THE SOUND OF PERSEVERANCE

The last album released under the name Death by Chuck Schuldiner both tragically passing away in 2001 from complications due to cancer, this legendary death metal project would close its gates with what is easily the most controversial and polarized album in the band's discography. Among fans, the band's seventh album 'The Sound Of Perseverance' represents either the band losing their early grit and death metal vibe, but to others, it is the pinnacle of the band's creation. It should be known that while respecting them for their historical context and influence, I have never been a fan of Death's music, finding it generally overrated amongst metalheads. However, listening to 'The Sound Of Perseverance', I realized finally what the hype was all about. As much as it was the end of a musical journey for Chuck and his fellow musicians, Death's swansong represented to me, the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel for me and this band's music. Finally correcting the greater issues I had with the music up until this point and putting an even greater emphasis on technicality and progressive songwriting, 'The Sound Of Perseverance' stands out to me not only as Death's greatest achievement, but also one of the best progressive death metal albums out there.

One of the most noticeable develops on this album when compared to earlier works like 'Human' or even 'Symbolic' are the vocals. Here, Chuck sounds as distinctive as he ever would; a higher register growl with a unique inflection here and there. This is not where the differences end however; far from in fact. The greatest improvement that Schuldiner has crafted here with the seventh album is in the instruments and the songwriting. Up until this album, it felt like- despite their differences in technicality- it felt like Chuck was only using one or two different structures for his songs to follow. I can't say how many times I've heard a Death song that went from a verse or post-chorus vocal part to a speed up reprise of the guitar riff, with a phrygian solo played overtop. While it may have not been a horrible sound or formula to work with, it wore thin after even listening to one Death album. Here, 'The Sound Of Perseverance' feels like Chuck tries to show his technical prowess through the riffs themselves, instead of waiting for the almighty solo to prove himself. What results is a feeling that the compositions here have never been more complex, or intelligent as they are on this album.

While a constant criticism from many people is that this album is not as heavy as proper Death should be, I would beg to differ on that matter. While there are more melodies here in the way the music is written and the production has been polished tenfold over what it once was, the technicality and dynamic of the music here makes things feel much more intense than ever before for the band, when compared to the tinny mixing and derivative structures of albums like 'Scream Bloody Gore' or 'Human'. While the fact that Schuldiner's riffs and guitar work has never been better is taken for granted, i must point out the merits of the drums on the album. Simply said, the percussion work here is unsurpassed by anything else heard on a Death album, Gene Hoglan's contributions included. Here, Richard Christy uses some very complicated drum techniques and a very distinctive crash cymbal to add to the complexity of the music.

Certainly Death's most progressive and detailed work, it is my favourite and most enjoyed album ever released by the band. Perhaps a little too much on the proggy side to be considered 'death metal' by a typical standard, 'The Sound Of Perseverance' is the band's most achieved and consistently interesting piece of work, and by extension, has given me a whole new dimension of appreciation for Chuck Schuldiner and the music he made while he was alive.

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