Death - The Sound of Perseverance (1998)

I think Chuck Schuldiner would like to be most remebered for his work with Death, and mostly for this album, the last before he died of an untimely brain tumor. Chucks influence on the death metal world is absolute. He is credited by many to be one of the originators of the genre and his album Scream Bloody Gore as a template for death metal since. Despite never using the same band members Chuck managed to turn out ever more progressive variants of a sound he helped create. It pretty much adds up to him being a musical genius, being that he is mostly, if not solely responsible for every song, every lyric and even the logo of the band. This album is a testament to a restlessly creative mind, one that would have continued going and redefining the genre as he has done all his life. The complex sounds and time signatures are mind bending and the cover of Judas Priest's Painkiller is practically better than the original. There is not a weak song on the album. Every song twists and turns in a truly contorted and disturbing fashion while never meandering off course. While other earlier works, like Human and Individual Thought Patterns are more visceral and direct in their apporach, it is the Sounds of Perseverance that I keep coming back to for its ever present inventiveness. I think this is the way Chuck would like to be remembered.

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