Symbolic

Death is one of those bands, that album after album they put out quality material. Symbolic is often considered one of Death's best, and it's not hard to see why, as it has some of the best compositions in all of death metal. Chuck and crew knew how to write great material, and this album is no exception to that norm. Fans of other later-day Death albums will love this album, as it is basically just more of the same, just done better here than on most of those other releases.

This is one of Death's better line ups, only the line up on The Sound of Perseverance beats it in my eyes. The band takes Chucks complex compositions and blows through them as if they were no issue at all. This makes sure the band doesn't sound pushed, and that's one of this albums biggest strengths. Because of the bands skill, Chuck could write the songs he wanted and didn't have to worry about if the band was able to play them or not. All the band members are firing on all cylinders here, as Kelly Conlon, Gene Hoglan, and Bobby Koelble give some of the best performances of their careers. It's something that has to be experienced to understand, but the sonic assault the band provides on this release is nearly unrivaled among all of death metal, a genre known for its musical walls.

The songs here are of course, progressive and heavy, this is to be expected from Death. However there is a fair amount of non-death metal influence here, the guitar solo from "Zero Tolerance" sticks out to me, as it goes for feel over brutality. This is the key difference in their sound from the last record. They sound much more organic, more human, when compared to their previous forays into progressive metal. This feeling of humanity is arguably the greatest strength of this album. It gives death metal a soul, something no other band I've found is able to do so well. The songs here are as progressive as they ever were, but they are delivered with more speed and ferocity here than on other releases. This doesn't mean it is heavier, although it is plenty heavy, it just means that the album is much more energetic than lets say "Human" or "The Sound of Perseverance".

The lyrics here are typical of later day Death, talking about death and issues of society. This adds a very intellectual feel to the album, which along with its complex music makes this an album that even the most pretentious of musical aficionados can truly enjoy. This is an album you can feel safe listening to free from judgement, well at least free from judgement that is actually true.

Chuck provides a great vocal performance here, and shows why he is a death metal god. His voice is truly evil, yet still understandable. This is one of the best things about this album and of all of Death, Chuck's ability to write great lyrics that can actually be understood by the listener without that person looking at a lyric sheet. This allows even those who need to know the lyrics to focus on the music.

If you are wanting to get into death metal, Death is one of the best places to start. They manage to be very heavy and complex, but are more accessible than bands like Cancer or Autopsy. This means you can get used to the music, and not have to deal with the disgusting, and often dumb, lyrics that death metal often has. This though, is one of those rare works that serves as both an entry point and as an album you will no doubt be pulling out of your collection even after years of listening to death metal. It's a true beast of an album, and a must have for any death metal fan, or fan of extreme metal in general.