{"id":105033,"date":"2025-06-06T00:00:22","date_gmt":"2025-06-05T23:00:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/?p=105033"},"modified":"2025-06-26T15:05:37","modified_gmt":"2025-06-26T14:05:37","slug":"album-review-gruesome-silent-echoes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/album-review-gruesome-silent-echoes\/","title":{"rendered":"GRUESOME – Silent Echoes (2025) | Album \/ EP Reviews @ Metal Forces Magazine"},"content":{"rendered":"

GRUESOME
\nSilent Echoes<\/strong><\/span>
\n\"\"
\nRelapse (2025)<\/span>
\nRating: 7.5\/10<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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Back with another slice of genuine Death worship, American combo Gruesome this time pays homage to Chuck Schuldiner\u2019s classic opus Human<\/em>, which was released back in 1991. With Human<\/em>, Death really started to expand their sound, lacing extremity with subtle complex variations and progressive streaks. The only way in which Schuldiner could fully create this masterpiece was to enlist the aid of guitarist Paul Masvidal, bassist Steve DiGiorgio and drummer Sean Reinert.<\/p>\n

Replicated with sincerity, Gruesome \u2013 featuring Matt Harvey (vocals and guitar), Daniel Gonzalez (guitar), Robin Mazen (bass) and Gus R\u00edos (drums) \u2013 embarks on their third full length opus, coming seven years after 2018\u2019s Twisted Prayers<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m sure, as with previous outings, that Silent Echoes<\/em> may split opinion. There are those who will salivate over more homage and others who may sneer at such mimicry. Even so, there\u2019s no denying the technical qualities offered here alongside the riveting riffs and Harvey\u2019s savage expressions. Maybe we should just sit back and appreciate what Gruesome has and is still doing, because while the foursome blatantly uses the Death template for design, the band still constructs its own brand of death metal.<\/p>\n

R\u00edos does a fine job of echoing Reinert\u2019s sorely missed drum patterns, particularly on the intricate framework of \u2018Frailty\u2019. Mind you, Reinert was a mentor for and best friend of R\u00edos up until his untimely passing in January 2020. However, there\u2019s not a lot here that\u2019s full on aping. Instead, Gruesome builds on a foundation of chunky riffs and deathly gasps.<\/p>\n

\u2018Shards\u2019 begins with a thrashy nature, the drums hastily shifting before some mid-paced melody glisten at the 1:40 mark. On \u2018Fragments Of Psyche\u2019 you can really hear the Reinert influence as R\u00edos weaves his magic to Mazen\u2019s DiGiorgio-styled bass twists. It\u2019s clever stuff in spite of the obvious influence as Gruesome effortlessly dabbles with complexity without sacrificing any form of weight. \u2018Reason Denied\u2019 is effectively jarring in its introductory jabbing riffs, but again it showcases the colossal contribution of R\u00edos who is utterly devastating behind the kit.<\/p>\n

Silent Echoes<\/em> is what we expected, but it still delivers in every department. Will the Gruesome persevere in covering the sound of Death? I imagine so, and I look forward to it.<\/p>\n

Neil Arnold<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

GRUESOME Silent Echoes Relapse (2025) Rating: 7.5\/10 Back with another slice of genuine Death worship, American combo Gruesome this time pays homage to Chuck Schuldiner\u2019s classic opus Human, which was released back in 1991. With Human, Death really started to expand their sound, lacing extremity with subtle complex variations and progressive streaks. The only way […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,1994],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-105033","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-album-ep-reviews","category-gruesome"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/105033","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=105033"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/105033\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":105034,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/105033\/revisions\/105034"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=105033"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=105033"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=105033"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}