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Death - The Sound Of Perseverance review




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Reviewer:
10

2119 users:
9.15
Band: Death
Album: The Sound Of Perseverance
Release date: August 1998


Disc I
01. Scavenger Of Human Sorrow
02. Bite The Pain
03. Spirit Crusher
04. Story To Tell
05. Flesh And The Power It Holds
06. Voice Of The Soul
07. To Forgive Is To Suffer
08. A Moment Of Clarity
09. Painkiller [Judas Priest cover]

Disc II [Remastered version - CD 1] [2011 reissue bonus]
01. Spirit Crusher [No bass] ['98 demos]
02. Flesh And The Power It Holds [No bass] ['98 demos]
03. Voice Of The Soul [No bass] ['98 demos]
04. Bite The Pain ['98 demos]
05. A Moment Of Clarity ['98 demos]
06. Story To Tell ['98 demos]
07. Scavenger Of Human Sorrow ['98 demos]
08. Bite The Pain ['97 demos]
09. Story To Tell ['97 demos]
10. A Moment Of Clarity ['97 demos]

Disc III [Remastered version - CD 2] [2011 reissue bonus]
01. Bite The Pain ['96 demos]
02. Story To Tell ['96 demos]
03. A Moment Of Clarity ['96 demos]
04. Bite The Pain [Paul Payne vocals version] ['96 demos]
05. A Moment Of Clarity [Paul Payne vocals version] ['96 demos]
06. A Moment Of Clarity [Chuck vocals version] ['96 demos]
07. Story To Tell [Chuck vocals version] ['96 demos]
08. Bite The Pain [Shannon Hamm vocals version] ['96 demos]
09. A Moment Of Clarity [Instrumental] ['96 demos]
10. Bite The Pain [Instrumental] ['96 demos]
11. Story To Tell [Instrumental] ['96 demos]
12. Voice Of The Soul [Instrumental] ['96 demos]
13. A Moment Of Clarity [Instrumental] ['96 demos]

This is it. Finally, after more than 10 years of waiting, we have got It. The one, the only the true thrash metal album. Death have had six releases, have made some drastic changes in their style and have achieved it finally.

Despite being labeled as the fathers of death metal, only their first album is truly death metal, mainly due to vocal abilities of main-man Chuck Schuldiner, who was never really a death vocal. His singing has steadily and gradually evolved into more and more shrieking, until now on this album we hear him really screaming. Not many people came to terms with it and have accepted, but it is what thrash metal is all about. Its most distinct feature are the vocals and Chuck has shown what thrash vocals should sound like. Screaming, aggressive, full of feeling, coming right from the heart. True thrash metal that is.

Not only vocals, but the rhythm section is another display of the perfect sound of thrash. The drums can't be quite distinctly heard, they are no separate instrument, they are together with music, a living part of. There is no "bang-bang", I'll rip your head off, there is steady drumming, supplying the guitarists with superb feeling of rhythm. The bassist puts up a very good effort, playing his part with a lot of technique and precision. His trade-mark bass-sound will be left through the years for generations and generations and every bassist will learn from it how to get heard and not be boring or interfering in the overall guitar sound.

And, of course, Chuck's contribution to the album is not done with singing his thrash vocals. He has had six albums already and on every one of them has played his genius solos, never getting the listener tired of them or repeating him, sheer genius. And the last album in Death's existence goes to show that six albums weren't enough to give everything from him away. His genius has never really been doubted, but it has also never ended. On "The Sound?" we don't get the separate solos, we are used to when listening any band, we have solos and rhythmic guitar-work united in one whole. This is why I really love saying that Death have gather pieces of their music together and have done the most remembering thrash album with the most coherent and full sound. Pure 100 per cent genius.

This an album coming in time when thrash's glorious days have long gone in the past and death's heyday has also passed. And however it shows how young thrash metal is and how easy it got forgotten. This is also the display of the best developing of a bands sound - the early albums, not so convincing and the last ones the best ones.

This is the most mature, true pure and-by-the-book thrash metal album, uniting technique and speed in one in a fabulous manner, producing the best creation of the dying beast of thrash metal. It is a masterpiece and that is not exaggerated.

Written by Yanko | 15.09.2003




Guest review disclaimer:
This is a guest review, which means it does not necessarily represent the point of view of the MS Staff.

Guest review by
K✞ulu
Rating:
9.5
I'm not going to start this review with whining about how unfortunate we are for having lost Chuck Schuldiner back in 2001 and The Sound Of Perseverance being the last Death album. Chuck was a great musician indeed, but fate was too cruel to him, and he passed away. The legacy in form of his music though is with us, so let's talk about it.

Read more ››
published 06.07.2008 | Comments (24)

Guest review by
metaniac
Rating:
9.9
What started off from Individual Thought Patterns and continued through Symbolic as a slight progressive-thrash deviation for Death casts its full blown dominance in The Sound Of Perseverance. Just before Chuck goes out with his plans on Control Denied, this album comes out.

It is very hard to single out highlight songs from an album with so many exquisite technical creations, nevertheless, "Scavenger OF Human Sorrow", "Spirit Crusher", "Voice Of the Soul", "Bite the Pain", "A Moment Of Clarity" stand out among the tracks. Listening to the whole album from beginning to the end is a downright MUST and also a request.

Read more ››
published 28.10.2010 | Comments (18)

Guest review by
Hermann Langke
Rating:
9.3
What better name for a metal band? Especially one concentrating so fixedly on the snuffing out of life? The sonic blood-curdling career of mainman Chuck Schuldiner is one of the most celebrated in the development of death metal as a thrash sub-genre. Death were the daddies of this hack 'n' slay brand of guitar violence, and anyone with even the vaguest wish to count themselves as practitioners of extreme noise, from Carcass to Deicide, from Obituary to Cannibal Corpse, would count Schuldiner's unholy racket as a major influence.

Read more ››
published 23.04.2011 | Comments (29)


Comments

Comments: 28   Visited by: 372 users
20.07.2006 - 09:31
insanity.peppers

I really do not get why this reviewer keeps calling it a thrash metal album. Sure, it isn't a pure death metal album and they clearly defined a more progressive sound here, but I still wouldn't call it thrash. Like, not at all.
The other thing I disagree with is that their first album was the only 'true' death metal album they did. Everything before and including Human still sounds pretty death metal to me, including Chuck's vocals. :-S
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20.07.2006 - 11:32
Rating: 10
Savage Messiah
Metal Drummer
Yeah I don't get that either..It's a bit too death metal to be thrash IMO. I thought it was an awesome album though.
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22.07.2006 - 15:15
insanity.peppers

Written by Savage Messiah on 20.07.2006 at 11:32

Yeah I don't get that either..It's a bit too death metal to be thrash IMO. I thought it was an awesome album though.


It's an excellent album. I still can't get over how insane the Painkiller cover is. Chuck's vocals are magnificent (and often very unpredictable) on the whole album
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06.10.2006 - 06:42
MorbidEggroll
Account deleted
I have to agree with both of you completely. A brilliant album and, in my opinion, a genre defining one as well. It is the textbook for prog-death. As far as yanko, he has reviewed all of the death albums on here and his reviews are troubling indeed. For one, i am hoping english is his second language because they are very VERY poorly written and often make no sense at all. Also, he said that Individual Thought Patterns was their second weakest album....WHAT?!?!?!?! I dunno if i would call them reviews anyway. They read more like footnotes in a bad encylopedia death metal
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09.12.2006 - 04:36
buttsechs
Account deleted
this album is legendary and yet Metalstorm displays this review? lol. would've been nice if it got a better reviewer even with the 9.9 rating. anyone else would've done a better job. still, the 9.9 doesn't change the fact that this guy doesn't know what he's talking about. Death will forever be the kings of prog-death and that's all there is to it. "the only true thrash metal album"?!! i'm sorry but that statement was like so far beyond stupid and out of line that i'm gonna stop writing here.
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16.02.2007 - 20:46
Death-Unlimited
Account deleted
I'm a big fan of death, my fav album is probably human, but i was so disappointed with this album, i would even dare to call it technical wankery, this is a case where superb technical ability isn't enough to make a great album. there's too much technical showing-off, which just gets in the way and actually spoils songs, there were misplaced interludes or parts of songs that shouldn't have been kept, which are frankly annoying, as they disrupt the direction and flow of the song, plus the song construction isn't all that good: a riff is played (sometimes random and misplaced), then there's a fantastic solo, and then the song repeats itself. But on the plus side, chuck's vocals are really good (and man those cries on painkiller give me chills! the cover song is really good) and there are lots of riffs and melodies that stuck in my head . so i think the musicianship is good, but the album gets repetative (within each song), too much technical showcasing and a lack of direction, flow, and atmosphere. Death have done much better in their progressive era, I'd give this a 6

And i feel i don't need to bother in detail that the reviewer is chatting bullshit.... true thrash metal indeed
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06.04.2007 - 13:10
Angelus1976
Account deleted
Highlight of Metal scene...:metal:
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06.04.2007 - 23:13
Rating: 10
BloodTears
ANA-thema
this album is insane. im addicted
----
Written by BloodTears on 19.08.2011 at 18:29

Like you could kiss my ass.


My Instagram
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16.07.2007 - 11:54
CrimsonSoaked
Account deleted
Usually i like more of the death metal bands "death - era" like in the case of amorphis. although i liked more of death's first three i tried to listen something from death's another end. First time i heard " to forgive is to suffer " i was catch by the great musical cosmos that opened to me from the receivers for the few minutes. Then i though that i could try the same song with lyrics. Doing that i sank more deeper in the cosmos. Schuldiners screaming seems to come so naturally , more naturally than the death rattle on the first albums. i have had much problems listening to progressive because they're just bit too progressive, i like more of the music which is played in traditional forms but these songs from sound of perseverance did erase my progephobia entirely . if the other songs on this album are even something like "to forgive is to suffer" i think i must march to the recordstore really soon. Still dont get the thrash thing in this review
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18.07.2007 - 03:14
Sonic Titan
Account deleted
i listened to this album everyday for like 8 months i was so stunned i kept asking myself how the fuck do these guys do it?
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17.08.2007 - 16:27
CrimsonSoaked
Account deleted
This is simply a kind of album made only once in a decade or even more seldom ? One of the Best albums I've ever heard in all it's musical complexity and existentialistic lyrics (which still haven't fully opened to me), awesome entity and musical experience, recommending to everybody. R.I.P Chuck Schuldiner, may your music live forever !
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17.08.2007 - 21:36
Rating: 10
Stalker
Lone wanderer
Thrash metal?? I wouldnt say so. This is album with many progressive elements, and if you ask me - thrash is all but progressive. I dont know, but Death from Human to the end is like a definition for Technical Death Metal.
It seems like the reviewer just wanted to point out that The Sound Of Perseverance is excellent thrash album - which I only partially agree: excellent - yes, thrash - no way.
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27.09.2007 - 04:45
Mad Laughter
Account deleted
Yea this reviewer has no business writing reviews....or even listening to metal if he doesn't know that Sound of Perseverance is in no way thrash....

Sound of Perseverance is Prog/Death....

But I like it alot. "Spirit Crusher" and "To Forgive is to Suffer" are the best tracks on the album IMO. The essential Death is of course the thrashy stuff (Scream Bloody Gore and Leprosy), which helped to define death metal.
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29.01.2008 - 02:22
charless
Account deleted
a moment of clarity, and voice of the soul are my favs.
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03.02.2008 - 13:32
Rating: 9
addiction

@ charless: very good choices indeed...maybe i would choose the same....

this is an amazing album that everytime i listen to it, it blows me away!!! every metal fan that likes this kind of metal should definitely own it....

as far as the review....obviously agreed that it is a masterpiece...about it being thrash though (by saying that all the time the review is completely ruined)...i have my doubts....then again it is not your typical death album either....it is definitely progressive.....but to be honest i dont care at all....i like it anyway....

mediocre review, amazing album...
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alive in the superunknown
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11.06.2008 - 19:29
Rating: 10
Murder

yeahh!!!!!

without a fucking doubt this is one of my favorites albums!!!

Death is Live!!!!!!
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22.08.2008 - 11:36
Rating: 10
flamey

True thrash metal? I LOL'd.
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22.08.2008 - 11:44
Marcel Hubregtse
Grumpy Old Fuck
Written by flamey on 22.08.2008 at 11:36

True thrash metal? I LOL'd.


Yeah I LOL'd as well, especially when he says Thrash is defined by its vocals hahahahaha. Like any other subgenre thrash is defined by the music.
----
Member of the true crusade against European Flower Metal

Yesterday is dead and gone, tomorrow is out of sight
Dawn Crosby (r.i.p.)
05.04.1963 - 15.12.1996

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12.09.2008 - 06:01
Rating: 10
Murder

Written by flamey on 22.08.2008 at 11:36

True thrash metal? I LOL'd.


Definitely, this is not thrash xD


well I'm listening actually and wow... I can't get enough of it! this album is a jewel! one of my top favorites albums!!
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22.08.2009 - 15:52
Rating: 8
Powerslavex
Alexskywalker
Death at its best! Charles "Chuck" Schuldiner is a legend, Voice Of The Soul really touches my soul i love that track
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22.08.2009 - 19:50
terrorist

Realy the best there's no doubt in that.Even if he would be still alive i think that this album would be his greatest.Voice of The Soul,Chuck.
----
Will the ones who live after our end
Worship the goddamn cross again?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hnlG0h7YN_8&feature=related
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05.12.2009 - 18:02
Rating: 10
Galar
Wicked Mung
DEATH IS NOT THRASH METAL. YOU LOSE, AND YOUR REVIEWS LOSE WORSE
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YOUR ARGUMENT IS INVALID, SUCK A DICK
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05.08.2010 - 23:04
Rating: 9
Fane

When I read this review, I just thought there was a fanboy behind the whole text. Come on, it is a great album and all, but just repeating how "genius" the members are and how "perfect" everything sounds is... boring. And like everyone else pointed out, it sounds odd to refer this as thrash.

What comes to the album, it is amazing. It is sad that the band had to quit as everyone would want more of this.
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Coffee for power
Music for creativity
Sarcasm for fun
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05.08.2010 - 23:10
Rating: 8
vezzy
Stallmanite
Written by Fane on 05.08.2010 at 23:04

When I read this review, I just thought there was a fanboy behind the whole text. Come on, it is a great album and all, but just repeating how "genius" the members are and how "perfect" everything sounds is... boring. And like everyone else pointed out, it sounds odd to refer this as thrash.

What comes to the album, it is amazing. It is sad that the band had to quit as everyone would want more of this.


He never was a good reviewer, but he actually did have potential (case in point: his review of Scream Bloody Gore). But meh, he's long gone now.
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Licensed under the GPLv3.
Relinquish proprietary software for a greater GNU/America.
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05.10.2010 - 18:22
Rating: 9
Guib
Thrash Talker
A Pure Thrash Metal album ??!! I'm sorry but I don't see it

Yes, Death is not like in the first albums (Scream Bloody Gore, Leprosy)
But it is certainly not a thrash metal album, Understanding the complexity of the riffs
and the musical arrangements behind it how can someone describe it as pure Thrash Metal ?
First, Death hasn't lost all of its Death Metal influences, keeping chaotic riffs and fast paced drumming.
What changed? Its quite simple, Chuck experimented and put some progressive elements in it
Making a Progressive Death Metal band but I would never call that Thrash even if the vocals are not growls or pure chaotics shouts, the voice is not the only factor that decided whether or not a band is Thrash and/or Death Metal...
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- Headbanging with mostly clogged arteries to that stuff -
Guib's List Of Essential Albums
- Also Thrash Paradise
Thrash Here
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10.10.2011 - 16:09
Rating: 9
Rockfellas

Greatest Al:banger2:bum Eever
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10.10.2011 - 16:11
Rating: 9
Rockfellas

Greatest Album Ever R.I.P Chuck
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16.09.2021 - 18:06
Rating: 9
sgtrobo

"Despite being labeled as the fathers of death metal, only their first album is truly death metal"
WTF????

the review was straight clown-shoes from start to finish.
at least he got the final rating of this "thrash metal classic" correct
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