Symbolic

Death is one of those bands who needs no introduction, but discussing their career as a whole demands mentioning their various accolades. Their 1987 debut "Scream Bloody Gore" was highly influential on the now famous Florida death metal scene, whose golden era lay in the late 80's, early to mid-90's. "Scream Bloody Gore" seems to remain the album most fans of Death align with, and for some inconcievable reason, their technically superior later career is pushed aside for the horror and gore lyrics of that release. This leaves behind albums like "Human," "Individual Thought Patterns," "The Sound of Perservance," and my personal favorite, "Symbolic." Considering I've always viewed these albums as superior, and some of the best any American death metal band would release, it boggles the mind as to why Death's early career surpasses it in the minds of their fans.

For those who appreciate death metal that moves beyond the realm of horrific (and with the now mindlessly repetitive "gore" scene, downright senseless) topics of gore and murder, Death's 90's career is ideal. The subject focus moves away from their early career and instead focuses on the intellectual and at times, the spiritual (though don't confuse that with religious or anti-religious, Chuck Shuldiner was adamnant his music was not religious in any way.) In fact, you can take these songs seriously and perhaps even ponder the meaning behind the lyrics, something you rarely get with Cannibal Corpse and the generations of gore bands after them.

As with most Death albums, "Symbolic" sees a change in the line-up. Of course the band leader in Chuck Schuldiner is still here, whose vocal approach takes on a thrashier sound that focuses more on an decipherable scream. It reminds me a little bit of the vocalist off Malevolent Creation's "The Ten Commandments," as its still harsh but the lyrics can be made out at times. If I had to mention anyone else in the line-up, it would have to be Gene Hoglan. Gene "The Machine" doesn't give his best performance on this album, but its still damn commendable but perhaps not to extent of Dark Angel's widely celebrated "Darkness Descends." Kelly Conlon replaces Steve DiGiorgio on bass, which is a shame, as Conlon doesn't really deliver the way his predecessor did. He isn't atrocious in any way, and keeps the band moving in a structured way, he's just hard to hear at times.

The guitar work continues to flatten the listener, thanks to Schuldiner's great riff writing and technical yet enjoyable solos. The one thing I've always loved about this band was their ability to be both technical and enjoyable, something that is often hard to find in death metal's more recent generations. A perfect example of this combination would be "Zero Tolerance," which rolls out those impressive yet memorable riffs that make Death the band they are. On the whole, I'd say this album isn't quite as impressive as the thematic "Individual Thought Patterns," but with purely enjoyable songs like "Crystal Mountain," "Zero Tolerance," "1,000 Eyes," and the title track, it comes out superior to that album in terms of a pure satisfactory listening experience. I'd even risk being called a heretic in the eyes of this band's core fanbase by saying it also comes out slightly better than their widely celebrated "Human" album.

For me, this is Death's finest hour. Its far removed from the blood splattered horror days of "Scream Bloody Gore," and more enjoyable than "Individual Thought Patterns" before it, yet still intelligent and technically impressive. "Symbolic" remains my favorite Death recording, like all of their albums is an essential listen for all fans of this band and the genre they helped to popularize, not to mention bore the name of.