Strange thing is that ‘Symbolic’ was actually the first Death CD I bought. Although I had all their previous albums on tape, I probably never had the money to buy any of them. During my highschool period I could only afford 1 or maybe 2 CD's a month so I had to be careful on what albums to spend my dough on. When ‘Symbolic’ was released, I was in my final year and was studying for the first of three pre-exams before the final exam. I remember vividly learning courses like English and History while playing this magnificent death metal album. The richness of the songs, the complexity, the multi-layered textures should appeal to any metal fan.

The fact why this album is still one of my favorite Death CD's lays in the regained aggression which spews forth from the tracks. I missed the aggression on the previous CD ‘Individual Thought Patterns’. Naming individual songs would be very foolish as each and every one of them its own unique and detailed character.

As always, Chuck assembled highly gifted musicians to record this album and besides the mighty drum machine Gene Hoglan got 2 relative new guys. Kelly Conlon (ex-Monstrosity) on bass and Bobby Koelble on guitar, and both of them delivered a damn fine job!

The loss of Chuck Schuldiner for the extreme metal scene is enormous, one can only dream what more complex musical forms of art would have been written if it wasn't for his untimely demise. We can only find solace in his musical heritage of 7 Death albums and 1 Control Denied record. According to the other Control Denied members Chuck finished most of his parts for a 2nd album but only time will tell if that album will ever see the light of day and whether it would live up to Chuck's hopes for it.

R.I.P. Chuck Schuldiner...