Symbolic by Death review

Last year, I had a Month of Megadeth during May. May is my birthday month so I like to do something special. Something so special that I won't forget it during the inevitable bouts of drinking and debauchery. This year, I'm having a Death Month.

• Human


• Symbolic


• The Sound of Perseverance

Conclusion

This is one of those desert island disks. If a time capsule of our time is ever discovered, I would like for whoever digs it up to find some Death albums in there to create the impression that this is the kind of quality we appreciated in our time. None of that Pop Idol shyte, although they are plastic enough not to be biodegradable so they'd probably outlast any time capsule.

Review

The legendary Chuck Schuldiner and the Atomic Clock Gene Hoglan. As if that's not enough to make with the metal horns, Kelly Conlon plays bass and Bobby Koelble trades some impressive Cockzilla monster cock size riffs with Chuck.

As is typical of Death, the album is as good as the musicians who play with Chuck. If they can keep up with Chuck's pure and simple genius, the album is a killer. They manage to do that here. There's not a single note that sounds out of place on this album. Symbolic reminds me of the cryogenic South African news reader Riaan Cruywagen's hairstyle:



As you can clearly see, nothing out of place there. Symbolic also reminds me of Death cigarettes. Not because of the nearly identical name, but because both the band and the cigarette are lethal and brutally honest about it.



Death cigarettes. I don't smoke, but if I did, that would be my brand.

To me, this is a very underrated album - even allmusic gives Symbolic a mediocre rating. Most people prefer Human or The Sound of Perseverance, but to me, Symbolic is as good as Death gets. Except maybe for an eternity spent in Valhalla.

Track listing

1. Symbolic


2. Zero Tolerance


3. Empty Words


4. Sacred Serenity


5. 1000 Eyes


6. Without Judgement


7. Crystal Mountain


8. Misanthrope


9. Perennial Quest

Personnel

• Kelly Conlon: bass.


• Gene Hoglan: drums.


• Bobby Koelble: guitars.


• Chuck Schuldiner: vocals, guitars, production.

Rating