THE SOUND OF PERSEVERANCE

Death's final album was supposedly a contractural obligation piece - something knocked off so that Chuck Schneider could satisfy his label and move on with his new Control Denied project. Sadly, of course, fate had other plans in store - so it's a good thing the band didn't let the high standards of their later, technically-inclined albums slip at the final hurdle. A particular highlight is the concluding cover of Judas Priest's Painkiller, in which the musical delivery matches the fury of the original and Chuck's absolutely unrestrained vocals actually beat Rob Halford at his own game. Though it was never planned as being the band's final album, at least Death ended on a high note - a Halford-esque wail, specifically.