Review Summary: Symbolic is nothing more than a confused amalgamation of generic riffs and random breakdowns with some basic melodeath elements thrown in. This album isn't anywhere close to being death metal and doesn't deserve the myriad praise heaped upon it time and t
yeah so this is going to be a bit different of a review. i expect to be negged about a million times but that's okay. i also understand the guidelines suggest not presenting a play by play but given the accusations of trolling against me as well as the myriad praise just about everyone heaps onto this album i figure i ought to delineate exactly what it is i don't like and why it doesn't deserve much merit at all.
9 tracks, 50 minutes--far too long as far as this album is concerned.
Symbolic: starts with a slow, basic, and downright obnoxious riff leading into schuldiner's strained-sounding higher pitched yells some people dare to call growls. these are not anything close, instead sounding like he'd been punched in the stomach and just gave it whatever he could. except it goes on for the entire album, and they are probably the worst aspect of this album. continuing with with some generic mid-tempo riffs as schuldiner struggles to get sounds out of his throat, they abruptly end with a slow minimum effort filler section before rising into a mid-tempo minimum effort filler section.
then comes the chorus, and damn is it annoying. slow, with schuldiner's vocals sounding like he's not only been punched but his assailant is twisting his fist as he shrieks 'so vivid'. then random doodly-do solo. finally a decent fast section with a pretty good solo, which is then shortly ruined by the gut-twisted vox all too soon. and breakdown back into that obnoxious turtle-paced initial riff. sleeping. schuldiner screaming things annoyingly. back to decent fast section, ruined again. ah shut up chuck. slow section that does nothing but emphasize the anaerobic vocals. back to the now stale faster section. abrupt breakdown into chorus--snooze time. decent little chuggies until close.
Zero Tolerance: another obnoxious mid-tempo riff that should work but somehow sounds awkward as hell while annoying vox come in. random interjected brief boring solo. start-stop tempo with more diddly solo work before snoozer breakdown. weird prechorus section where chuck's vocal rhythm doesn't match the stale riff. then suuuuper slow chorus. zero. tolerance. decent sounding mid-tempo section with pretty good solo. too bad that's not what the whole album is composed of, but it continues for a good while before the abrupt breakdown into the initial riff. really slow and poor solo section. yelling. prechorus. sudden end.
Empty Words: ominous little riff that doesn't really do anything. sudden drop of the main riff but its barely heavy so it's not like it really makes an impact. same annoying yelling with awkward little melody interspersed with lofty cute melody and some diddles. slow thrash section interspersed with breakdowns for a prechorus. near full stop and build up to decent solo. yelling of empty words with decent solo section, then main chorus melody that's actually pretty good, then slow section with obnoxious melody before repeating earlier elements. chorus makes me wish this song really was empty of words.
Sacred Serenity: starts good but has to be the most annoying song on the album. annoying main riff on the verse. basic filler faster section with annoying vocals that lead into the worst chorus on the album. it's a melody that ought to work but is some awkward as hell instead. nondescript mid tempo section, then going dramatically quiet for no reason. zzzzzzzzzz lullaby before returning to generic main riff. repeat.
1000 Eyes: best song on the album, but starts weak as heck with some annoying generic riffs before flowing into decent generic riffs, chuck not so annoying. random melodic soloing leading to weak prechorus, though 'memory' sounds decent. amazing fast melodic chorus and the only section on this whole album that's actually worth listening to. too bad it's abruptly cut short for no good damn reason before a basic breakdown and some more annoying vox then generic solo time. back to annoying prechorus and good sections leading to the angelic chorus.
Without Judgement: decent slow opener terminated too soon by generic start-stop riff and the worst vocals in all of metal. sleepy generic riff time. zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. oh an awkward ominous little melody. okay bye, back to generic riffing and abrupt introduction of the chorus, an awkward juxtaposition of a pleasant but basic melodeath riff followed by some slow soloing. decent but pointless slow melody section before returning to generic verse. please stop talking chuck. repeat of previous elements.
Crystal Mountain: I hate this track so much. generic slow opening riffs. the vox. airy little obnoxious melody combined with harmonious annoying screaming. plodding along with slow generic riffs into chorus. i hate that chorus melody so much. slow boring breakdown section. twinkly melody that should sound good but with the tuning just doesn't. decent generic solo. annoying ass chorus. repeat all previous while falling asleep with a random acoustic fadeout thrown in.
Misanthrope: decent but generic fast riffs barely extent before dewinded vox. whatever was good suddenly evaporating into boring mid-tempo section. worst breakdown and prechorus i've ever heard into snoozer chorus with childish lyrics, then airy filler section followed by generic mid tempo solo filler section. repeat, simplest song on the record. kill me when that prechorus to chorus comes in again.
Perennial Quest: by now definitely losing patience with these generic riffs. snoozer breakdown, annoying vox. please just stop. generic thrashy section. similar annoying breakdown as an misanthrope but not as bad into chorus, then boring slow tempo section. this is probably the most boring song on the album. what a closer. annoying slow solo. k going to bed wake me up when it's over. oh some generic riffage but with some bounces in there. mid tempo generic riffs as chuck continues on his journey. the only thing worse than his vox on this is his vox plus an unnecessary echo effect. no, i won't join you on your perennial quest. more slow soloing. how is there still 2 minutes left on this album? lullaby time. pretty good lullaby actually.
So there we have it. Not only is Symbolic full of generic filler riffs and random impactless breakdowns, but it barely even has any heavy sections and steals melodies from the most basic gothenburg hipsters. who could've guessed the creators of leprosy and scream bloody gore would have turned into this sloppy mess? there is no death metal here despite it being by death, and if it weren't for the heavier sections it might not even be worth the title of metal at all.
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