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Critic Reviews
100
We may have lost Chuck, but his legacy certainly lives on through albums like “Symbolic”; a true pillar for the genre and a shining example of how to craft the perfect metal record.
7y
100
This is as close to flawless as metal gets.
5y
100
If heavy metal was a college course, "Symbolic" would be on the reading list on day fucking one.
4y
91
There are plenty of albums where a band crosses the threshold: reaching for a wider audience and finding them, firing on all cylinders and ascending to the next level. Symbolic is something rarer: a visionary artist desperate to push forward, raging against his limitations until it sounds a little like celebration.
4y
80
Give Chuck credit for forging ahead with True Metal! Just deduct a K if it's skull-smash mayhem you crave.
1mo
60
Nearly a decade into their career, Death show no signs of slowing down on Symbolic. Granted, some of the riffs are beginning to sound a little tired and there is no great leap forward in terms of their musical ideas, but the sheer visceral force of their sound should please their dedicated fans.
10y
This is peak death metal. We only go down from here.
WOW. I have not been amazed by a record like this in a while. Everything on here is basically perfect. The riffs are powerful as all hell. The vocals are almost frightening. And this whole record screams with energy.
Symbolic is one of the most powerful metal albums of all time. I don’t know how they did it, but every part of this record is absolutely amazing. You have the riffs and solos by guitarist Bobby Koelble that hit so hard ... read more
THE METAL SUBGENRE CHALLENGE #011 - TECHNICAL DEATH METAL
In this challenge, I'll be taking a look at various albums I haven't heard yet from a variety of different Metal subgenres. I'm quite familiar with the genre, but I really want to dive into the specific subgenres and analyze them.
Death are literally the granddaddies of Death Metal. These guys damn near invented the genre. I mean this album has bangers on top of bangers, incredible riffs, technical impressive playing, fantastic vocals, ... read more
New review after more than a week without doing one. I've really been quite busy and that's why I haven't been able to write anything, I have a lot of exams this month so don't expect much more than one review a week for the rest of November.
Released in 1995, Symbolic is Death's sixth album. This is an album that I have wanted to listen to for a few months, since I have seen a lot of my friends here (Luca) praising this album a lot, so I could only expect good things ... read more
99 (Classics --> All-Time favourites)
I am sure everyone knows way more about this album than i do, so i just have a few observations. The vocals are perhaps the greatest i have heard in this genre. They are really raw and evil-sounding, but you still understand every word. It is really impressive how he managed that. The instrumentation is fucking sick! Every single song is absurdly high level, and it is tough to really find any weaknesses here. I 'only' rated it 99 because i need ... read more
Thought provoking writing,highly progressive incredible solos, vocals blend well with the themes throughout the whole album. Chuck was a true visionary and this is a flawless perfect metal album
The best death record IMO, every track hits, chucks vocals are top notch and there are some of the best guitar passages i've heard from a metal band on this record
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Track List
| 1 | Symbolic 6:32 | 96 |
| 2 | Zero Tolerance 4:48 | 94 |
| 3 | Empty Words 6:22 | 94 |
| 4 | Sacred Serenity 4:27 | 93 |
| 5 | 1,000 Eyes 4:28 | 94 |
| 6 | Without Judgement 5:28 | 94 |
| 7 | Crystal Mountain 5:07 | 97 |
| 8 | Misanthrope 5:03 | 92 |
| 9 | Perennial Quest 8:21 | 94 |
Total Length: 50 minutes
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1mo
I'm sorry but in Crystal Mountain when he says "cross turned dagger" it does NOT sound like dagger