Death are easily one one the most revered and respected acts in all of metal. They, or more specifically lead guitarist and front man Chuck Schuldiner, contributed to the birth of Death Metal in a really big way. Though bands like Possessed had already released albums that would go on to define the sound of Death Metal, Death really took things further, especially in the latter part of their career. Enter Symbolic, an album that sees Death in a truly mastered form. Though the line up for this band changed almost completely with every album, Chuck being the anchor, Symbolic has, in my opinion, the band's strongest line-up ever. While I really love albums like Leprosy, and Individual Though Patterns, the playing and actual production on Symbolic is second to none. Everything sounds great, and the musicianship on display here is truly awe-inspiring.
The album kicks off with the title track, which starts slow, but suddenly kicks into speedy blast beats and dual guitar shredding, a sound that defined not only Death, but the entire genre of Death Metal as well. While the album is incredible all the way through, my favorite tracks all come together right in the middle. In fact, the run of tracks from "Sacred Serenity" to "Crystal Mountain" rank among the strongest I've ever heard on any metal album. What all of these tracks have in common are relentless, chugging riffs, immaculate drumming, and Schuldiner's retching growl.
That growl is one of the best that the genre has to offer, and in truth it only got more brutal and frightening as the band went on. And the vocals weren't all technicality and showmanship, because Schulinder, at least on later Death releases fancied himself to be a bit of a poet. Though this is far from being dainty, with a lot of images of death, mental imprisonment, paranoia, and the concept of memory and time. It can seem a bit nihilistic at times, but that seems to be more of an artistic choice than a personal one.
Death are a more recent discovery for me, as I usually associated Death Metal with the likes of Mayhem and Cannibal Corpse, both of which interested me not at all. However, I've found myself really loving everything from Death that I've put my ears on, and this has lead me to work on slowly owning all of their LPs, birthing another love story in my musical life.
If you haven't heard of Death, or want an easy in for Death Metal, you really can't get any better than Symbolic, it's really something special.
9.5/10
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