The Sound of Perseverance

By 1998, many thought that death metal had reached its pinnacle. Bands like Cannibal Corpse, Suffocation, Autopsy, and countless others had released classic albums, but there was one band that was there at its inception that continued to build a legendary discography: Death. They pushed the limits into progressive territory (though some will argue that Atheist beat them to the punch), and routinely released the best batch of guitar work and songwriting in the genre. This all culminated with their final two releases, specifically, The Sound of Perseverance.

This record has probably the finest guitar performance in all of death metal. The acoustic flourishes are placed into the album with care, not just space-filler. The riffs on "A Moment of Clarity" and "Spirit Crusher" are intricate, clean, and catchy; the latter having probably the most ear worm riff in all of metal after the bridge. The solos on this album are consistently fast-paced, memorable, and very creative. Chuck Schuldiner seemed to always have tricks left up his sleeve, even after the "Crystal Mountain" solo was applauded as the apex. But the electric wailing on "Voice of the Soul" and the multi-tempo cries on "To Forgive Is to Suffer" are pure emotion being poured out of Chuck's guitar. For how many different bands had attacked death metal by the late 'nineties, it's amazing that Death was still able to pull ahead as the best, even being well over a decade into their careers.

But the guitar isn't the only instrument that Chuck lets shine on this record. Take, for example, the random (but appreciated) injection of pace around the 4:00 mark on "To Forgive Is to Suffer," where Richard Christy's drumming takes the spotlight and runs away with it. His drumming is also the driving force behind the Judas Priest cover of "Painkiller," a track that truly rivals the original and even transcends it in terms of aggression (though the album of the same name by Priest is a speed/thrash classic worth checking out!). As the closer to this album, it feels like a perfect send off to not just the record but to Death's career, a career that constantly paid homage to other greats in metal with the vast array of influences that colored their music. The Sound of Perseverance is arguably the greatest example of this: there are hints of thrash, the death metal vocals that Chuck perfected on every Death release, but the theatricality of power metal and prog elements of Dream Theater or Fates Warning in the songwriting.

The lyrics are consistently insightful and even bone-chilling, like on the hook of "Bite the Pain" or on "Flesh and the Power It Holds," the album's longest cut that cycles through numerous rhythm and riff changes. The album opener, "Scavenger of Human Sorrow," is a great tone setter for the record as well, given how consistent the theme of this album is. The guitar tone doesn't change too much, and the songs never wander into overly-aggressive territory. They're well-written (probably due in part to the three year break between albums, the longest of their career) and don't dip too deeply into the prog-death metal scene. They experiment with some funky drum patterns like on "Spirit Crusher," but the majority of the tune is still riff-based. Overall, the band does an amazing job of pulling from a bunch of different influences and shaping them into catchy, complex, and crafty death metal songs. This is Death's peak as a band, and although it may not symbolize such a peak for the genre, it certainly remains in contention.