Bio

Formed by drummer Gus Rios and guitarist / vocalist Matt Harvey as way to continue worshipping at the altar of DEATH beyond their initial involvement in DEATH TO ALL (Harvey served as frontman for the original mini-tour and Rios performed ″Baptized In Blood″ and worked with DTA drummer Sean Reinert), GRUESOME quickly gathered momentum when guitarist Dan Gonzalez (POSSESSED) and bassist Robin Mazen (DERKETA, CASTRATOR) came onboard. The trio of Floridians tracked a demo there while Harvey completed his work in California. In 2014, a pair of single-song demos were released, and GRUESOME were quickly signed by Relapse Records.

The band’s debut full-length ″Savage Land″, a truly gruesome slab of Leprosy-styled death metal, was released in April 2015. As evidenced by the Ed Repka (DEATH, VIO-LENCE, MEGADETH, MASSACRE, etc) cover art, GRUESOME were humbly determined to keep the classic sound of DEATH alive as faithfully as possible.

After the very positive reception of their debut from fans and critics alike, GRUESOME continued their homage to the DEATH catalog, promptly sinking their teeth into the savagery of ″Scream Bloody Gore″. Their 2nd release, the ″Dimensions Of Horror″ EP, was a six-song slab of grisly, bone-breaking anthems that proved that no matter the decade, old-school death metal is always relevant, brutal, and irresistible.

The band followed ″Dimensions… ″ up with a 7” titled ″Fragments Of Psyche″, which showcased their versatility. With guest drummer Sean Reinert (DEATH, CYNIC), the band dove head-first into the more technical ″Human era of DEATH’s sound, which was a sharp contrast to the band’s first two releases, which reveled exclusively in old school g(l)ory.

GRUESOME returned in 2018 with their second full-length, ″Twisted Prayers″ and followed DEATH’s paradigm shift during the ″Spiritual Healing″ era. Incorporating more cerebral, melodic instrumentation with elements of thrash as well as thought-provoking lyrics into the songwriting, the band returned to New Constellation studios in Orlando Florida to work with producer Jarrett Pritchard (EXHUMED, 1349, GOATWHORE). Cover artist Ed Repka created another classic piece that mirrors his work on the first 3 DEATH albums, and the band even enlisted legendary guitarist James Murphy (DEATH, OBITUARY, TESTAMENT) for a pair of special guest guitar solos.

Since the release of ″Twisted Prayers″, GRUESOME have completed numerous US and European tours, including appearances at festivals like Wacken Open Air, Party San and many more. At the beginning of the pandemic, the band released a split EP entitled ″Twisted Horror″ with Harvey’s other band EXHUMED to promote a tour that was unfortunately derailed due to the global lockdown. The band is currently working on their next full-length album, which aims to capture the essence of DEATH’s monolithic ″Human era″, with recording planned for late 2023.