Death
Symbolic

THE REVIEW

Probably the best album by Death, both conceptually and musically. In any event (you may disagree), my favorite album by the band. The album is difficult to describe in a few lines, as it is a multifaceted record (but not overly complex): alongside more typically death-oriented tracks (still very original) like "Symbolic" and "1000 Eyes", we have the more "melodic" openings of "Zero Tolerance" and "Crystal Mountain", the obsessive "Without Judgement" and "Empty Words", up until the final tracks.

The concept of the album is based on an exasperated symbolism ("about life", as the singer/guitarist himself said), often cryptic, translated into a masterpiece of distorted and extremely violent sounds. Among the tracks, particularly noteworthy is "Perennial Quest", along with "Flesh and Power it Holds", one of the band's best pieces. A work that starts from the "tradition" of death metal to evolve into a very personal style, full of technicalities, venomous riffs, perfectly marked odd timings, and an immensely superb production. In addition, "Symbolic" distances itself from the classic nihilistic lyrics devoted to satanism (completely absent here, of course), occultism, and unspecified gore, turning the genre into true deep and dark poetry ("I ask my question/Why? What today?/When tomorrow?", "it must be strange/to not have lived/so far into/existence").

Sure, the virtuosity of Andy La Roque (Individual Thoughts Patterns) is missing, but there's always the great, unique Chuck, and his unmistakable trademark... Apart from the perfect execution of the tracks (conceived as jazz pieces, in terms of structure and complexity), the meticulous compositional work of Chuck Schuldiner (vocals/guitar) and the great and hyper-technical Gene Hoglan on drums must be highlighted. Conlon leaves his mark as a bassist (...if Di Giorgio had been there...!), while Koeldle on the second guitar impeccably alternates solos with Schuldiner. Result: chilling.

With this work, he expressed an extraordinary concept: playing with the mind, the heart, and a lot of anger, balancing the three. This also means playing death metal: combining the dark side, made of heavy and disturbing riffs, with a more progressive side (in the broadest sense of the term). Ultimately, Death wrote a piece of metal history.

PS: This review was written in 2003, I hope you'll forgive me for the repetition, especially "The_Bassist", who had excellently written it: I spoke about one of the albums I love the most, regardless of everything... and sorry if I digressed (for once)!