Written by doez on 25.02.2022 at 23:02

The more I listen to Symbolic and the less I like it tbf, the only songs I still like on the album are without judgement and crystal mountain, the other ones just don't do anything to me anymore

Yeah, I know what you mean. As the first Death (and death metal) album I heard, it is very special to me personally, but I dont listen to it that often anymore. If I listen to Death, I usually go for Spiritual Healing, Leprosy, or Human.
Like I said, the only song that I really don't like anymore is Zero Tolerance, so my vote won't drop from a 10 to a 9 yet. But the album has dropped on my favorites list (from 5th to 13th place)
One main thing is the vocals. I find they were perfect on Spiritual Healing. Here they are transitioning to the shrieking of Sound of Perseverance. It's not really bad, just kind of jarring if one compares it to the earlier styles.

Written by F3ynman2000 on 26.02.2022 at 00:54

One main thing is the vocals. I find they were perfect on Spiritual Healing. Here they are transitioning to the shrieking of Sound of Perseverance. It's not really bad, just kind of jarring if one compares it to the earlier styles.

I definitely agree, I don't really like the vocals on ITP and Symbolic whereas the ones on the first 3 albums are amazing

The drums and the lyrics are definitely the highlights of this album, along with some solos. Amazing album, one of the best in some regards, but can get boring with time.

Written by Furiator on 15.06.2022 at 20:52

one of the best in some regards, but can get boring with time.

Slightly odd thing to write after awarding an album 10/10 but I suppose any album could become boring if you spin it 100 times in a row so there's that..

One of the best written and executed metal albums in history indeed, but the atmosphere and awesome vocals of their early stuff is severly lacking.

Written by Growing on 24.02.2023 at 09:52

but the atmosphere and awesome vocals of their early stuff is severely lacking.

Agreed. The first three Death albums are still my favourites. I remember seeing Leprosy on a wall shelf in a local record shop, and having to buy it immediately because of the awesome sleeve. It opened a whole new world of metal to me.

Yeah, ig it's too bad that their early stuff didn't have better lyrics, like Metallica, Sepultura or Megadeth had, because while the music it's awesome, it makes their later stuff sound more mature. Tbh in a way the lyrics are kinda a bit of an issue here as well,because they are good on their own but seem somewhat awkward for a metal record that sounds mostly angry, compared to the above mentioned bands who had lyrics on social issue but still fit the aesthetics of metal.

I'm debating whether I should rate this a 9 or a 10. Listening to it just now again, it definitely warrants a near-perfect score. But, nowadays I rarely find the urge to listen to it again.

It was my gateway to death metal, and I'll always remember that, but I think I'll move my vote down to a high 9.

Just having a discussion with some mates about Death; I have very positive memories of them and use to spin the albums from Human onwards a lot in my early Uni years, but have very little inclination to relisten to them, even Symbolic - funny to see similar sentiments in the comment just before mine^

I wonder if Metal Hammer still existed, would it still rate it 3.5/5 as they did in 1995.