believe in whatever ideology, or whatever you wanna call em ‘alternative facts’. They’re receiving so much that they’d be ready to go and commit violence. It’s weird to think that we as a society say that ‘murder is worst thing you can possibly do, but if you do it we will murder you’. That doesn’t make any sense. There have been so many instances of people who have been on death row and then DNA evidence clears them, or they realize they have an IQ of 70 and they don’t understand the crimes that they’ve committed. You read about stuff like that and it’s just really kind of shocking. I don’t mean to be negative but it just seems that there’s some fucked up shit going on which I guess is good as far as writing lyrics about it. But I much rather be writing fantasy lyrics about zombies pulling out your entrails or whatever. That’s the happier thing for me personally.”
Now about that NEW new album… oddly enough I found this interview from drummer Gus Rios and he had mentioned writing about “half of the songs for Leprosy“, some Human-like songs, and that in his opinion they “have yet to do a Leprosy album”. So, of course, I had to bring it up and ask about it.
“When we started we didn’t really have a master plan. We didn’t know that there was going to be a second album or anything. So we just did the first record and it’s basically centered around Leprosy, but it definitely has some influences of Scream Bloody Gore and Spiritual Healing. And that then gained some traction so we did the Dimensions Of Horror record which was Scream Bloody Gore and now we’ve done Twisted Prayers which is all about Spiritual Healing. So, Gus is really keen to do something that is really major-focused on Leprosy only. And since we have realized that there’s legs to this project we’ve decided to kind of [become] a little bit more focused on mirroring a certain DEATH album. So the next, fourth album is going to be based around Human. I don’t know what our time table is going to be or whatever. We do have a few songs for a few albums for the future and obviously this record is just coming out so we’re not terribly concerned with it. Personally, I’m more keen to move forward into the Human stuff because I feel like if we go back and do something based on Leprosy now I feel like people would maybe have to justify that with ‘hey you know they’re just a death metal band, that’s all they can do, they don’t really have the musicality or the talent to come up with some of the more progressive stuff’. If we do something like Human and hopefully it’s not shitty, then well it’s like cool we’ll unlock the next level.”
YUSSSS!!!
If you’re into old school 90’s death metal, have a deep love for bitchin’ tribute bands, and a soft spot for nostalgia… this is the band for you. I personally cannot wait to see it, and would looove to see them play live!
If you need a visual of what they’re going for (aside from that bitchin cover), check out their music video for the song “Inhumane”. ALSO !!!! Gruesome is going on MFKN TOUR! …mostly in Europe (so if you’re in Europe… GO!) and a couple of shows in Florida. See their tour dates below and get this album so you can thrash your face off (I’m still looking for where mine went).
THERE IS A VIDEO…
Of this interview with Matt and I on the phone and is only available to MFKN Patrons WITH bonus questions that I did NOT post here (muahaha!) guess who in the band is an avid Investigation Discovery watcher? How DID they get ahold of Scott (original producer for DEATH) to help out on the album? …sign up and find out!
And now… the MERCH.
AWESOME BAND MERCH!
BUY MERCH + CD/LP/CASSETTE OF TWISTED PRAYERS HERE
Upcoming…
Tour Dates:
7/14/2018 Crowbar – Tampa, FL w/ Exhumed
7/15/2018 Will’s Pub – Orlando, FL w/ Exhumed
7/19/2018 Obscene Extreme 2018 – Trutnov, CZ
7/20/2018 Red & Black – Warzawa, PL
7/21/2018 Hydrozagadk – Chorzow, PL
7/22/2018 Modra Vopice – Prague, CZ
7/23/2018 Free & Easy Festival – Munich, DE
7/24/2018 Durer Kert – Budapest, HU
7/25/2018 Metaldays – Tolmin, SL
7/26/2018 Viper Room – Wien, AT
7/27/2018 Master Of The Unicorn – Ernsthausen, DE
7/28/2018 Stonehenge Festival – Steenwijk, NL
7/29/2018 Bastard Club – Osnabruck, DE
7/30/2018 Immerhin – Wurzburg, DE
7/31/2018 Nomansland – Volmerange-les-mines, FR
8/01/2018 7er Club – Mannheim, DE
8/02/2018 Wacken Open Air – Wacken, DE
8/03/2018 Klubb Dissonans – Jonkoping, SE
8/04/2018 The Crypt – Linkoping, SE
8/05/2018 Underwerket – Valby/Copenhagen, DK
8/07/2018 Chemiefabrik – Desden, DE
8/08/2018 Musik und Frieden – Berlin, DE
8/09/2018 Partysan Open Air – Schlotheim, DE
8/10/2018 Das Bett – Frankfurt, DE
8/11/2018 Helvete – Oberhausen, DE
8/12/2018 Alcatraz Open Air – Kortrijk, BE
Official “INHUMANE” MV
MFKNZINE 