What The Hell Happened To... 03.02.09: Death - The Sound Of Perseverance Posted by Dan Marsicano on 03.02.2009
Dan Marsicano returns this week to take a gander at metal band Death's last album, The Sound Of Perseverance, and highlights a underrated band, the recently re-united Believer.
The Introduction
Welcome to the column that is climbing to the top of the 411 Music mountain, What The Hell Happened To…I'm your guide, the guy who had his computer crash for the second time in two months, Dan Marsicano.
Don't worry; I'm back up and running, with an all-new edition that's taking a dip into the death metal pool to find a hidden treasure. This shiny piece of music history is Death's last album, 1998's The Sound Of Perseverance. If you haven't heard of this album, you don't know what you're missing out on. I got your back though; get ready to include a new classic into your music catalog.
Before that, its time for my weekly brag-a-thon, where I list off all the web sites I write for. I recently got a gig with the Heavy Metal section of About.com and am also currently still writing at Metal Underground (under the alias heavytothebone2) and SMN News. Don't worry; I haven't forgotten about the loyal readers at 411. The column will still be around, but there will be fewer reviews than normal. Look for a review of Chris Cornell (that should be fun) and Papa Roach (that should be even more fun) soon.
Like always, if anybody has any ideas of what album I should analyze in the near future, don't hesitate to drop me a comment below. Like I've stated in earlier editions, I'm set until the beginning of May, but it's a bit hazy after that. I don't really want to have to stop the column, but I've always believed that if this column started to grow stale or I was grasping for straws, I would finish it immediately. I've gotten some great requests so far, so keep them coming!
The Band
Chuck Schuldiner- Vocals, Guitar
Shannon Hamm- Guitar
Scott Clendenin- Bass
Richard Christy- Drums
The Track Listing
1. Scavenger Of Human Sorrow-6:54
2. Bite The Pain-4:30
3. Spirit Crusher-6:45
4. Story To Tell-6:34
5. Flesh And The Power It Holds-8:26
6. Voice Of The Soul-3:43
7. To Forgive Is To Suffer-5:55
8. A Moment Of Clarity-7:23
9. Painkiller-6:03
The History
Death was formed in 1983 under the master-mind of Chuck Schuldiner. After going through multiple line-ups, Schuldiner settled on a stable group of musicians and released Scream Bloody Gore in 1987. A highly influential death metal album, Death's debut was vile, fast, and full of graphic lyrical content. 1988's Leprosy followed in the same path as the band's debut, only with better production and a slight progressive edge, which would be explored on later releases.
1991's Human would be the first step towards a more intelligent and thought-provoking sound. Featuring guitarist Paul Masvidal and drummer Sean Reinert, both of Cynic fame, Death's fourth album was hailed as the band's best at the time. Even though Reinert and Masvidal would go back to Cynic after Human's release, Schuldiner replaced them with legendary drummer Gene Hoglan and guitarist Andy LaRocque. This line-up released 1993's Individual Thought Patterns.
"The Philosopher" Live 1993
Hoglan stayed on for 1995's Symbolic, the only member to do so that played on the previous album. Eventually, everybody left the band and Schuldiner crafted another line-up, one that would stay together until the very end of the band. Going into the studio to work on Death's seventh album, Schuldiner and company would lay down the tracks that became The Sound Of Perseverance…
The Analysis
1998's The Sound Of Perseverance was the last Death album before Chuck Schuldiner dissolved the group and focused his attention on side-project Control Denied. Over the years, Death evolved from a relatively-basic death metal sound to a more progressive and technical juggernaut. Some may say that Symbolic was the high point of the band's career; fans of Death's earlier material may point their approval towards Leprosy or Spiritual Healing. Personally, I've always had a high opinion of The Sound Of Perseverance. It is the accumulation of years of hard work; with Death's last album, in my eyes, Schuldiner finally realized his true potential as both a guitarist and a songwriter.
The latter characteristic is especially important in the evolution of Chuck Schuldiner as a musician. In the beginning, Schuldiner's lyrics were on par with most of the other gore-obsessed death metal bands of the late 80's, with topics ranging from regurgitated guts to maggot-infested zombies. Over time, Schuldiner opened up to a wider, more intelligent range of topics. The Sound Of Perseverance had many subtle lines throughout that are poetic and deeper than most expected from a band like Death. Lines like "passion is a poison laced with pleasure bitter sweet" and "shallow are words from those who starve" were brilliant and a fresh breath of air for its time.
Let's not forget the other fresh breath of air during this era of Death; drummer Richard Christy. Many know Christy from his tenure with the Howard Stern radio show, doing nasty shit in the name of entertainment. Behind all that closeted gayness is an immensely phenomenal drummer, one that could stand on the same platform with other greats such as Gene Hoglan and Dave Lombardo. The most amazing part is that Christy was in his mid-20's when he recorded The Sound Of Perseverance…and it was only his second recorded performance (anybody who knows his first one gets bonus points from me!). The best way to describe Christy's performance is technical brilliance, a musician who had full control of his kit and all the small tricks around it, not relying too heavily on double bass work.
"Spirit Crusher" Live
I would be doing the music world a great injustice if I forgot about the other two members of Death during the recording of The Sound Of Perseverance. This was not just the Chuck and Richard show; no, Schuldiner made sure to enlist musicians who could hold their own at their respective instruments. Bassist Scott Clendenin and guitarist Shannon Hamm were the perfect fit for Death, and Schuldiner seemed to make sure that they got their moments to shine. While Schuldiner was the lead guitarist, Hamm's rhythm work can't be understated; he kept the music in check and was able to keep up with the madness, not an easy feat for any guitarist. Clendenin is clear in the mix, and takes every advantage of it, pulling off quite an underrated performance that deserves more attention than it initially received. His work on "Spirit Crusher," in particular, is fantastic and makes for a gripping listen.
The nine songs that made up The Sound Of Perseverance all had their own traits to make for a compelling listen. Ranging from four to eight minutes, the album starts out strong and is able to keep the attention of most metal fans for the majority of the running length. "Scavenger Of Human Sorrow" is a explosive opener, starting out with a blazing Christy solo and never letting up for almost seven minutes. A special mention has to be made to Chuck's vocal work; not only had his songwriting improved, but his vocals were able to be continuously harsh, yet easy to understand.
Death was leaning towards a more progressive sound on The Sound Of Perseverance, evident on tracks such as "Spirit Crusher," the epic "A Moment Of Clarity," the jazz-flavored subtlety of "To Forgive Is To Suffer," and "Flesh And The Power It Holds." The last song mentioned, in particular, can be considered one of the highpoints of Death's career. Hamm and Schuldiner work well in the opening minute, and the band takes the listener on a journey they won't soon forget, complete with an awe-inspiring lead section by Schuldiner that ranks as the best of his career.
"Flesh And The Power It Holds" Live
The softer side of Death was on clear display with instrumental "Voice Of The Soul." When some bands utilize acoustic guitars, it comes out sounding cheesy or forced. Not so with "Voice Of The Soul;" the haunting atmosphere evoked by the combination of soft acoustic and loud electric guitars makes for a thrilling listen. They seem to battle with each other for dominance, neither getting a leg up on the other. While not the band's first attempt at an instrumental, I personally prefer this one over "Cosmic Sea."
Judas Priest is one of my favorite bands, so when I first heard Death's cover of "Painkiller" at the end of The Sound Of Perseverance, I was initially shocked on how powerful it was; arguably, even more so than the original. While Schuldiner couldn't completely replicate Halford's pitch-perfect falsetto, he still puts in a commendable performance. Schuldiner even attempts clean vocals for the first time in his career, an experiment that turned out to be a success in my opinion. Like most of the songs, Christy completely nails the drum performance and outdoes Scott Travis in almost every way (that'll get me some hate mail, I know it). The guitar work is solid as well, especially with some of the creative license Schuldiner took with the main solo to make it into his own instead of turning it into a Tipton or Downing clone.
The Sound Of Perseverance, like most of Death's catalog, is as underrated as it gets. This album should be held on a pedestal, for all to bear witness to. It's a shame that Death had to end after this album, but what a stellar way to go out. The entire band is at the top of their game, and if it wasn't for Control Denied's first album, I would put The Sound Of Perseverance as Chuck Schuldiner's magnum opus; it was definitely Death's, there is no doubt in my mind. If you haven't had the chance to gaze into the luminous glory of Death's last studio album, you can't call yourself a true metal fan.
Believer has been around kicking and screaming for over twenty years. Yet, there are only known amongst the die-hard metal fans. The band started out as pure thrash metal band before indulging in progressive tendencies that showcased a unique and constantly-evolving sound. 1993's Dimensions is considered by many to be an underrated classic, with the four-part epic "Trilogy Of Knowledge" a 20-minute plus masterpiece. The band broke up afterward the release of Dimensions, but re-united recently and are working on a new studio album, Gabriel.
Believer's current line-up includes Kurt Bachman on vocals and guitar, Kevin Leaman on guitar, Elton Nestler on bass, Joey Daub on drums, and Jeff King on keyboards and programming. The band's sound can be quite aggressive at times, and if the band's new song on their MySpace page "Focused Lethality" is any indication, time hasn't dulled the sharp edges of Believer. Metal fans looking for something different should check out this live video and more songs on Believer's MySpace page.
"Sanity Obscure" Live 1991 (Credit: stoneagelightning)
The Conclusion
Well, I may have been gone for two weeks, but this column is still kicking ass. Don't worry; I'll definitely be back next week to take a look at Static-X's third album Shadow Zone. Melody and clean singing became the focus points of the band, and fans turned on Shadow Zone….except for me, who considers it one of the band's best albums. Blasphemy, you say? Come back next week and read my reasons why.
