Symbolic

You know those riffs you hear for the first time and for the rest of your life you always remember the first time you heard them? Such a phenomenon might bring up visions of the intro to "Raining Blood" by Slayer or the machine gun ending to "One" by Metallica. For me, I will always remember the first time I heard the riff that kicks in 45 seconds into the title track, "Symbolic". It is very unexpected and contrasts greatly with that of the slow guitar introduction to 50 mammoth minutes of progressive death metal perfection. Following this riff is a song interspersed with slow sections, fast sections, guitar solos, and the voice of the almighty Chuck Schuldiner. I find it impossible to come up with one complaint about the opener to the album. The way Chuck weaves together slow, Black Sabbath-inspired passages with chaotic guitar riffs, palm-muted interludes, and dual guitar solos shows that the band's maturity and musicianship has reached a new epoch in not only metal music but music as a whole. Then, when you're done gawking at the first song on the album, "Zero Tolerance" kicks in with some of the heaviest riffing I've heard by Death. This song really reminds me of a previous Death song, "Together as One", which is the third track off of Human.

The mid-section of the album is just as equally as impressive as the first two songs. "Sacred Serenity" starts off with Kelly Conlon playing an unforgettable bass intro similar to that of a much more progressive version of "Sadistic Magician" by Municipal Waste. Chuck soon follows suit playing the same riff in a much higher key on guitar. This really sets up the song as one of the more abrasive songs on the album with the bass striking from the background, assaulting your speakers at every corner. "Without Judgement" is by far one of the most unique songs on the album with the song building up to two palm-muted guitar interludes through the use of marching-like minor key buildups guaranteed to excite even the most dreary metalheads.

Starting the finale to the album is "Misanthrope", which wastes no time getting started. Through it's use of differing verses, tempo changes, and changing drum beats, "Misanthrope" perfectly sets up the start of the epic finale to the album, "Perennial Quest". This song is the perfect ending to this monumental album showcasing Chuck's ability to craft extremely interesting songs. With different twists at every corner, this song feels like a literal quest to finish the album. Doom progressions are swiftly met with purely evil riffs, which in turn are met with incredible solos by Chuck. To end the album, an acoustic ballad is performed as an ode to finishing the quest. This part reminds me of "Fade to Black" by Metallica and is foreshadowing of a certain acoustic song on Death's last album.

It should be noted that the transition from Death's earlier, purely death metal material to a mix of progressive and death metal is fully completed with this album. The amount Chuck matured musically in just 8 years is purely inspiring. Every track on this album sounds different and is to this day one of the most diverse records I've ever heard. If you put Biomech by Ocean Machine, Crack the Skye by Mastodon, and Ride the Lightning by Metallica into a blender, the finished product would be Symbolic. Not only musically, but lyrically the evolution of the band is clearly evident. Gone are the gory lyrics of yesteryear instead exchanged for macabre views of several aspects of society. My personal favorite are the lyrics of "Symbolic" in which Chuck compares recalling nostalgic memories to the high of a drug:

"I close my eyes
And sink within myself
Relive the gift of precious memories
In need of a fix called innocence"

TL;DR: If death metal were a mountain, this album would be the summit. Symbolic is an album measured by the strength of its incredibly diverse track list, unforgettable verses, brilliant progressions, and the mark of Chuck Schuldiner's pure genius. This album stands out not only as one of the greatest death metal records of all time, but as one of the best records ever created.

Originally written for qjukebox.com