Symbolic

This album is my favourite by Death, it's so emotionally captivating, and despite its ambitious nature and evocative songwriting, it never gets tedious to listen to, it's actually surprisingly accessible considering it's a mixture of the two least accessible metal subgenres (arguably). However, this album isn't flawless, admittedly some songs could be a little bit shorter, some riffs come off as weakly executed awkwardly articulated, but for the most part, this is an astounding record that never gets old, every track has multiple qualities that really present Chuck in his prime, this album is the first indicator that Death's sound has completely evolved, whereas Human and Individual Thought Patterns were just testing the waters, Symbolic goes fully-fledged prog death, and pulls it off almost flawlessly.

Straight from the title track, it's evident that the riffs and sections on this album will be a force to be reckoned with. The main riff of Symbolic is possibly the most iconic Death riff, its creepy 5/4 rhythm and the overwhelming mix of emotions it brings (which goes for every song, actually) , the song is memorable, exhilarating, and has enough variety to keep you encapsulated in its bold 6 minute runtime. The transition into the chorus is mind-blowing, it has one of the best middle sections in a Death song, and the lyrics sound like Chuck became a deity, it could also be argued that his voice is at its strongest here, with his powerful grows filling every track and never letting up its aggressive and unforgiving tone, but the record of course has the inclusion of many melodic parts, all of which kick ass, in particular Without Judgement and Zero Tolerance, both songs have these beautiful solos and repeated melodies that are almost hypnotic, but what's more is when these melodies are just branching off from chuggy riffs and brutal galloping, but still manage to fit in convincingly.

Empty words probably has my favourite chorus, the track opens with a quiet intro that sounds almost Middle Eastern, it has a very evil undertone despite being passionate and solicitous, and that's another thing that this album achieves, it's very morbid and dark, almost evoking a feeling of hopelessness. 1000 eyes and misanthrope are extremely technical, groovy but emotional songs, both have riffs that just kick ass, and catchy hooks, relying heavily on structure, which is what makes the progressive side of this album so great; instead of just 90 seconds of thoughtless wankery in each song, each track has carefully processed melodies that actually fit in with the song, therefore they retain focus and refrain from being boring. Crystal Mountain and Perennial Quest are the "epics" from the record, they're both my favourite songs from it too, both songs gallop on with furious riffing and solos in between the verses and choruses, but the songs really shine as a whole, when you look at the entirety of the songs and how they're structured, they're both great tracks that involve some of the best Death riffs and lyrics ever written, and Perennial Quest wraps the album up with an amazing acoustic outro, which was the best possible way to end it.

Gene Hoglan performs on this album, so that pretty much automatically makes it the best Death album in terms of drumming, and Gene's performance had really improved on this album compared to Individual Thought Patterns, he expresses complex ideas flawlessly throughout the recording, for example: the chorus and outro of the title track, where he's playing crazily fast but precise fills with the hi-hat and double bass, and the intro to sacred serenity. Speaking of which, Kelly's bass work connects with Gene's drumming amazingly, he plays these complex basslines that just match with the drum beats, and his tone is thick, but doesn't dominate the bottom end. The guitars have a reverb effect that just sound so atmospheric and great, they did a good job on the production as a whole.

I think just about everyone and their mother has heard this album, but if you're crazy enough to have not heard it by now, what are you doing?