Death
Spiritual Healing

It's been a while since I've heard from myself (which is for the best, some genius will immediately bark). Yes, well... whatever, like you give a damn anyway... anyway, the point is my long-time girlfriend left me for someone else. Taller, blonder, richer. But most importantly, he showers three times a week. Hard months, shitty months: months where I found comfort in sister death, by listening to a lot of good Death Metal. And so, for the return of the vile creature that I am, my favorite band is just what I need, the band my father would choose to sing me lullabies: Chuck Schuldiner's Death.

We are at the beginning of 1990, and the Mind has a very clear idea of the musical direction he wants to impart on his group. The previous "Scream Bloody Gore" and "Leprosy" represent two voracious lava flows, the most uncompromising, violent, and compact phase of Death; it's time to change path. Chuck brings in James Murphy (who in the same year will work with Obituary on "Cause of Death"), a guitarist with a more melodic approach compared to Rozz, and begins the journey towards that hyper-technical and refined sound that will henceforth become the trademark of the Orlando band.

Besides the sounds, the production changes as well, more refined, and especially the lyrics: setting aside horror and gore, they tackle philosophically and socially relevant themes like abortion, drug abuse, the dangers of uncontrolled scientific progress. However, do not be too misled: we are faced with an objectively devastating album, played with sometimes maniacal care and precision. The solos of the two guitars? Eternal and complex like never heard before in Evil Chuck’s band.

Spiritual healing is discussed in the title; and the artwork depicts a direct critique towards those false healers, those false GURU BASTARDS who want to remedy incurable diseases with their "magic." It is surrounded by a crowd incredulous and in rapture with this apparent healing; a heavy invective against all forms of religion.

The band's logo is not accidentally hanging above a part of the obsessed crowd, and those drops of blood mean to taint and dirty the hysterical scene. For a wicked purification, this time.

It is the turning-point album, the album that precedes the greatest Death metal album in history ("Human"), as well as "Individual Thought Patterns" and "Symbolic": Bible, Gospel, and Holy Scriptures for any devotee to the faith of Heavy Metal. A work of transition, as it is always said, only to then assign it a rather low rating: RUBBISH, because this is the umpteenth (the third, to be precise) masterpiece. "Spiritual Healing" has only one flaw, which is the sound of Bill Andrews' drums: a flatulent sound. I don't even dare to imagine the final result if Gene Hoglan, the Atomic Clock, had been behind the skins.

Eight tracks: seven planets revolving around the star of the title track. 7 minutes and 44 seconds of sheer terror-panic. A savage, unstoppable pace, with Chuck's evil voice exploding into the demonic scream SPIRITUALLL HHHEALING: every time I listen, I find myself looking over my shoulder, fearing that some psychopath is about to rip me apart. No bullshit: one of the most extreme songs ever written by Death.

And what about "Killing Spree"? A seal on the album that many bands can only dream of, built as it is on a continuous play of accumulated and released tension: a little gem of the firmament. And then "Within the Mind": a literally moving piece, starting from the intro reminiscent of "Zombie Ritual"... when we die, we continue to exist in our loved ones, in others' memories, and in the traces we leave of our passage... and what words you have left us, Chuck...

This power lies within the mind

Gain wisdom through abilities

Change what's to come in future times

Avoiding pain and misery...