Symbolic

This is it. The highlight of Death's discography, their magnum opus, and one of the most incredible and beautiful albums ever released within the entire metal genre. With Symbolic, Chuck reached new heights, both as a songwriter, and as a musician. And if one dares call himself a fan of death metal, there is absolutely no excuse not have given every song featured here at least a few listens, and truth be told, this is a must own. There is nothing out there quite like Symbolic, and there never will be. Death and Chuck may be buried and gone, but with music like this, their legacy will continue to live on.

The history of Death has been well covered, so I won't go into terribly great detail. Basically, the short story is, that with Death's debut, Scream Bloody Gore, death metal was established(whether or not Death are the true creators of death metal is debatable, but what isn't up for debate is that SBG was instrumental in helping to create the genre altogether). From there, Death would release a few more classic albums that were straight up death metal, and then Chuck grew bored with the gore theme. Seeking to explore more philosophical ideas in the lyrics, as well as a more progressive sound(which was still death metal in itself, mind you) Chuck got a new lineup together and released 1991's Human. After that, a slight step down came two years later in Individual Thought Patters. So Andy LaRocque(guitar) and Steve DiGiorgio(bass) were ousted in favor of Bobby Koelble and Kelly Conion, respectively. And those two, along with founder evil Chuck and Gene Hoglan teamed up and created this, Symbolic. Initially intended to be Death's final album, they could not have gone out any better. This is perfection.

I suppose with all this raving I should actually take a look into the actual music, eh? Well, the album starts with the title track, "Symbolic".This is a classic by any means, which begins with a crushing riff that speeds up for awhile, and then slows back down to the tune of Chuck shouting "Symbolic past! So vivid! Yet at the same time, were invisible!". Then at about three minutes in Chuck turns things into supersonic speed, leading to a very technical and awesome solo. The song then slows down again, and repeats into the pattern that it began with. This is easily one of Death's best, most well-written songs, but to call it the highlight of the album and stop there would be foolish. "Without Judgement" is another instant classic, with numerous time changes, including a straight up groovy breakdown about halfway through that soon explodes on your face as the song nears its conclusion. Other notable cuts featured(well, ALL the songs are notable) are Crystal Mountain and Perennial Quest, both vastly different but similar in the incorporation of an accoustic guitar near the completion of the track, which adds so much to the overral atmosphere, especially in Perennial Quest's case. Crystal Mountain, so much has been said about it individually that I'll just say the lyrics leave you thinking, and the song sticks in your head well after it's over.

As I listened to the acoustic guitar strumming way at the end of Perennial Quest after my first listen, it struck me. Here was a perfect album. I could pull out any track here to argue that metal could indeed be beautiful, not just mindless screaming with noise as the common opinion dictates. And I'm sure others have been struck that way, and when an album gets that kind of response out of you, there is nothing to do then to give it a 100%