Childish as it may sound, it's Death's turn again to take the lead. It's obvious that "Spiritual Healing" is a big leap forward in the musical development of Death and the death metal genre. Without losing aggressiveness Chuck drives his band to great creative heights.

It took some changes to get this far. First of all, Chuck's notorious death grunt has been adjusted. For the first time you actually can hear the lyrics. Then the speed guitarist Rick Rozz had to make way for the technical more gifted James Murphy (ex- Hallows Eve and Agent Steel). The result of this personal change is breath taking.

Sparkling solo's as well from James as Chuck make up a great contrast with the snarling riffs. The biggest difference compared to the other CD's however are the more varied and far better thought through compositions. A torrent of tempi, moods and unexpected breaks make Spiritual Healing an up and down experience compared to a roller coaster.

Songs like "Altering The Future", "Within The Mind" and the title song are full of phenomenal riffs, raging accelerations and dazzling lead guitar parts. And Chuck may growl less, the horrifying distorted vocals in "Low Life" sent shivers down your spine more than ever before.

It is amazing how Death offers so much more on Spiritual Healing in a musical way without betraying the death metal fans, not even once.

Rating : 9,5 out of 10

Robert Heeg