DEATH — Symbolic (review)

DEATH — Symbolic album cover Album · 1995 · Technical Death Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
4.5/5 ·
Phonebook Eater
9/10

"Symbolic" is the best Technical Death Metal ever released, taking everything, from the instrumentation, the musicianship, the songwriting, the lyrics, up a few notches.

When you think of Death Metal, the few bands that pop up are usually bands like Morbid Angel, Opeth, and Death. The last band is probably the most important Death Metal act ever, since it did create the genre back in 1987 with the album "Scream Bloody Gore" and contributed in creating a new subgenre called Technical Death Metal in 1991, with the album "Human", . Despite the importance of these albums, "Symbolic" is regarded as their supreme masterpiece, as well as the best Death Metal album of all time.

"Symbolic", compared to Death's earlier work such as the mentioned "Human" and "Individual Thought Patterns", has a much more mature, clean sound, abandoning the muddy production of the previous efforts. The guitars have a surprisingly refined sound, whether they're distorted or clean. Even the drums have an amazing sound, and are really doing the job on this one, even more than before. Chuck's vocals are as high pitched as they never were before, sounding particularly aggressive sounding. Even though the sound changed, the technical virtuosity and the progressiveness are still here, this last element is actually even more highlighted in this release, thanks to a bigger dedication in this album to the slower parts. But don't think this is a dull, slower record; in fact, back in 1995, "Symbolic" was the heaviest, fastest Death album yet, before "The Sound Of Perseverance" came along in 1999, with an amazing production technical perfection.

But "Symbolic" is a powerful, fast-paced and highly technical beast, full of mind blowing guitar riffs and complex rhythms. It's a nine song affair, all of these can be considered Death Metal classics; from the opening title track, to the final, highly progressive "Perennial Quest", this album is full of masterpieces that make this album so legendary. They the more famous songs, like "Zero Tolerance", "Misanthrope", "Crystal Mountain", and the not as known but still amazing pieces, like the mentioned title track, "1000 Eyes", "sacred Serenity", and "Perennial Quest". "Empty Words" is the only single of the album, but it somehow is my least favorite.

No question that "Symbolic" is the best Technical Death Metal ever released, taking everything, from the instrumentation, the musicianship, the songwriting, the lyrics, up a few notches. A classic every metal fan must listen to and own.
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Phonebook Eater wrote:
more than 2 years ago
Sorry... just couldn't give that
J-Man wrote:
more than 2 years ago
Nice review.... but you forgot half a star :P

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