Symbolic

The subject of perfection in the case of Death is like a boomerang - it returns in almost every my (but not only) reviews. It looks no different to "Symbolic". The music is refined in every respect, full of compositional genius and - in my opinion - even better than "Individual Thought Patterns" and "Human". So the conclusion from it's clear, for "Symbolic" there is no scale! This is another Death album, where it's perfectly audible that the earlier patents could be approached completely differently, something else could be changed and - on the other side - still with strictly death metal sounds to create a masterpiece. Besides, "Symbolic" - although released in 1995 - probably best illustrates Chuck's condition in the last years of his musical activity. It was as if he already knew the end was near. You can even say that with this album, the name Death gained a special meaning...

At the moment, however, it acquired a truly unique meaning! Schuldiner's music has become a bit slower, sublime, arranged, it has gained a very "depressing" atmosphere, it also has a definitely different feeling compared to its predecessors. All of this, fortunately, did not fall into an exaggerated softening or any polishing of the material - it gave Death's music a whole new dimension. Of course, "Symbolic" is dominated by what is traditionally death metal for this band, i.e. a large dose of classic death metal playing, a lot of imaginative riffs (though somewhat less tech-oriented compared to "Individual...") and Chuck's characteristic vocal (here as if yet another more "virulent"). All the novelties - of which there were quite a lot - did not disturb the earlier style, they even made "Symbolic" even more unique and perfectly emphasized the pessimistic character of the whole album. I mentioned the latter a few lines above, so I'll just mention the titles that best reflect the style of the album - "Empty Words", "Without Judgment", "Sacred Serenity", "Zero Tolerance" are just one of several. The coolest thing, however, is that "Symbolic" can be proud of its advanced technique, sad atmosphere and death metal sound to the same degree.

It's also surprising that such an awesome album was created in a (almost) random line-up. Because while Gene Hoglan is not an casual musician (he's better than on "Individual Thought Patterns"!), so Bobby Koelble and Kelly Conlon were clearly weaker compared to previous musicians. As you can see, this did not prevent them from getting better, because Koelble's solos are just as hit as Schuldiner, and Conlon's bass, although very modest compared to DiGiorgio, also fits perfectly into the music (it does the background, but in a positive way words meaning). After all, they created a complete and absolutely one-of-a-kind album! Rarely you can talk about an album that is brilliant and which was recorded by a temporary line-up.

Originally on: https://subiektywnymetal.blogspot.com/2021/02/death-symbolic-1995.html