Published on Dec 21, 1998
It’s kind of funny for me to think about this, but I actually
find myself listening to more heavy metal music now than I did when
I was a serious headbanger back in high school. Back then, I was
more limited in what I listened to (having only a certain amount of
funds to buy albums). These days, if it comes in the mail, I’ll
give anything a shot.
That said, I wonder why I never got into the group Death, even
after I discovered grindcore in college. Chuck Schuldiner is one of
the godfathers of metal these days, having slugged it out for well
over a decade with this band. Their latest offering,
The Sound Of Perseverance, shows that there was — and is —
much more to this genre of music than just screamed lyrics and
pointless solos. Death proves themselves to be a group that,
musically, challenges you to think.
I wouldn’t have expected this, of course. As much as I love
metal, I never thought that I’d hear any — especially death metal
— that was equally progressive. But Schuldiner and his bandmates –
drummer Richard Christy, guitarist Shannon Hamm and bassist Scott
Clendenin – throw more than a fair share of progressive into the
mix, and it’s a welcome addition.
Of course, I’m probably not telling the long-time fans of this
band anything that they didn’t know already. The nine songs on this
disc (eight originals, and a surprising cover choice) keep you
engaged almost from the first series of drum fills to the crescendo
at the end of the album. Through it all, Schuldiner and crew prove
something interesting about death metal: you don’t have to be
obscene or shocking to be just as powerful. While the images in the
lyrics aren’t always scenes out of a Disney cartoon, they are
hardly what critics of the genre would expect.
Tracks like “Scavenger Of Human Sorrow” and “A Moment Of
Clarity” all make me wonder why these guys aren’t as big a name as
Metallica or Megadeth. All four musicians on this album prove
they’re talented on their instruments (even to the instrumental
work by Schuldiner on “Voice Of The Soul”), and the songwriting is
top-notch.
But unlike many other bands in their genre, Death know when to
thrash out as well as when to pull back on the speed a bit. They
know when to move away from the barred chords and go into something
a little more technical – hence the progressive side to their
music. Thing is, they know exactly what they’re doing and the right
time to do just that. And this is what makes
The Sound Of Perseverance succeed on all levels. Sure, they
could have done things at breakneck speed throughout songs like
“Bite The Pain”, but throwing some curveballs into those songs is
what makes this album so interesting to listen to.
Closing out the album is a cover of Judas Priest’s “Painkiller”
— although the song has always been thrash-oriented, it does
surprise me that a band like Death would choose to cover a song
like this. However, the execution of this track is perfect –
although Schuldiner chooses to raise the pitch of the vocals in the
verses a little bit. Still, no major crime committed.
The Sound Of Perseverance is still an intense listen, no
question about it. But Death isn’t your typical thrash-metal band –
and as much as I enjoy good thrash, this is something we should be
thankful for. Schuldiner could well be the new leader of the
rebirth of metal in America.