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23 of 25 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Metal doesn't get much better than this., November 22, 2004
Death was one of the pioneering extreme metal bands, and one of the best in the genre by far. Every album they made was a distinct progression from the last, and they only got better and better. This, their final album, was the culmination of Chuck Schuldiner's creative genius, and perhaps the finest of their catalogue.
"The Sound of Perseverance" is progressive metal done right. The songs are complex, unpredictable, and always interesting, but the "progginess" never detracts from the "metalness" (Dream Theater should have taken some lessons from these guys when they tried to make a "classic metal" album with "Train of Thought"). The guitar riffs are brutal and uncompromising, but very sophisticated. And they strike a perfect balance between the driving metal riffs and insane complexity. It's not like Dillinger Escape Plan or Theory in Practice, where the riff changes every two seconds, and you can barely follow what's going on (not that there's anything wrong with that ;). Chuck Schuldiner and Shannon Hamm are a brilliant guitar duo. Both have incredible chops, and they know exactly what to do with them. And, their playing is very melodic as well as heavy. This is a very heavy album, but it's also a very melodic album. Oh, and the drumming. Richard Christy's drumming on this album is fast, stylish, relentless, and just plain awesome. People keep comparing him to Gene Hoglan, as Rich was his successor, but they have very different styles, and have both contributed something really amazing to Death's sound, just in different ways. So, I think it's best not to compare them too much. I'll just say that anyone filling Gene's shoes has their work cut out for them, but Rich did a damn fine job.
Describing these songs is pretty hard, as they're all pretty unpredictable from beginning to end, but I'll give it a shot. The opening track, "Scavenger of Human Sorrow" is a powerful opener, starting with a thunderous drum roll, and leading you through pulverizing riffs and incredible time changes. "Bite the Pain" starts with a very melodic riff, but soon builds into insanity, with some cool proggy basslines. "Spirit Crusher" is sort of like Judas Priest meets jazz metal (Christy shines on this one). "Story to Tell" and "Flesh and the Power It Holds" are epic progressive metal, full of dynamics, and some really amazing guitar playing (the latter being my favorite of the album). "Voice of the Soul" is a brief respite from the metal attack. This is a beautiful instrumental, with acoustic and electric guitar melodies swirling about each other in dazzling patterns. Perhaps the biggest surprise here is the cover of Judas Priest's "Painkiller", which is played to perfection (who knew Chuck could wail like that???). Richard Christy really adds a lot of coolness to the drumming on this one (and the drumming was pretty awesome already). Really cool and fun way to end the album.
This is simply one of the best metal albums you can expect to hear. It has everything you need: heaviness, melody, chops, diversity, even the lyrics are great. It may take a few listens to sink in, as the songs seem a bit random and disjointed at first, but once you've given it a few listens, everything comes together nicely. I'd recommend buying "Human" or "Symbolic" first though, if you're new to Death's music, but once you've gotten those, get this. Also, if you're looking to get into more challenging technical metal bands (like the ones I mentioned above), this album is a good stepping stone to ease you into it (Theory in Practice will scare you senseless if you're not ready for them :P ).
It's such a shame what happened to Chuck. He was one of the most talented musicians metal has ever seen, and I can only imagine where they might have gone from here.
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13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Chuck and Co. have done it again, November 29, 1999
By A Customer
This is metal the way it was meant to be: fast, melodic, complicated, angry, and ultra-heavy. The musicianship on this album is even better than on their last few albums -- something which I would have thought impossible had I not heard it with my own ears. Not only that, but these songs are some of the most catchy that Chuck has written, and that's saying a lot. Chuck's voice sounds great too -- if you're into death metal vocals -- and the lyrics are intelligent and unique (and, like someone has already written below, not satanic/blasphemous, which for me is a plus). Death is definitely NOT your run-of-the-mill death metal band. These guys stand alone at the top of the mountain. I really wish that they'd get recognition on a much larger scale. They deserve it for (1) being brilliant, and (2) having the guts to play awesome music like this in a world where most people are much too stupid and/or closed-minded to at least give stuff like this a chance. If you don't buy this album NOW, then you're really missing out!
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26 of 31 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Death's last and best., October 27, 2003
If a band must go, it is good that their last album is their best one (ya know, end on a high note). This is definitely Chuck Shuldiner's best writing, and this is the best band to ever comprise Death. Surprisingly, there are no "big names" here like Steve DiGiorgio or Gene Hoglan. Shannon Hamm, Scott Clendenin, and Richard Christy (Gene who?) slaughter on this disc. What makes them so impressive? Unlike the heavy, atomistic rigidity of most death metal bands, Death's musicians flow over each other with an organic single-mindedness that makes their sound that much more impressive. I am a Richard Christy fan, and he is awesome here: scattering cymbals across polyrythmic double-bass battery and plowing through odd-times and tempo shifts with ease.The music is generally the band's most technical and brutal. Complex, unusual melodies and odd-time signatures galore, high-speed meter changes. Yet despite the album's meticulous complexity, it is still extremely metal. Fast, pummeling, choppy riffs, and some of the most brilliantly predatory guitar harmonies ever penned. At the risk of scaring some people away, I must say that this is what prog metal _should_ sound like: highly melodic and complex but still brutal & heavy. And of course, no synths. The problem with the usual prog metal bands is that their "prog factor" makes them end up sounding cheesy and not metal/brutal enough. I would not call this prog metal of course, but it has certain musical similarities (take prog metal, keep the good parts, toss the bad parts, and kick it up ten notches and you are moving towards this). All of the songs are great. The opener "Scavenger of Human Sorrow" sets the standard high immediately with its heavy onslaught, spiraling melodies, and all-out speed. "Voice of the Soul" is remarkable: an instrumental with verses of somber, hypnotic electric guitar melodies over picked acoustic guitar and choruses of unbelievably gorgeous guitar ostinati over strummed acoustic that STILL sounds metal. There's a kinda cheesy riff on "Spiritcrusher" but it doesn't last long. The epic "Flesh and the Power It Holds" features some of the most brutal Richard Christy drumming to date. "Bite the Pain" has surprisingly lyrical melodies introduced with confidence and poise so that it doesn't sound out of place with the song's brutal, main chugging groove. Other than that this album is flawless, and brilliant. Even the cover of Judas Prest's "Painkiller" is pretty cool, and I frankly think that band sucks. Shuldiner's shrunken-Cobra-Command-from-Hell vocals are funny on that one. This is one of the rare albums that proves 90s American metal wasn't ALWAYS something to be frowned upon. This is one of the best metal albums ever, and it ranks up there with the best heavy metal out of Sweden in the 20th century.
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