Spiritual Healing (studio album) by Death (Metal)

No es ninguna estupidez afirmar que todo lo que salió de las manos de Chuck Schuldiner es garantía de calidad. Suele ser infravalorado entre la magna discografía del genio del Death Metal, pero el álbum tiene el honor de ser el primer álbum que deja atrás las temáticas sobre muertes y tragedias para centrarse en la crítica social, bien reflejada en la excelente portada de Ed Repka con ese sanador tan típico de los Estados Unidos. Es el primer disco que habla sobre temas sociales, también es el primero que atisba la evolución que seguiría Death en discos posteriores, pero también es el último donde aparecen composiciones ajenas a Chuck antes de que tomara por completo las riendas de su proyecto. 'Spiritual Healing' goza de una calidad tremenda, a medio camino entre el primer Death Metal bruto y la segunda etapa en la que la evolución sería la tónica dominante.

This is another exceptional album I've found in Death's catalog. So glad I found this band thanks to a friend. I feel like they should have way more recognition than they do. This album is heavy as hell and pure raw metal at the core. That's it. No fancy trinkets just a beating to the ears. Love it.

As I’ve mentioned previously, I’m a big fan of vocals that match the music that I’m listening to. Typically, I think that death metal albums are good to great musically, but the guttural vocals take away from that music. At least, that’s been my biggest roadblock with some of the heavier genres of metal. However, Death’s third album proves to be an exception to that particular rule. The guttural vocals here don’t bother me at all and, in fact, add to the musicality of what I’m hearing. Part of it is because I can actually understand what Chuck Schuldiner is singing, and I really like understanding the lyrics that are being sung. That, for me, is the real soul of the music. The standout song on this album, for me, is “Low Life” which expresses a sentiment I think we all have felt at one time or another.