Death
Spiritual Healing

THE REVIEW

Underrated.
Yes, this is certainly the first term that is associated with "Spiritual Healing," undoubtedly the least appreciated work by the fans of what shortly (in my opinion) would become the greatest band the entire universe has ever seen come to light.
Oh yes, it is indeed difficult to review this album, their absolute worst for many, (however, in my opinion on par with "Leprosy") but certainly always to be prominently displayed in the discography of the legendary Death.

Let's get one thing clear right away: these are not gratuitous compliments written only to pay homage to Chuck Schuldiner, the greatest musician ever (I remind you that I always speak according to my opinions), but "Spiritual Healing" deserves every single word present in this review, and the history of Death also passes through this album.

This album also represents a significant step forward in the maturation of the Floridian band even though, as we all know, the best is yet to come.
There is a notable improvement in technique and production, but that’s not all because there are many features that make this work unique and different from the previous two. While in "Scream Bloody Gore" and "Leprosy" we find violent, vicious songs with texts focused on the most splatter horror, in this CD the songs start to become longer, more thoughtful, where we find a touch of melody and (very important element) significantly more mature and intriguing lyrics, inspired by societal issues ("Living Monstruosity," practically a denunciation against drug addiction, is a clear example) that in time will evolve to themes with a philosophical background that were greatly appealing to Evil Chuck so much so that he will make massive use of them in the subsequent four inhuman releases produced by Death.

All of this makes "Spiritual Healing" a certainly original album (at least for the time), with high-level technique while still maintaining violence and speed.
The combination of all these novelties is also due to the splendid performance of the incredibly talented James Murphy, who would later play with high-level bands like Obituary and Testament.

Unfortunately, the album presents a notable discontinuity, even though every single song is well-crafted and played excellently, and songs like
"Living Monstruosity," "Altering The Future," and the Title Track deserve to be mentioned.

In the end, we can conclude by saying that the great Chuck Schuldiner with "Spiritual Healing" may not have left a masterpiece, but certainly a good record, nothing less.