The Sound of Perseverance

The last Death album is a real surprise - even against the background of a clearly different "Symbolic"! I will not mention that it was originally planned as the first album of Control Denied (there are rumors that "Symbolic" was supposed to be the first), because everyone knows it very well, but that it clearly breaks with the extreme, this is something definitely more worth mentioning in the context of this "surprise". It's really rare that a band closely associated with such a style would be able to record a masterpiece in a distinctly different style! Of course, this does not mean that Chuck Schuldiner with his Death has softened or recorded something totally inconsistent, because it's still death metal, but this one has become even more complex and diverse. Naturally, I mean the complexity of the whole material, and that's for the simple reason that "The Sound Of Perseverance" is best suited to death metal in style of Atheist or Cynic - so much "jazzy". However, despite the departure from death metal in the traditional sense (i.e. with blasts, wilderness, etc.), Chuck with his Death still exceed a large part of the bands dealing with underground music, the level of expression and the load of emotions almost unmatched.

Well, the songs are a masterpiece by a capital M. Literally each one in turn! The compositions may not be the shortest or the most easily digestible here, but their length and degree of complexity are absolutely justified. A multitude of ideas, techniques, catchy, quite bold melodies, it all exploded here! The number of brilliant patents in them is simply shocking, and yet you cannot talk about exaggeration. "The Sound Of Perseverance" is a music perfectly composed and balanced, still full of very specific playing, but also full of amazing diversions and a unique atmosphere. What's more, all these progressive wonders came out naturally on this album by Death as if the musicians had been sitting in this style almost forever. It's enough to take a closer look at such songs as "Scavanger Of Human Sorrow" or "Flesh And Power It Holds", clearly developed on the basis of different - in relation to each other - motifs, and arranged in such a way that there are no sudden jumps or forced techniques. The other conclusions are the same as above, so I will not list each one in turn, because omitting one of them at this point would be harmful! Everyone is equally shocked with the genius of ideas and...beauty. At the end there was a huge surprise (though how does it sound in the context of the previous songs...). A cover of...Judas Priest! Chosen was well-known "Painkiller", but as for the interpretation that Chuck tried, this cannot be said to be too typical. The performance - paradoxically not much different from the original - makes an extraordinary impression, especially Schuldiner singing in the Halford type, the "wow effect" is solid.

Another advantage is the production of "The Sound...", extremely clear and polished, and at the same time very fleshy and with a huge kick. I mention it for a reason, because the sound perfectly showed what kind of technique the musicians had at the time. I will not discuss the leader, because I have already written about him in previous reviews (however, it's worth paying attention to the much higher voice of Schuldiner). I will focus on the other three accompanying Chuck bandmates. Scott Clendenin's bass stands out (he often gets a "solo" parts), Shannon Hamm's style looks interesting (a bit more subtle compared to Chuck), but the Richard Christy playing style is definitely the most impressive here. With all due respect to the previous drummers, Death has never had such drumming madness! A real show of skill, and at the same time everything fits beautifully with the music. In short: perfect balance.

So there can be only one summary. "The Sound Of Perseverance" is one of the best albums in the output of Chuck Schuldiner, continuing the band's great streak. The music is extremely technical and complex, but no less of a solid power and atmosphere. It's hard to find a better definition of perfection.

Originally on: https://subiektywnymetal.blogspot.com/2021/02/death-sound-of-perseverance-1998.html