Review by Michael on July 14, 2025.

Now, finally the time has come that Gruesome have reached a more progressive era of legendary death. If you don't know what I'm talking about and maybe have never heard about that band (although I think this is unthinkable) - just let me speak a little bit verbosely. Gruesome never had anything else in mind than paying tribute to Death right from the start. "Savage Lands" was a furious debut with a lot of vibes paying attention to the legendary Death debut "Scream Bloody Gore" album and (and not only musically but also cover-wise) to its follow-up "Leprosy".

I remember back in 2015 how flashed I was when I heard this album (and the little bit weaker EP "Dimensions Of Horror"). With their second album "Twisted Prayers" you instantly knew which Death album had to come now with that cover, of course "Spiritual Healing". And what shall I say, as much as I think that the third Death album is the weakest in their discography (together with "The Sound Of Perserverance") is "Twisted Prayers" also the worst one so far by Gruesome. Okay, that is quite unfair, it is still a good album but the mixture between brutality and progressive parts actually never got me. But it also stands for the musical quality of Gruesome that they can convince me as less as Death did it back then.

And so here we are in 1991 when everything changed for Death. Releasing "Human" was a very courageous step for the band back then because of its super progressive approach. But it also was a game changer for the complete scene because it still is a landmark for other bands like Cynic, Pestilence, Obscura plus many got inspired by this one for sure. What Gruesome have done on "Silent Echoes" is create a hell of an album that is worthy to be called a legal follow-up to "Human".

Here everything sounds like this legendary record and also the album cover reminds a lot of that one. The guitars, the riffs, the characteristic drumming Sean Reinert (R.I.P.) did there and also the vocals sound pretty much like Chuck Schuldiner (R.I.P.). For example, the opener "Condemned Identity" starts almost like "Lack Of Comprehension" and later on sounds like a variation of "Flattening Of Emotions". This is a super technical ride over 33 minutes (which is about 30 seconds shorter than the emmm…. original).

Of course you can complain that this is a copy-cat of "Human" and that Gruesome don't have any real own ideas. But I would consider "Silent Echoes" more as a lost brother to "Human". Everything sounds quite similar and trusted but nevertheless you always find stuff that isn't to be found on "Human".

For example the title track is partly much slower than everything on "Human" but also much more rabid. Alone the vocals when Matt Arvey is screaming "Silence - Silent Echoes" – wow, this is really impressive and super powerful. Also the production is executed very well and sounds not too overproduced and if my headphones aren't too bad this all sounds very retro in the vein of the 90s. And hey, you should be glad that there aren't just the "regular" Death cover bands with former band member that go on tour to play some Death songs (like Death to All or Left To Die who both do a fantastic job though) but that there is a band that keeps the spirit alive that once was created by Chuck Schuldiner.

So let's hope that there won't be such a long time span between this release and the next because the next two Death albums ("Individual Thoughts Patterns" and "Symbolic") killed even more than "Human" did. At least for my ears.

Rating: 9.5 out of 10

Review by Michael on July 14, 2025.

Now, finally the time has come that Gruesome have reached a more progressive era of legendary death. If you don't know what I'm talking about and maybe have never heard about that band (although I think this is unthinkable) - just let me speak a little bit verbosely. Gruesome never had anything else in mind than paying tribute to Death right from the start. "Savage Lands" was a furious debut with a lot of vibes paying attention to the legendary Death debut "Scream Bloody Gore" album and (and not only musically but also cover-wise) to its follow-up "Leprosy".

I remember back in 2015 how flashed I was when I heard this album (and the little bit weaker EP "Dimensions Of Horror"). With their second album "Twisted Prayers" you instantly knew which Death album had to come now with that cover, of course "Spiritual Healing". And what shall I say, as much as I think that the third Death album is the weakest in their discography (together with "The Sound Of Perserverance") is "Twisted Prayers" also the worst one so far by Gruesome. Okay, that is quite unfair, it is still a good album but the mixture between brutality and progressive parts actually never got me. But it also stands for the musical quality of Gruesome that they can convince me as less as Death did it back then.

And so here we are in 1991 when everything changed for Death. Releasing "Human" was a very courageous step for the band back then because of its super progressive approach. But it also was a game changer for the complete scene because it still is a landmark for other bands like Cynic, Pestilence, Obscura plus many got inspired by this one for sure. What Gruesome have done on "Silent Echoes" is create a hell of an album that is worthy to be called a legal follow-up to "Human".

Here everything sounds like this legendary record and also the album cover reminds a lot of that one. The guitars, the riffs, the characteristic drumming Sean Reinert (R.I.P.) did there and also the vocals sound pretty much like Chuck Schuldiner (R.I.P.). For example, the opener "Condemned Identity" starts almost like "Lack Of Comprehension" and later on sounds like a variation of "Flattening Of Emotions". This is a super technical ride over 33 minutes (which is about 30 seconds shorter than the emmm…. original).

Of course you can complain that this is a copy-cat of "Human" and that Gruesome don't have any real own ideas. But I would consider "Silent Echoes" more as a lost brother to "Human". Everything sounds quite similar and trusted but nevertheless you always find stuff that isn't to be found on "Human".

For example the title track is partly much slower than everything on "Human" but also much more rabid. Alone the vocals when Matt Arvey is screaming "Silence - Silent Echoes" – wow, this is really impressive and super powerful. Also the production is executed very well and sounds not too overproduced and if my headphones aren't too bad this all sounds very retro in the vein of the 90s. And hey, you should be glad that there aren't just the "regular" Death cover bands with former band member that go on tour to play some Death songs (like Death to All or Left To Die who both do a fantastic job though) but that there is a band that keeps the spirit alive that once was created by Chuck Schuldiner.

So let's hope that there won't be such a long time span between this release and the next because the next two Death albums ("Individual Thoughts Patterns" and "Symbolic") killed even more than "Human" did. At least for my ears.

Rating: 9.5 out of 10