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Symbolic is the sixth studio album by Florida death metal band Death, released on March 21, 1995, by Roadrunner Records. The album was remastered and reissued on April 1, 2008, with five bonus tracks. It is the only album to feature Bobby Koelble and Kelly Conlon on guitar and bass, respectively, and the second and last album to feature drummer Gene Hoglan. The album has received unanimous critical acclaim. Symbolic showed a continued shift in sound from Death's previous albums, and was seen as a "massive shift towards melody", deviating from tropes of traditional death metal. Matt Mills of WhatCulture called the album "perfect union of melody, brutality and intricacy that [Death] had been building towards ever since Scream Bloody Gore." Sam Sodomsky of Pitchfork said Symbolic is "the most melodic and refined" release of Death's career. The album has been described as "not as mathematically progressive" as Death's two previous albums. The album has been described as technical death metal and melodic death metal. Shaun Lindsley of Metal Hammer called the album a "labyrinth of technicality and cerebral lyrical meanderings displaying unsurpassable musicianship," while also describing its tracks as "catchy" and "incredibly accessible".
I love this album. Never thought to add it to this project, but I'm glad someone else did. Chuck could write a riff. It's like a death metal rust in peace, the solo breaks just keep coming. 5/5.
Does what it says on the tin. Won't be for everyone. But those people can fuck off.
One of the true metal classics by the band that defined the death metal genre. It's not repetitive distorted drone the way death metal bands bands like Mayhem produce, but more technical with a lot of great guitar riffs and solo's. Very varied music too. The classical guitar notes in Crystal Mountain combine beautifully with the real distorted dual guitars and bass I'm not a fan of grunting unless it's so clear that I can still follow the lyrics (as on this album).
Rating: 6/10 Best songs: Crystal mountain
Vocals could be better, but okay-ish album after all
Musically, this is pretty excellent. Muscular and fierce, with an unrelenting pace and surprise flashes of melodicism. The vocals aren't particularly to my taste, but that's just me. Fave Songs: Crystal Mountain, Symbolic, Without Judgement, Zero Tolerance, Misanthrope
This flavor of metal just isn't my thing... instrumentally it always seems to be about speed uber alles, the vocal style does nothing to me, and the lyrics are usually so portentious and self-important. I appreciate the artistry, this represents the genre creditably, but not something I'd seek out.
Very much a hardcore death metal album that is in line with the bands name. This is a type of metal album that is far too sinister for my liking. The lyricism, the high bpm instrumentals it’s all too much for my liking and not something I’d revisit if I did want to listen to some metal. 4.5/10
Was excited for a heavier LP today, but this one didn’t hit the mark for me. The instrumentation and overall tracks are fine, but the whole thing feels unbalanced mix-wise. The screeching vocals and wall of mids from the guitar completely overwhelm any bass or treble, so the whole thing feels tinny without any kind of solid grounding from the rhythm section. I’m a big proponent of wall-of-noise music, but there has to be at least a smidge of bass in there to make it work.
Man
At first the music was going very well, until the vocalist started to play in the same mold as any pretentious metalhead. I personally don't like that style of "screaming" performances, especially when they don't project anything beyond an aggressive meaning. 1.5 stars