Saturday, June 20, 2009

Death - Symbolic (1995)


Lineup:
  • Chuck Schuldiner
  • Bobby Koelble
  • Kelly Conlon
  • Gene Hoglan
Track Listing:
  1. Symbolic
  2. Zero Tolerance
  3. Empty Words
  4. Sacred Serenity
  5. 1,000 Eyes
  6. Without Judgement
  7. Crystal Mountain
  8. Misanthrope
  9. Perennial Quest
A masterpiece. Thats the answer any fan of heavy/ death metal would say when they talk about what can be argued as the finest album of Death.

The sheer intensity & brutality of this album is just simply jaw dropping. If you are a young guitarist who wants to challenge his or her guitar skills, then listening to this album is highly recommended. Chuck seems like one of those guitarists who practice for hours till they get their chops right. and it shows. This album is Technically complex, but falls short of short circuiting the brain cells.

'Symbolic', '1,000 eyes', 'Misanthrope' & 'Crystal Mountain' are the best tracks here & even though every death album seems to have an all star cast, the relatively unknown Bobby Koelble was given a chance to show his guitar playing abilities. And he did not disappoint!

Kelly Conlon of Monstrosity and drum machine Gene Hoglan do justice to the bass & drum posts respectively. Its like a monster ship thats heading towards a huge iceberg, but in this case, the ship shatters the iceberg to bits. & all thanks to its captain, the late great Chuck.

just listen to the mayhem in 'Misanthrope'. For someone who has an acute back problem, Gene Hoglan pounds the living daylights of his drum kit, while Chuck & Bobby destroy with their axes.

am sure listening to this album involving loud speakers would cause tidal waves in some other parts of the world. Thats how devastatingly brutal & aggressive this album really is.

My Rating
9.5/10

review by Pritham 'Metal farmer' D'Souza

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