Symbolic

Well, here it is, my first perfect album. I can not put into words just how amazing this album is; considering when I heard it for the first time I was speechless. However I am willing to give it a go.

Symbolic is Death's penultimate album and sixth in the bands catalog, mainly capitlisng on the genius level compostions and instrumentation of the late Chuck Shuldiner. By the time of the albums recording, Death were firmly cemented as one of, if not the biggest death metal acts of the time, with classic releases such as critically acclaimed Human (1991), and Leprosy (1988) taking the death metal world by storm. Over time, Shuldiners music has become cleaner more matured and more progressive, his latest effort Individual Thought Patterns was probably the most progessive to date.

Symbolic takes the compostions of Individual Thought Patterns and tightens them up, as well as adding more melodic and catchy riffs. Every instrument is cleanly played and mixed crystal clearly, removing the previous muddiness from previous titles, Chuck's vocals also differ from other Death records, this time producing more higher notes, - a change that I personally felt fitted into the record better, The drumming perfomance is nothing short of spectacular, from the human metronome himself: Gene Hoglan; adding a complex but clean backbone to the music. The bass also is extremely good, and although it may not have had as much freedom as DiGiorgio's lines, It still has the quality to act almost as a third guitar in these set of songs. Last but certainly not least, the guitars. Chuck's riffs are unmatched, absolutley perfect in compostion and execution. The real kick of this album is the mystical leads, with every song featuring a melodic and masterful example of Chuck's soloing work, often giving a mysterious vibe to the songs and the whole album. Bobby Koelbe's solos accompany the work of shuldiner, keeping a mysterious vibe whilst adding a wacky but awesome array of notes into the mix.

This guitar work is probably best evident on the title track, with a short but sweet solo from Chuck shortly appearing in the song; before an epic build up to Bobby's explosion of notes which lead onto an excellent bridge section, truly masterful work. A notable track is 1000 Eyes, a fast paced agressive song that shows the technical compexity of the band perfectly. The ending of the song is truly fantastic with a haunting and faded vocal line turned scream plays over an ensemble of notes and drums, an amazing way to end a track. The best song on the album however has to be Crystal Mountain. Death's masterpiece, excellent riffs, mysterious pre-chorus, before heading into probablythe greatest chorus I have ever had the pleasure of listening to; the scale that Chuck runs through is sensational and the raw power of his vocal delivery really makes this song stand out. Solo? Perfect, and beyond belief. What is most impressive about this song is that it gets better with every stage, the ending chorus becomes a battle between acoustic and electric guitars, and I would go as far as saying that the last minute of the song is the best piece of music ever recorded.

Overall, this is easily one of if not the greatest metal albums ever recorded and written. So good is this album that I can not even list a single fault.
Rest In Piece: Chuck.