Random album reviews

[MindRuler]

EVERGREY - Theories Of Emptiness
Napalm Records (2024) - Total playing time 46:04

A new Evergrey album is always kind of special to me because it´s one of my favourite bands. Although impressed with their previous effort A Heartless Portrait at first, that album lost abit of its shine for me.
The new Theories Of Emptiness, number 14 for the Swedes, is the last one with drummer Jonas Ekdahl and has a great production where all individual instruments and vocals shine: it´s a feast with headphones btw!
Falling From The Sun is Evergrey by numbers and has all the ingredients needed to make it a great Evergrey song. Very catchy chorus and a melodic guitar solo and of course Tom Englunds emotional vocals.
Misfortune has a nice intro which flows into a softer part with synths and chuggy riffs. The chorus however isn´t as great as the usual Evergrey choruses. Not a bad song at all but abit bland after the nice opener.
To Become Someone Else has a nice haunting intro that almost hark back to their early days. Beautiful quiet chorus before bursting into a djenty chuggy riff fest. After second verse the chorus is now accompanied with guitars at a nice midtempo pace.
Again a quiet part with synths and sparse guitarlines that remind me of the Atlantic album. Chuggy guitars return to break into the final chorus.
Say opens with guitar riffs accompanied with Deep Purplish organ sounds but the moment Tom starts to sing the underlying guitar riff reminds me of the classic Evergrey sound. And yes! Fantastic chorus! This is the Evergrey I love. What a great bass during second verse and melodic solo followed by a short instrumental section. Highlight 2 for sure!
Ghost Of My Hero is a ballad with very touching lyrics. This time it´s perfectly placed in the middle of the album unlike on the previous record where the ballad closed the album.
We Are The North takes us back to classic Evergrey territory again. What a beast!
Even some harsh vocals. A quiet part leads back into prechorus and chorus and guitar solo.
And here it is people: my favourite song of the album and...yes I allready dare to say it: in my Top 10 alltime Evergrey songs!
The Night Within has a chorus that sends shivers down my spine and has all the elements of a perfect Evergrey song.
We don´t have to wait too long for another highlight:
Cold Dreams features grunts from Jonas Renske and Toms daughter Salina who just sounds like her mom! The grunts and fast parts are a nice contrast with Salina´s vocals.
Our Way Through Silence is a perfect album closer because the track A Theory Of Emptiness is just a short instrumental with a spoken AI(?) voice which sounds abit weird at first but if you have the CD player on repeat it is a nice intro to Falling From The Sun.
Overall the new Evergrey is a great album with alot potential to grow on me. This disc is on repeat for the coming days.
☆☆☆☆½

 

[Diesel 11]

Death
Scream Bloody Gore (1987)

1. Infernal Death - Death's debut begins with some doomy guitarwork with a definitive stomp to it as Chuck wails the word "DIE". It's a bit of a mission statement as the genre of death metal is only just becoming a reality. And if you thought this was gonna be a doom metal album, think again, as Chris Reifert starts blasting down beats and Chuck slides into a heavy riff that will form the basis for death metal as we know it. Chuck's vocals are howled and unrefined, which definitely fits the nature of the beast. This is a super fun song and a short-but-sweet intro to the rest of the record. Lyrically it discusses burning bodies, how much more metal can you get? 8/10

2. Zombie Ritual - An evil lead guitar riff parts the curtains as the floor opens wide for a ballroom filled with a multitude of dancing zombies! Sorry, did I say ballroom? I meant MOSHPIT!!! Any notion that things will calm down in track 2 are thrown out the window the minute Reifert begins assaulting the drums and Chuck rips his guitar to shreds. We get some frenetic verses before things slow down for the stomping pre-chorus before Chuck howls out "ZOMBIE! RITUAAAAAL!" and the zombies go wild. A lot of bands would forego the more typical stong structure of tracks like this but one thing they did take along with them is the lyrics, which discuss wonderful things like "maggots for a cock" and "raping zombie whores" - delightful stuff. I don't think it's a perfect song, the structure is a bit archaic and the solo section could've been a little more interesting, but it's also hard not to argue against this being the album's definitive track. It's catchy, it's fun, they played it a lot especially in the early days and never once was the crowd not screaming along. 9/10

3. Denial of Life - This one feels a bit unfinished to me. One thing that's obvious on this album is that the early thrash influence wouldn't become less pronounced until Leprosy. This is one of many tracks here that owes an obvious debt to Possessed, with Chuck even doing similar vocals to Jeff Becerra. One thing that Possessed didn't have though was a chorus like on this song. The verse and pre-chorus are merely okay, but that chorus is awesome, with the guitars slowing up into a head-bopping chug as Chuck chants "VILE! DENIAL! DENIAL OF LIIIIFE!" It's great, but it's also the only moment on the song where I really think it's excelling. The song switches gears at the end for a solo and some riffing and then comes to a close, which is fine and all, but when Chuck would switch to his trademark song structure on the next album it would iron out the petering-aways of tracks like these, which feel like they didn't really come full circle. 6/10

4. Sacrificial - Look, the lyrics on this record are the album's biggest weakness, and I'm glad Chuck would start moving away from them even on the very next record. "I shit onto your guts"? "I despise sacrificial cunt"? Clearly written to get a rise out of people but nowadays they're mostly just eye-rolling and would inspire the worst death metal lyricists in the years to come. That being said, this song does a great job of switching between sinister doomier death metal and balls-out thrashy death metal. A lot of these tracks feel like b-movie horror flicks and this is no exception. When it stomps, like in the opening riff and the piece before the last chorus, it's devilish. When it begins to cook, it's still pretty fun and entertaining, even if none of this poetry is up there with Keats or Longfellow. 7/10

5. Mutilation - If you listen to the (mostly low quality) live albums that Relapse put on in 2020, you'll hear a lot of people in the crowd clamoring to hear the band play this track. It's not hard to see why. Once it gets going it just never lets up. The guitar is pummeling, Chuck's cries of "YOU MUST DIE IN PAIN" fuck, and the chorus, which is literally just "MUTILATION" yelled over and over is super memorable. The instrumental section also switches up the tempo briefly to keep you engaged and it's a simple but incredibly effective early death metal track. There is a homophobic slur in here that wasn't necessary even back in 1987, so maybe it's a good thing that they stopped playing it after 1990? Aside from that though, this song fucks. 9/10

6. Regurgitated Guts - A signature stomping riff (which must've been a killer concert intro back in the day) opens up this track about an evil preacher who dies and then has to eat and vomit back up his own intestines... wild concept. It's a decent song for the most part with the typical early Death flair, but I really dig the way they end this song. It takes the "Denial of Life" approach but pulls it off, with a slashing solo and some intense, evil riffing to close out the track on a twisted note. 7/10

7. Baptized in Blood - The opening to this track absolutely FUCKS. Heavy but methodical guitar strokes, booming drums, and then the song runs away into the dark of the night. A lot of Scream Bloody Gore is campy horror; this song is the one that actually feels as sinister as it's attempting to be. I'm writing this on a sunny afternoon but when Chuck howls "SKIES GROW BLACK" it feels like they actually are. That chorus is an earworm and it's one I almost wrote off - it shifts gears on you in a way that you need to give a bit of time to let your brain pick up on. There's a lot of razor-sharp riffing across this track as well and a bloody ferocious solo as well. And just when you think things will come to a close, Chuck says, no, stay seated, I still have some more riffing to do. This is the hidden gem of the album and a perfect slab of early death metal that wasn't just all bark with no bite. This thing is sinister, and it's awesome. 10/10

8. Torn to Pieces - We're back to the camp but what a perfect way to follow up "Baptized in Blood". Not only is Chuck using more typical song structures across this album, but the way he's able to keep songs genuinely catchy despite all the howling and raging is so cool, something that many bands that followed would throw out the window entirely in a bid to become more and more extreme. There's such a fun cadence to the verses here and the chorus itself is another one that must've been fun to belt out at a Death concert in 1988. And this one is also no stranger to the silly early Death lyrics: "A hook right through your tits!" "Trying to escape, they torture you by CUTTING OFF YOUR COOOOCK!!!" Let's fuckin' go! 9/10

9. Evil Dead - This haunting intro is easily one of the album's most unforgettable moments. While much of the record is campy lyrical shlock and deranged, headbanging riffage, this intro is utterly chilling and immediately grabs you. Honestly I'd be okay if it went on forever, but luckily the rest of the song is also really good. Reifert has a bit of a struggle to get in sync with Chuck but manages to find it and they blast away in a simple but oh-so-effective ode to the movie of the same name (IIRC). Chuck shapeshifts into a banshee on the chorus - you are not going to hear screams like these again until The Sound of Perseverance, folks, enjoy it while it lasts. I think you could've maybe had a little more interesting shifts in the instrumental section beyond just keeping on with the same riff but beyond that it's hard to critique this one. I probably like it less than I used to before the entire record clicked with me, but this is easily still one of the finest moments on the record and a terrific three-minute distillation of early Death's bite and ferocity. 9/10

10. Scream Bloody Gore - The title track blasts off with some blasting around the drum kit that I'm pretty sure Cannibal Corpse took inspiration from a couple times. The main body of this song is very much in line with the rest of the album, with Chuck's ferocious riffing and gut-tearing vocals which almost makes you wonder if there's actual blood pouring from his lips. Shoutout to the chorus which features some more banshee wails! But the song really gets good in the second act, where it slows down a bit and darkens the skies for another evil ritual as we return to a stomp that I think harkens back to the intro of "Infernal Death". Really feels like the record comes full-circle here. The solo feels like foreshadowing towards guitar passages we'll be hearing in future Death material. It's a killer way to close the record. The overall song isn't perfect, but a lot of the pieces here cook. 8/10

OVERALL:

Death had been around for a few years before they recorded Scream Bloody Gore so maybe it shouldn't be a surprise that this record is as good as it is. After all, they'd had plenty of time to refine their material before committing it to tape. Still, when you compare it to the work that Chuck would start doing in the next records it is always a lot of fun to come back to this one and realize how much fun it is. As I've mentioned, there's a delightful campy quality to the release with some sinister moments throughout and a more classic song structure of verse/chorus/verse/chorus/solo/chorus with a few change-ups along the way. It's something that Chuck would drop in favor of his more signature structure (which we can breakdown later on, he uses it on almost every track going forward). But this helps make a lot of the tracks catchier than you expect from death metal.

As far as being the blueprint for what the genre would look like going forward - owing a good deal of that blueprint to Possessed, which you can hear across the album - there's a dooming menace to the guitarwork here that you don't really hear from thrash. Thrash is a much lighter genre sonically than the down-tuned, sinister sound found on this record. I guess in a way this is down to thrash having sonic traits inspired by punk whereas death metal owes a lot more to the blues (via Black Sabbath)? It's interesting to think about especially because death metal is a logical progression beyond the confines of thrash, owing a lot of influence to the European bands like Mercyful Fate and Celtic Frost who would open the door for black metal.

One last thing to note is that this album sounds really good. Not perfect, but Randy Burns's production is pretty strong. It's just Chuck doing vocals, guitars, and bass, with Chris Reifert behind the drums. Reifert isn't always perfect here, but his drumming is powerful and straight-to-the-point, blasting away with a style that would become synonymous with the genre.

It's not a perfect record, but it's a lot of fun and utter proof that Death stood out from the pack even at their inception. And the legend was only just beginning.

Total: 82%

BONUS:

• Beyond the Unholy Grave - A short track which features more Possessed-esque vocals from Chuck. It's only three minutes long so I don't think it's necessarily a skip, but it also doesn't do enough throughout its runtime for me to make it essential to this record. The chorus will stick in your head though. 6/10

• Land of No Return - Sorry, I retain nothing from this track every time I hear it. It's not bad by any means, but it's a very average track from an album - and band - that is far from average. Whenever I get to it I'm just kinda bored. The rest of the songs on the record do what it attempts, only they really exceed at it and sound exciting while this one just piddles. 5/10

 

[The_7th_one]

I missed these reviews

 

[Diesel 11]

Death
Leprosy (1988)

1. Leprosy - You are welcomed in to a world removed from what you are used to. Your new life is only just beginning. A stomping, distorted sound tolls the drums as the curtain begins to move. Wretched bodies rise up and move towards you in a sick dance that leaves you sick to your stomach. And then the curtain pulls back as Chuck Schuldiner lets out a horrifying roar and begins to narrate your new life as a leper. This album's intro alone is incredible, and we've only just begun. The main riff of this song is fantastic, the drums are relentlessly pummeling and Chuck's vocals meld with it all to create a feeling of apocalyptic horrors within this wasteland, cut off from everyone else thanks to a disease that will leave you in shreds. Gone are the campy lyrics, this is a textbook description of leprosy that is vicious in its honesty. This song is great from beginning to end, whether it's the blazing verses, the unhooky chorus that doesn't hold back, or the bridge before the chorus where Chuck's basswork blends with the guitars in an almost smirky sick way. Also a chaotic solo in there - this song is such a powerful mission statement of everything that Death will now proceed to do. Scream Bloody Gore was silly in comparison. "Leprosy" is powerful. 10/10

2. Born Dead - We move from the longest track on the album to the shortest. God DAMN is this song on FIRE. If "Leprosy" made your jaw open up in horror then "Born Dead" comes along and incinerates it. The guitar rumbles away like it's got somewhere to be. The shift in the chorus is awesome, I cannot help but bob my head back and forth as though the music is gripping me like a wave. I think there are a couple clunky transitions in this song and I'm not a big fan of Rick Rozz's solo (Slayer without the charm, just squeals and squalls from the whammy bar), but the rest of this song is scorching. 9/10

3. Forgotten Past - There is no reprieve from this fiery wasteland. "Forgotten Past" feels like Death Metal 101. You get the punishing chunky sound of a death metal locomotive chasing you down like some kind of twisted hellhound with the verses, then you blast off into the wilderness with the blast beats in the pre-chorus. What really makes this song unforgettable (unlike your past, ha) is the chorus, where the drums pull back from their punishment to layout the twist of the protagonist discovering all of the corpses from his previous life. Another moment like in "Born Dead" where you just can't help but move your entire body with the music. And when you would expect a guitar solo, Chuck says, no, this riffing is so good that you'll just have to wait. They take you out deeper and deeper into the wasteland and it doesn't matter how much sweat pours down your face. You don't want this to end. And then when the solos do come, you've completely fallen under the spell. 10/10

4. Left to Die - The intro to this song is clinical; in fact I would not be surprised if it was inspiration for Carcass's "Incarnate Solvent Abuse". Unfortunately for Death, Carcass's song is better. A lot of "Left to Die" is great, from the utterly furious guitarwork to the powerful sentence, "This is your last day........ on THIS. FUCKING EARRRRTH." But pulling off all the transitions within this song is tricky and I don't feel like they work as well as Death usually make them work. The vocals are barked in this song with a lot of reverb added, and that kinda makes it feel like a more mature holdover from Scream Bloody Gore. The anti-war topic I also think has been done better by other bands both before and after Death's attempt. All this is to say that the song is definitely good, but not nearly as good as this record's best moments. 7/10

5. Pull the Plug - What can you say about "Pull the Plug" that hasn't been said already? It's always crazy to hear it in the context of its album because I've heard it so many times throughout the years. It's Death's signature song and you can make a strong case for it being the definitive song in the history of death metal. For a death metal track, it's incredibly catchy. That opening riff makes you just want to move in sync with the music. When everything stops and Chuck barks out "WHY DON'T YOU-", this is the moment the moshpit goes insane. But this catchiness also makes you forget how punishing the track really is, especially in the bridge where the guitars go to Mach 5 and Chuck utterly SHRIEKS. I also need to shoutout the solos which are great. I think Rick Rozz was a weak soloist on this album but on this track his electrifying piece acts as a terrific complement for Chuck's more detailed solo to follow. And when the two of them synchronize guitar squeals in the main riff... chef's kiss. It's no wonder that the band would go on to play this song at the end of their live shows. There's nothing that could top it. 10/10

6. Open Casket - It may be the unlucky song that has to follow "Pull the Plug", but "Open Casket" does not give a flying FUCK. It kicks things right off like an incinerator at the mortuary and blinds you with its unsympathetic roar. This one, like "Left to Die", really suffers because of clunky transitions. The slow piece that follows the opening doesn't keep the momentum going well enough and the rest of the track ultimately makes the same mistakes. Almost all of the individual pieces are great - whether it's the solo tradeoff between Rick and Chuck, Chuck belting out "OPEN! CASKET!" at the climax, or the merciless chorus where Chuck is once again barking out the lyrics at you whether you like it or not. But getting there is half the fun, and I think Chuck was holding the map upside down for a couple of these passages. There's so many good ideas throughout this track, but I can only think of how much better it could've been if it had had a little more time in the oven instead of the casket. 7/10

7. Primitive Ways - God, this song is absolutely punishing. The only reprieve you get once it starts off is the chorus, where the drums shift things up into a bit of a prance around the corpses. I'm not 100% sold on this shift but when it clicks with me it really clicks. The song's best is saved for last though, as this track closes with a lightning flash of a solo from Chuck and then a sillier one from Rick. The ending leaves you out in a wasteland by yourself as the riffs just keep pounding down. This may be the easiest song to overlook on the album but it's still great. It doesn't let up and drags you deeper and deeper into the confines of this record and by the time it's through, you've been consumed. 8/10

8. Choke on It - The slithering riff that opens up our final number immediately grabs your attention and pulls you in. But this is another song with a lot of transitions to make and the way it pulls them off makes things stop and start too often for my taste. Luckily most of this song is truly great, though, so I can forgive it more than "Open Casket" and "Left to Die". There's the pre-chorus where the bass plays alongside the guitars that feels like a group of skeletons jiving in a pit, the chorus where Chuck yells at you to "CHOKE ON IT - AS YOUR TONGUE GOES DOWN". I also love the ending where the sun sets on us and the guitars roar for a final time as the drums move around the kit before the curtain falls. It's a great closer to the record. I really wish it could've been ironed out a bit though, because it has the potential to stand among the best of the album's material. As is, it's still a great track that could've been a fantastic track. 8/10

OVERALL

Leprosy is absolutely a big step up from Scream Bloody Gore. Dan Johnson's production is iron-tight. The guitars are so much more powerful, which really adds the impression that you're in an apocalyptic wasteland where the only thing you can do is suffer and soak in the death metal experience. Rick Rozz fucks around a bit too much during the solos for my taste, but his riff work alongside Chuck is legendary. Chuck's vocals have leveled up. His voice would evolve with every record but on this one he absolutely nailed the guttural bark that is unmistakably his. Bill Andrews's drumming is a major step up from Chris Reifert as well. He uses his snare a lot but it absolutely works, he's always fully locked into the groove and unrelenting with every passing section. I also really love Chuck's bass work across this record, it perfectly complements the guitars.

Some of the songs definitely have clunky transitions, which is something that Chuck would improve on further into the discography. Lyrically this is a big step up from Scream Bloody Gore, with all of the lyrics acting as snapshots of horror, detailed and leaving your mind to wander. No sacrificial cunts here! The album's best work is fiery, a conflagration blown by the desert winds through your speakers, tight as all hell, and even, dare I say it, catchy. Those songs prove that the band has already come very far in a mere year - and this is still only just the beginning.

No one knew it at the time, but the line "Life ends so fast, so take your chance and make it last" from "Pull the Plug" wasn't just a throwaway remark from some dude stuck in a hospital bed - it was a mission statement, one that would be seen at every point throughout Chuck's short but game-changing career.

Total: 86%

 

[Siddharth]

Nice ending note!

 

[Diesel 11]

Death
Spiritual Healing (1990)

1. Living Monstrosity - Death's third album hits the ground running as soon as the needle touches the record. The massive Leprosy sound is gone; instead we have a pretty clean mix that's a bit less tight. Chuck's vocals are really high up in the mix and sound like they were recorded in a bubble. His voice is really good but I don't care for how it sits within the music. The lyrics tackle how drugs can affect childbirth and they're pretty on the nose. "Being born addicted... TO COCAINE!" "Some say she's naive... she's a stupid BITCH!" Chuck is turning towards his trademark social commentary lyrics but I don't think these early stabs are anything to write home about yet. Musically this song is great, with a lot of furious riffing. The riff backing the "stupid bitch" section is awesome, a foreshadowing of Human mixed with a bit of ...And Justice for All (an album that repeatedly comes to mind when I listen to Spiritual Healing). "Living Monstrosity" isn't quite up there with Death's very best, but it's definitely one of the album's finest moments. 8/10

2. Altering the Future - This song kind of exemplifies my issues with the album and its lyrics. Chuck would go on to be one of metal's best ever lyricists but this early attempt to write about abortion is just not it for me. Leaving aside my own beliefs, the biggest issue is that on an album where the imagery and title track attack evil preachers, Chuck kinda sounds preachy himself. A lot of the verses sound like they were built around the lyrics, which are very upfront without much depth that you would get on stuff like Symbolic. The mix doesn't help either. The words just don't feel married to the music. The music itself is pretty good; I like the opening doomy riff, the first solo is pretty killer, and Chuck shouting "ALTERING THE FUTURE" followed immediately by some ripping guitarwork is great. The second solo is backed by a riff that feels like you're being chased by shadows out in the middle of the woods and brings to mind Maiden's No Prayer for the Dying, another record I feel is similar to Spiritual Healing. Like NPFTD, Death was at a crossroads and not quite sure what to do. The result is good, but not their best work. 7/10

3. Defensive Personalities - Ferocious riffing makes you think that things are going to get better but honestly this song kind of bores me. What makes Death's best work really stick with you is their ability to really grab you in certain sections and make you start moving. There's a bit of catchiness to their material. This song just doesn't have that, especially the deeper in you go. The pre-chorus has a sort of swing that feels out of place on a death metal record; the instrumental section has a multi-layered guitar shuffle that sounds like Death but doesn't feel like Death. The chorus is alright but I'm not thrilled by the stomping double-bass filled Wizard of Oz pieces that follow it. I like aspects of this track but I'm really never gripped by it. It's just okay. 6/10

4. Within the Mind - A delightful Eastern-sounding intro (which always reminds me of a more philosophic "Zombie Ritual") brings us up from the previous lesser material. I really like this song, I think it's one of the instances on the album where the lyrics work in conjunction with the music and don't really stick out as preachy or judgemental. Musically it's got some really cool riffing, during the chorus it feels like another Human foreshadow and I can't help but bang my head to it. This song also has two really great solos which are easily some of the best work on the record. There are also some really translucent passages which bring to life the subject matter of dreams really well. All in all, a great song. It may not be up there with Death's best but it's got a lot to enjoy. 8/10

5. Spiritual Healing - Okay, now we're talking. The mammoth near-8 minute title track is easily the album's highlight and an utter classic. I think it does have some of the album's drawbacks - production could've been tighter, lyrics could've been a little more interesting, maybe it's not quite as cohesive as it could have been - but it also features the best use of the album's style. Whether it's the fast-paced riffing in the middle of the verses which drags you out into the middle of the woods, or the doomy second verse, or the great solos, or the howling of the song's title backed by electrifying guitars and holy keyboards (played by their manager Eric Greif) which really does sound like you've entered a megachurch - it's really, really good. But the single moment that brings this song up from the rest of the album and makes it absolutely memorable is the chorus, which emerges with thundering drums moving around the kit as the guitars begin to chug their way through the speakers and you can feel that something big is about to happen. Then when Chuck shouts "PRACTICE WHAT YOU PREACH!", your head is fucking slamming. I don't think this is quite a perfect song, but it's awesome and the crowning jewel on Death's weakest record. 9/10

6. Low Life - Directly after the album's best song comes a contender for its worst. Like "Defensive Personalities", "Low Life" kinda bores me. I'm just not engaged by much of the music on here and as these songs basically do a whole spiel, throw in a solo and a bridge, and then repeat the first act, if it wasn't that great the first time it's even less good the second time. It's a songwriting structure Chuck embraced on Leprosy and will continue to use going forward. Luckily most of those future songs will be far better than this one. It's not that it's a bad song, it's just so... average? The scream in the chorus doesn't hit the same with that filter. The furious guitarwork in the pre-chorus kinda just sounds like they're spamming a video game controller. I dunno, it's just not for me. It's fine. No, really, it's fine. 5/10

7. Genetic Reconstruction - I really don't want to be harsh on this track because I think it gets a lot of stuff right. Some of the riffs here are great and the lyrics work with the music pretty decently. But I would be lying if I said I retained much of anything from this song. It's the easiest one for me to forget even exists and as good as some sections are, it often feels like we're just going from Point A to Point B and hitting the right Death tropes at the right time. It's okay. I like some of it. It's better than "Low Life" anyway. 6/10

8. Killing Spree - Hey, at least we end on a strong note! Not too much of Spiritual Healing reminds me of Leprosy but some of the intensity of "Killing Spree" definitely feels like a page taken from that previous album. Especially the pre-chorus, which is absolutely awesome, one of the few moments on this album where I'm grabbed and can't help but bang my head to. I also think the lyrics, which discuss a person's inability to stop themselves from killing, really work where most of the album doesn't. It's sort of like the Leprosy-approach to writing horror lyrics. It's a sudden finale to the record but it's got a lot of good stuff on it. A great track without a doubt. 8/10

OVERALL

There are two Death albums which are pretty controversial and could easily be found near the top of your Death rankings or at the bottom. Spiritual Healing is the first one. For many, it's the third great record in a trilogy that started with Scream Bloody Gore. For others it's a transitional record that takes the band's intense early sound but adds in proggier elements which won't be fully realized until the follow-up.

I'm in the latter camp. I don't think that Spiritual Healing is a bad record, but it sticks out like a sore thumb among the rest of Death's discography. It's their only record I would not call "great". A big part of this is the production, sure. It's hard for me to wrap my head across this being the follow-up to Leprosy. That album had such a massive, pummeling sound whereas this one is kinda thin. They finally have a proper bassist (not just Chuck) and yet it's so much less interesting in that department than in the previous album. The drums have been neutered and just kinda click-clack in the background. The guitars are intense but that intensity doesn't properly get translated through the speakers. And then there's the vocals which are good but mixed poorly. It looks like Chuck led the production alongside Scott Burns, so maybe that's the issue.

The bigger thing is that I'm just not enamored with a lot of the passages on this album. I think the transitions from piece to piece are less clunky than they were on some of the Leprosy material, but the pieces themselves aren't all up my alley. I've been over the lyrics multiple times but I'll sum up with saying: Chuck would get better.

Like I mentioned towards the beginning, the two albums that come to mind as parallels here are Metallica's ...And Justice for All and Maiden's No Prayer for the Dying. Like AJFA, this was the sound of a band trying to stretch their progressive tendencies and it doesn't always pay off (although in Death's case, the next logical step was not a simplification of the band's sound). Meanwhile, like NPFTD, this was the sound of a band going through a bit of an identity crisis but luckily Death would sort things out in time for the follow-up record. And like both records, I wish it had better production. (And I also think that both of those records are better than this one.)

There would be a tour for the album that notably didn't feature Chuck Schuldiner. He would go on to work on a follow-up record in his studio that was going to wipe away any mistakes that Spiritual Healing may have made, and would alter the course of the band's history and drastically reshape their legacy as the greatest band in death metal history. But that's another story...

Total: 71%

 

[Diesel 11]

Death
Human (1991)

1. Flattening of Emotions - Forget everything you ever knew about Death. A meticulous pummeling of drums fades into view like a modern day take on Van Halen's "Hot for Teacher". Then the guitars march in like soldiers on a field and you are reminded that this is death metal we're listening to. Suddenly the intro is over and we're plunged into the main riff which is heavier than anything we've heard from this band to date, yet the beat is shifty, catching you off guard. Chuck's vocals are the most intense he's ever had, with some extra grit to them as he roars lyrics about uninvited strangers taking over, ruining a person's "picture-perfect life". The main riff is almost clinical but so intense, and the song changes gears a few different times, culminating in a dual-guitar riff that harkens to Iron Maiden's "Phantom of the Opera". It's such a crazy thing to hear in an extreme metal track but I love it. The song also has an amazing solo section where Chuck and his new partner in crime Paul Masvidal trade off licks. This is an incredible way to open up the next chapter of Death's incarnation, one that is more complex than ever before and yet so, so utterly intense. 10/10

2. Suicide Machine - A calm before the storm as the guitar churns waves - yet the rest of the band can barely keep themselves from jumping in. Once the beat drops it's impossible not to bang your fucking head. Things become more intense as the guitar picks up speak and now we're immersed in an oppressive environment of prolonged decay and heavy death metal music. The album's production builds an incredible wall of sound that leaves no room for sunlight, only cold confinement to your hospital bed (this song is about euthanasia). There's a cool dual guitar piece before the pre-chorus that descends and ascends like a slithering serpent trapped a hole which is so much fun. The solo is a bit short, but this is barely a gripe when the whole experience rocks so hard. This song was played at practically every show after Human was released, but it never clicked half as hard live as the studio version did back in '91. 10/10

3. Together as One - You can't even take a breath before Sean Reinert assaults the drums and plunges us into a hurricane of a riff. Holy fuck. This has got to be a Category 6, right?? What makes this riff even more memorable is that when Chuck begins barking out the lyrics the guitar jumps up to what I want to say is a higher octave (could be wrong on this). At any rate the impression you get is something like a kaleidoscopic maelstrom. We are only briefly blinded by this and yet the intensity on display never lets up as we race past pre-choruses that make you want to shout along with the music and a chorus that will have you headbanging long after the song ends. The only respite is the bridge, which really brings home visions of Siamese twins in a freak show - and then we're immediately slammed back into the storm. My god. What a song. A contender for the heaviest thing they ever fucking wrote. 10/10

4. Secret Face - Even though the previous tornado has barely come to a close, "Secret Face" pokes its head in and then burns down the door. Jesus Christ, this album is ridiculously tight. There are passages in here that are almost hallucinogenic as they drift past your eyes. I love how instead of a blazing chorus we instead get a really cool guitar melody that, coupled with the jazzy drumming, just makes you wanna move your fucking body. Before the solo itself we have a super interesting dual guitar piece that to me sounds like a helicopter taking off. Probably the most memorable part of a memorable song. I don't think it's quite as good as the first three tracks but man this album does not let up. 9/10

5. Lack of Comprehension - Chuck would often introduce the album's Side 2 opener to live audience by saying that they'd be "slowing things down just a little bit, for about 30 seconds or so". And yeah, for about 30 seconds or so a dreamlike intro filled with tranquil guitars and hazy bass does give a little reprieve from the rapture of the album thus far. But it only lasts those 30 seconds. Because this song was given a music video and airtime on MTV it's so easy to forget just how unrelenting this thing really is. The main riff is like an inferno with its roaring guitars and destructive drumming. Somehow it keeps getting more intense until things shift and the chorus makes you move back and forth with its jazzy drumming. The solo slows things down just a bit but the bridge riff once again pummels you to a pulp. An utter whirlwind of a track that stands as both one of the album's most easily accessible pieces and also one of the most extreme, especially as the lyrics are a direct charge to those who would lead a person to suicide and then point the blame elsewhere. 10/10

6. See Through Dreams - Probably the proggiest work on an already proggy album, "See Through Dreams" has a ton of transitions within it that make it feel like the most assembled out of all the tracks here. Luckily though, every piece is great so the slightly disjointed structure never really holds the song back. There are furious parts here, groovy ones that you can't help but move along to, and the song reaches a terrific climax when Chuck howls, "Close your eyes and imagine to be without what we take for granted every time we OPEN OUR EYES!" I also love the ending where disembodied vocals rise up from the ground and transform into a mist that blankets the earth, perfectly setting us up for "Cosmic Sea". A little more cohesion would've been good here but it's still a terrific song. 9/10

7. Cosmic Sea - On the original release this track segues directly from "See Through Dreams", but the remaster from 2011 splits them up and I kinda like that better. At any rate, Death's first instrumental feels in some ways like a shorter, Death-ified version of Metallica's "Orion", with three acts and some prominent basswork (some of which done not by Steve DiGiorgio, who did most of the album, but by Scott Carino who would go on to tour the album with the band). The first act features some great, moody guitar playing that culminates in a marching piece that almost feels like a national anthem. Sean Reinert's drumming here is ridiculously cool, never playing the same thing twice. The second act quiets things down with some outerworldly sounds before the bass rumbles in to begin a third act filled with heavy riffing, noodly solos and spacey keyboards, all blending into a near psychedelic mix. I think it's a great track, but not quite as good as the songs we've been through so far. Chuck would also write a better instrumental before the band's career came to a close. 8/10

8. Vacant Planets - A direct, in-your-face, yet proggy closer to the album, "Vacant Planets" is probably my least favorite track here besides "Cosmic Sea", but its best moments are still awesome. I love the pounding opening riff, the way it ends on such a sudden note, the venom in Chuck's voice - it's great. The one downside is that it doesn't have nearly as many memorable moments as the other tracks do, and sometimes makes you wish you were listening to those again. It's still fire, but some of the heat has worn off a little. 8/10

OVERALL

After the rather lackluster Spiritual Healing, Human is a complete rejuvenation of Death. Chuck is the only remaining member and he's brought on board Cynic members Paul Masvidal (guitar) and Sean Reinert (drums), and also recruited bass wizard Steve DiGiorgio. The result is possibly the tightest and heaviest record the band would ever release. The sound is huge. The drumming, which alternates between extreme metal and extreme jazz is like listening to a masterclass. Chuck sounds excited again, taking onboard the positives of Spiritual Healing and fully distilling them into their purest form. The lyrics are great, the vocals are great, the music is great, the production is great.

What's so wild about this album is that in spite of the prog tint that these tracks have, the actual result is blazing. I really have to stop myself from just saying intense every third word, but that's absolutely what this album is: intense. I understand people preferring the band's earlier career but anyone who thinks they went soft with this album doesn't have their head screwed on. It's punishing, relentless, exciting, and most of all, heavy.

At just 34 minutes in length, it's the shortest record the band ever released and that makes it all the more potent. It's something you can throw on again and again and be obliterated by every time. I don't think it's perfect per se but I absolutely get why it so often is hailed as Death's best album and one of the best in death metal history. It's a reinvention of the band that would pave the way for future releases and cement their legacy as not just the originators, but the innovators as well.

Total: 93%

BONUS

• God of Thunder (KISS cover) - Originally a Japanese bonus track but given a wider release with the 2011 remaster, it's pretty fun to hear Chuck tackle a track from the band that got him into music and adapt it into his own sound. The riff is absolutely beefed up and sounds awesome. I don't think Chuck's voice works on this song as well as on his own material, though, and it's hardly essential as part of the record itself. It's a fun song, but Death would do another cover in the future that stands far above this early stab. 7/10

 

[Diesel 11]

Death
Individual Thought Patterns (1993)

1. Overactive Imagination - Death's album openers are usually pretty measured in the way they set you up for what's to come. Not so on Individual Thought Patterns. Newcomer Gene Hoglan gives us a short drum fill and then we're off at breakneck speed with what I can only describe as the band's "Aces High". This song immediately grabs you and pulls you in. The sound here is really interesting, there's a lot of room for the bass and Steve DiGiorgio's fretless work gets to stand right alongside the guitars on this album. Speaking of guitars, Andy LaRocque from King Diamond joins Chuck here! His solo adds a classic heavy metal flair that I love. Chuck's own solo steals the show though. There's also a cool drum fill before the second solo that feels like a cool nod to "Where Eagles Dare". What I love most about this one, though, is the chorus. The pre-chorus keeps building in intensity and then all of a sudden the gear shifts into an incredibly groovy piece as Chuck howls, "IT'S AN OVER... ACTIVE... IMAGINATION!" We're so fucking back. God this song COOKS. 10/10

2. In Human Form - This song begins with a very Pantera-esque riff which is so wild to hear in a Death song. I think it works though, especially when coupled with the lyrics which announce an alien's arrival on Earth. I feel like this narrative is a bit of a metaphor, though. ITP is a very angry album and Chuck was clearly pissed off with a lot of people when he wrote the lyrics. This one also goes at quite a fast pace, love the solo which sounds very alien. It's not as good as "Overactive Imagination" but this album is still absolutely pummeling. 9/10

3. Jealousy - I think this is a great song, but it doesn't quite feel fully connected as it transitions from piece to piece. Something about it feels too brief, like we haven't met its full potential. That said, I love the darkened pre-chorus and man am I glad that a Schuldiner/LaRocque album exists. Andy's solo is straight from the King Diamond universe, stagecoaches and all. Easily the highlight of the song. 8/10

4. Trapped in a Corner - This song has one of my absolute favorite intros to any Death song. Schizophrenic dual guitarwork and tentative drumming set you on edge before the bigger riff just slides in with its odd beat before Chuck starts ranting. It would be hard to follow the sheer anticipation these two pieces combined create, and Death don't really try to build on it. Instead we head into some tight-ass riffing and y'know what? I actually think that works. There's a cool riff that foreshadows The Sound of Perseverance and then Chuck yells, "ONE DAY YOU WILL FIND.... YOURSELF... TRAPPEDINACORNER" which lives rent-free in my head. It isn't often that Chuck finds an axeman who can upstage him but Andy LaRocque utterly kills it across this record. His lengthy solo here, which he often doubles to great effect, is just fantastic, one of the best in the band's discography. And after Chuck lays down the law with an electrifying solo of his own, we hit that killer riff from before again and... ugh. The more I listen to this song, the more I love it. 10/10

5. Nothing Is Everything - I like this song but I would be lying if I said it stuck out to me. It's kind of just there, an idea thrown upon the wall to see if it'll stick. It's good. I like the ending swirly guitar bit. 7/10

6. Mentally Blind - This one kicks off with the drum intro of "Overactive Imagination" coupled with the groove metal of "In Human Form". Immediately pounds you down. There's a lot to like throughout this one but the only piece that really takes things to the next level is the chorus, where keyboards create a dreamlike haze wall of sound as Chuck once again tears into someone. It's great. Hoglan is the MVP in this one, all his little dashes and rumbles on the kit are tasty. 8/10

7. Individual Thought Patterns - Usually a Death title track will be an absolute standout from its album. "Individual Thought Patterns" is the rare exception. It's fine. I like the squealing intro riff, the ...And Justice for All stomp afterwards isn't my thing though. There's just no real standout moment on this track. It's good. I like it. But am I seriously going to put this on over "Overactive Imagination"? Nah. The sudden ending makes you think that even Chuck himself had run out of ideas with this one. 7/10

8. Destiny - An acoustic piece dramatically shifts the mood of the entire album thus far. I really like this inclusion, it feels very out of character for such a heavy and complicated record and it's very welcome at this point in the album. Once the actual riff comes in it is classic death metal, reminiscent of Leprosy-era Death. But this is one of the more touching death metal tracks you'll find. Chuck's lyrics talk about the uncertainties and pain that we all face in life and the music takes some almost mournful departures to really bring it home. Of course after his death people would come back to songs like this one and find solace in them. I don't think it's a perfect song but I do really like it. It's the hidden gem of the album. 9/10

9. Out of Touch - The intro to this one kind of continues the vibes of "Destiny" with some heavy guitars backed by spacious keyboard. Very theatrical, I love it. The rest of this song is pretty great, I dig the drawn out chorus. Some of the transitions are clunky but it kicks a pretty good amount of ass. 8/10

10. The Philosopher - We end the album on an utter Death classic. "The Philosopher" kicks off with some tasty guitarwork before slamming into a chunky-ass riff with a definitive stomp to it. Chuck rants about people who think they know everything yet are dumb as shit - what's not to love there? (Okay, maybe the sexuality line is a bit much, point taken.) Everything about this song is cool, from the chorus to the solo to the extended fade-out where the bass gets a lot of time to shine, doing a duel with the guitars. There isn't really much I can say about this one, it's one of their biggest tracks for a reason. 10/10

OVERALL

I find it pretty difficult to talk about a lot of these tracks. They're all good, but my thoughts don't really go much deeper than that. I think a lot of that has to do with the way they're assembled. Human did a really good job of making the tech elements make sense in connection with each other. It was an out-and-out death metal record, heavy as fuck. ITP goes way too far down the prog rabbit hole to the point that some of these songs are doing things just to be prog. Look, I think this is a great album, and I like every track, but it's hard not to be critical when a band's discography is so strong.

I hate making this comparison because I think that Powerslave is a perfect record, but the Fillerslave criticism could easily be applied to this album. It thrives off of its biggest songs and the rest are either great or not as great. Chuck is at a point where he's a master of his skills, so he's constantly throwing out genius, but some of it just doesn't hit the same way "Together as One" or even "Pull the Plug" did.

Another thing is that the lineup on this record is STACKED. Drum god Gene Hoglan, King Diamond's right-hand axeman Andy LaRocque, bass mage Steve DiGiorgio - how could this go wrong? In many ways it's possible that there was way too much talent in this lineup for their own good. They kept wondering how much more they could do without asking what they should do.

If the songs were longer and more drawn-out this would all be fine, but most of them are just so fleeting. You don't feel like you get to spend much quality time with them. I also think that Chuck was really mad at this point in his career, a lot of these lyrics are positively scathing.

Anyway, it's telling that after this album Chuck would strip things back down to basics. Hoglan would stick around but his new guitarist and bassist would be complete unknowns, his songwriting style would be a lot more focused, and the songs would open up new worlds to conquer. ITP is the sound of Death taking things too far in one specific direction. It's a great album, but it doesn't fully come together in the way that some of the band's other work does.

Total: 86%

 

[Diesel 11]

Death
Symbolic (1995)

1. Symbolic - In complete contrast to the shorter tracks littering Individual Thought Patterns, Symbolic opens up with an expansive mission statement in the form of its title track. The fervor of the previous album has gone away and is replaced by a more contemplative yet no less heavy approach. The opening riff is one of the coolest in metal history, immediately getting you into the groove before the rest of the band comes in. Chuck is howling in a higher register than he's ever used before. It's a little bit more expressive than we've heard from him. If he was doing wolf howls on previous records, this is more like a philosophical jackal, as opposed to the hyena screams on The Sound of Perseverance. There's a ton of transitions throughout this beast, but Chuck is absolutely hitting his stride as a composer. Every change-up feels natural and every piece within this song is AWESOME. The faster moments cook, the slower moments rumble, the chorus is banging, and the two solos do a very Metallica kind of thing, with the first one being slower and more soulful and the second tearing into hyperdrive. It's a titanic piece of art and I get lost in it every time I press play. Death have a lot of great openers but this one is their best by far. I wish they had opened their concerts with this back in the day. It hooks you immediately and never, ever, ever lets up. 10/10

2. Zero Tolerance - Gene Hoglan is the only carry over from ITP and on this album he absolutely comes into his own with the more methodical approach that Chuck is taking with these songs. All his little fills and change-ups add so much flavor to the material. Case in point, the drum intro to "Zero Tolerance" where he alternates between little ride frills and heavy snare beats. What a fucking cool way to kick off a song that keeps things in second gear throughout yet only increases the album's mystique. I love all the mini solos that float around through this one, adding extra texture as we get deeper and deeper into the track. "THIS... IS... NOT... A TEST OF POWER!" cries Chuck and man I am slamming my head along to the groovy fucking guitar. What you at first think is the song's chorus but later turns out to be a bridge - "THERE WILL BE ZERO... TOLERANCE!" - utilizes clean electric guitars to build the dreamscape that was teased in the first verse ("WHILE OTHERS ARE SLEEPING... AND SOME ARE ESCAPING"), a first taste of the album's utilization of quieter melodies that juxtapose the heavy fucking riffs. I also love the solo section, especially the second solo which doubles up certain parts and sounds so good, especially if you're listening to the remastered version on good headphones. Ugh. This song is AWESOME. What a terrific back-to-back double punch to open up the record. 10/10

3. Empty Words - A slow fade-in on track 3 immerses us in clean melodic guitars that build a soundscape that transports you into realms beyond the stars - all before the riff kicks in and Chuck rips you back down to earth. The dream is broken - fitting, given that this song is about how words of no meaning paint a glorious picture until reality sets in. This song never lets up once it begins, pummeling you through the verses and utilizing a similar trick from "Zero Tolerance" - the usage of miniature solos to paint a deeper picture in your mind - throughout much of the song. There's plenty of melodic pieces here that speak directly to your soul, but when it gets heavy, it gets really fucking heavy. My reptilian brain is stimulated. Chuck is positively ferocious during the chorus, one of his fiercest vocal moments on the album. This song is one of the album's most popular tracks for good reason. It's spellbinding. 10/10

4. Sacred Serenity - The album has incorporated a ton of great melodic playing in the previous two tracks, but "Sacred Serenity" takes things to the next level. The intro to this song alone is fantastic. Hoglan and new bassist Kelly Conlon are locked in before the guitar begins flowing in like waves of increasing intensity. Once we find the beat the band holds back just enough to increase that melodic footing we're holding - and then the riff itself comes in and boy you better be banging that fucking head. When Chuck sings that you're "OBSERVING SPIRITS ON THE WALL", the music literally makes that vision come to life, as the drums echo and the heaviness drops out for a super sweet guitar lead. The chorus itself is pure fire, entrenching you deeper into this song's majesty. But if you thought we'd already hit the highlight reel, you're dead wrong, as the guitar solo is easily one of the album's best and immediately gets followed up by a suitably serene clean guitar piece that transports you into another world. Throughout it at all the beat stays steady and the song never once loses its footing. When I think of Symbolic, I think of tracks like this one, which could have easily been a step down from the previous three monsters and yet comes so close to eclipsing them entirely. Its marriage of death metal with beautiful melodic playing is incredible and it's probably the album's biggest hidden gem. God I love this record. 10/10

5. 1,000 Eyes - Trying to find fault with this album is like splitting hairs, but I will be a little controversial and say that I think "1,000 Eyes" is one of the weaker tracks here. Please note that by "weaker" I mean "compared to how good most of this album is". I love this song. I think it has some of the most intense moments on the record and is utterly pummeling - that drum work hits so fucking hard. That said, I do think the verses are a little more awkward than they could've been and it doesn't fully hit the same heights as the previous four masterpieces. But when Chuck yells that we're "LIVING IN THE PUPIL OF ONE THOUSAND EYES", I've fully transcended again. 9/10

6. Without Judgement - Jesus Christ. The intro to this song is easily one of my favorites in all of Death's discography. The guitar hits the ground running as the drums tingle along the sides before the riff gets doubled and the drums and bass flow in to create an almost theatrically heavy experience. The verse riff then plunges you headlong into another fucking banger. I think the way the song shifts gears from 3 to 2 after the first verse is slightly awkward, but only slightly. Even at its lowest points this album eclipses many bands' entire discographies. The chorus is absolutely pedal to the metal, balls to the wall. The solo is killer. This one also does a similar trick to "Sacred Serenity", although here the entire beat shifts to focus on weeping electric leads before the bass moves in to round out the speakers. Then when the verse riff comes back in it hits like a TIDAL WAVE. Ugh. This one isn't quite perfect but again, even the album's weaker moments fucking cook. 9/10

7. Crystal Mountain - You want the short of it? This song is perfect. But what makes "Crystal Mountain" stand out compared to the rest of the album? Well, I think a lot of it has to do with the approach Chuck took with this composition. The song kicks off like a locomotive at full speed, barreling through with screaming wheels. There aren't many drastic transitions in this song, instead it alternates between fiery heavy riffing and a spiderweb tapestry of clean guitar (with Hoglan filling out the edges with his twinkling ride cymbal). The one major moment where the song changes course is its bridge, which is thunderous. The solo is one of Chuck's most beloved, where the song screams everything he wants to say wordlessly. The outro even throws in classical acoustic guitar which only adds to the mystique present within this track. Chuck was attacking the warped nature of religion in the song's lyrics, but musically he was creating his own brand of spiritualism, one that could move people sonically and stir them to his cause. This is not just the fan-favorite Death song - especially among younger fans like myself who heard this one before Scream Bloody Gore or Human - but also one of the greatest metal songs of all time and possibly, dare I say it, the definitive extreme metal song. Because this song doesn't declare itself to solely be extreme metal. There is a roar in its heaviness and a beauty in its quiet contemplations. Again... it's perfect. 10/10

8. Misanthrope - There's no time to even catch a breath after "Crystal Mountain" because "Misanthrope" immediately comes in with possibly the heaviest, most intense moment on the whole album. The verse is just skull-shattering. The song switches gears into a much groovier piece thereafter and finally you can breathe a little bit. The chorus changes gears so completely that years ago when I was first getting into this record I had a hard time clicking with it. It's a big, dumb, headbanging piece and you know what? It's a lot of fun. I love the instrumental bridge here, where the drums and bass create the song of rising thunder in the distance before the deluge truly kicks in. The only negative thing I can say about this track is that it's not quite at the level of the album's best. But that's still high praise. For fuck's sake, this is the song that follows "Crystal fucking Mountain" and it doesn't give a shit. It has something to say, and it goddamn says it. 9/10

9. Perennial Quest - The album's grand finale begins with a slightly less heavy guitar riff that winds like a flowing river before "THE JOURNEY BEGINS!" and then we're right back into that powerful wall of sound. This track is the band's first epic since "Spiritual Healing" and it really does feel epic. It's a sprawling 8+ minute monster about the hunger and creativity of the human spirit. I don't think it's quite perfect, but it's absolutely a track you can get lost in. The moment that always takes me aback here is the outro. The song reaches its climax with soaring electric guitars and then an acoustic guitar wanders in playing a mournful melody. The electric guitars return and utterly weep over the piece for two minutes. It's absolutely beautiful and such a poignant close to the record. One of those moments that would move people even deeper after Chuck's death. He would expand this concept into its own track on the band's next (and final) record, but that diminishes this moment here not one bit. Symbolic is an atypical death metal album and its final moment exemplifies just how far the band had pushed beyond the confines that they had first created eight years prior. 9/10

OVERALL

The more that time goes on, the more Symbolic is heralded as Death's masterpiece. Sure, every one of Death's albums has ardent fans, and a list of your favorite Death records could have them in any order and it would still make sense to the rest of the fandom. Their evolution over time is one of their strongest aspects. But if you were to poll the fandom I have little doubt that Symbolic would top that list. It's a very approachable album for those who aren't into death metal, as it is filled with gorgeous melodic sections and a lot of its best moments are almost like heavier, more complex thrash.

It's such a major shift from Individual Thought Patterns, too. That album was a complete prog-focused work but the songs were like shorter snippets that often didn't feel fully developed. Here the songs are developed to their fullest extent and feel so much more epic than ever before. Hoglan steals the show a lot but Bobby Koelble and Kelly Conlon forever signed their names to the metal history books with this magnum opus.

The song that first made me take notice of Death was "Crystal Mountain". That song amazed me. The riffing was so good, the clean sections spellbinding. Chuck's voice was something I'd never really heard before but it worked. When I listened to the full album though, I was disappointed. The only track that stood out was the aforementioned "Crystal Mountain". It wasn't until I fell in love with The Sound of Perseverance that I came back to this one and gradually became invested in it. Buying the CD was another step forward for me. Hearing the opening riff to "Symbolic" physically was an eye-opening experience, just as buying Powerslave on CD changed my love for Iron Maiden forever.

As the years have gone by, this album continues to excite me, mystify me, hit me over the head with its majesty. I still love The Sound of Perseverance, but it's lost some of the luster it once had while Symbolic very much continues to amaze me in different ways. This is death metal taken beyond its comfort zone and god what an experience it is. A nearly perfect record that deserves every accolade it's ever received and is genuinely one of the greatest albums in metal history.

Total: 96%

 

[Diesel 11]

Death
The Sound of Perseverance (1998)

1. Scavenger of Human Sorrow - Three years have gone by since Symbolic was released, and in those three years the question of whether or not Death even still existed was up in the air. And yet, somehow, a new Death album has been conjured from the ether and a young and hungry new drummer named Richard Christy is making a statement with this drum intro. Profoundly complex, he lays down the hard-to-follow beat of the song's opening riff, which comes to life as Chuck Schuldiner and newbie Shannon Hamm begin to rip the fabric of space and time with their crunching axework. Chuck's voice is like a wolverine, higher in pitch than even Symbolic was and yet laced with razors. It's a sound many have tried to imitate and few have succeeded in pulling off. This entire vibe marks a profoundly different experience than we've ever had with a Death album before. Their original death metal sound is almost completely gone, replace by a crisp and scorching take on prog metal. I think a lot of this song is awesome but I also think the album has better moments to come. Chuck's songwriting has a formula of "verse, two refrains, chorus, instrumental/solo, start over" and this one very much feels like it's playing to that formula. When it pounds you down in the chorus, it's like an earthquake, but the stretch between verse and chorus doesn't really excite me as much. Still, a great beginning to this final hour. 8/10

2. Bite the Pain - There is a warmth to this album that comes through quite nicely in the intro to Track 2. Slower, almost mournful, but Chuck goes fucking hard on these vocals because he has something to fucking say. "You may see no trace of wounds..." Oh shit. Here it comes. Christy hits his ride cymbal like it's a railroad crossing warning and then a FREIGHT TRAIN barrels through as Chuck and the gang open the regulator wide. Fuck me. It's a blinding experience. This song is absolutely filled with prog metal tropes that I think largely came from albums like these, especially the stomping breakdown under the solo section. I also love the way Scott Clendenin gets some fantastic basswork in here, teasing the guitars, and there's a fantastic push-and-pull dynamic to the track, which constantly keeps you guessing as to where things will head next. It's awesome. 10/10

3. Spirit Crusher - Look, I could sit here and talk about how many transitions there are in this song and how choppy they are in hindsight... but I won't. Because listening to this track takes me back to being a teenager, listening to this record for the first time and being mesmerized by every ounce of emotion within its music. Christy and Clendenin share a looming intro that erupts like a volcano once Chuck enters the scene. "It comes... from the depths... of a place..." Oh fuck. His vocals on the chorus are some of the most insane in the band's whole discography. Those shrieks are FIRE. I'm transported away to a place where music - even extreme music - can speak directly to your soul, and "Spirit Crusher" still does that to me. It's probably the album's defining track. 10/10

4. Story to Tell - Another 6-and-a-half minute track, stuffed to the gills with emotional guitarwork and shifting sections. It gets pummeling at the right moments, I love the way it stops in the middle of the instrumental and then builds back up into such a beautiful guitar piece. It's so good. I won't try to describe all of the details here, but I will describe what this track means to me. Chuck's lyrics here, like most of the album, are about people who harm you, uncaring except for the anecdote that you will become to them later on. To me, though, with the benefit of hindsight, when Chuck says, "To you, I am past - a story to tell... Tell it!", it feels like a command to not forget the legacy he built in his short career. And, listening to this song, it is truly impossible to forget. I think the chorus is slightly weaker than the rest of the song, but this is definitely a hidden gem. 9/10

5. Flesh and the Power It Holds - The album's centerpiece, and Death's longest song, is a monster of a track. The intro is incredible, with three distinct movements that tantalize you before the verse riff gets to hit the stage. I used to like this song even more than I do now - I think it's really great but doesn't quite go all the way for me. The verse/chorus structure is pretty unique at this stage in Death's discography, even if the rest of the track utilizes Chuck's signature song structure. I like the bassy guitar solo crop-out but it doesn't really wow me like so many other moments on this album, and the chugging "CONSUMED" section of the song hit much harder when I was younger. What really gets me now? The song's refrain, which is tinted in warm melodeath riffing. It takes me to a completely different plane of existence and absolutely makes this song worth coming back to. 8/10

6. Voice of the Soul - Starry and rhythmic Spanish-inspired acoustics back one of the most stunning and soulful guitar pieces in the history of music. Few words could describe just how emotionally powerful this song is. If you've never heard it before, let me be the one to urge you to spin it immediately. It is gorgeous, haunting, and utterly beautiful - a lasting testament to the world. 10/10

7. To Forgive Is to Suffer - Man, Richard Christy is such a fucking octopus, here he is again with another cool as fuck drum intro. Chuck is in vicious form on this track. In direct juxtaposition with conventional wisdom, he tells the listener to forgo naive forgiveness as it only leads to more pain down the road. He's not without charity - "Once or twice is kind, three or four is blind", but "alone, you might just find serenity" is the overall message. Cut the toxic people out of your life. Love the melodic playing on this one, and the surprise tapping solo at the end is a sweet touch as well. Probably the album's deepest cut but boy is it a killer song. 9/10

8. A Moment of Clarity - Well, folks, we've scaled the mountain. The final Death original was, for a long time, my least-favorite song on the record, but the more I hear it the more I really, really dig it. Chuck's lyrics are a final statement through the band about his independence from the norms. "My dreams, I own - no price for you." This celebration of artistic freedom reaches its summit when Shannon and Chuck combine guitars into a beautiful dual melody before Chuck kicks off one final solo for the ages. And the ending is equally powerful, as the final chorus shakes on unstable ground as Chuck screams, "OH GOD... WHY??" Once Christy finds that footing we are heralded out in a beautiful display of twin guitar finality. No words are necessary here. I don't think this is a perfect song, but man is there a lot to love in this one. Not as flashy as the others, it speaks to you in more subtle ways. A triumphant farewell to a band that changed metal forever, even in its final days. 9/10

9. Painkiller (Judas Priest cover) - Before you can say, "But wait, there's more!", Richard Christy is already blasting into the iconic drum intro to Judas Priest's iconoclastic metal opus "Painkiller". And I think he's even sped it up?! Chuck jumps in with one of the craziest howls ever. I seriously have no idea how he managed to out-Halford Halford and still keep his unmistakable rasp. For fuck's sake, some of these bits almost sound like he's hitting two notes at once. What really sets this song apart is the fact that the band was able to reforge it with the sound of their album. It does not sound out of place. Chuck and Shannon both wrote their own solos for the cover and they're glorious. When Chuck's natural singing voice arises for the final "He... is... the painkiller" reprise - for the first time in the discography - before he shrieks out "DEAD... LY... WHEELS, PAINKILLER!", it feels like the band has truly come full circle. And remember, this is the band's LAST SONG. They ended their career with a goddamn cover! It wasn't the original intention - "A Moment of Clarity" was supposed to be the closer with "Painkiller" being a Japanese-exclusive bonus track - but Nuclear Blast convinced Chuck to include it on all releases. And despite any expectations, this turned out to be the perfect way to bow out Death's career. A groundbreaking band paying tribute to one of their heroes and letting go of all pretensions as the curtain finally falls. Unforgettable. 10/10

OVERALL

After "Crystal Mountain" wowed me, The Sound of Perseverance fully made me a Death fan. It's unlike anything they ever did before it. I call it a 'post-death progressive metal album', as its music feels more influenced by prog than by full-on death metal. It's like Symbolic took their parent genre right to the limits and this album finally broke free of it altogether. And I love it. There's a lot of warmth to the music and a lot of depth to the lyrics and yet when it goes hard, it really goes hard.

It's interesting looking back because for a while, this was my favorite album, period. You can look through old Diesel posts on this forum and see me talking about how much I love it. That love is still there, but it's become a more measured one. I don't think this is a perfect album. The guitars are biting but they don't crush as much as Symbolic, and the transitions on some of these tracks are almost prog for the sake of it. But I still love Chuck's howls, I still love the guitar and basswork, and Christy was such a wild drummer. Sometimes I think he does too much without letting the groove in, but at the same time he still amazes me like he did when I first discovered the album.

And that's Death, folks. In "Story to Tell", Chuck wrote, "If you think you know the end, take another look at the script of sadness etched in the book." Chuck would die of brain cancer in 2001, a life cut far too short. Death was already over, replaced by a power prog band with most of the same musicians called Control Denied. They released one album in 1999 called The Fragile Art of Existence and were unable to finish their second record before Chuck passed away.

I might come back to Control Denied at another point, but for me The Sound of Perseverance, for any flaws it might have, is truly a powerful and moving piece of art that perfectly works as Chuck and Death's final statements to the world. It's an optimistic record, but also one that speaks out against the evils that move upon the weak in the world. It's easily one of the band's most controversial records, as it's so far divorced from their early days pioneering death metal. But to me, and to many fans who missed the band in its formative stages, it lays Death to rest with one final hurrah and has spoken to my soul in a variety of ways since I first checked it out years ago.

And for one transcendent moment hidden within this album, "Voice of the Soul" takes you away to a place you will never find anywhere else. Seriously, go listen to it. You won't regret it.

Total: 92%