The Sound of Perseverance is the seventh and final studio album by American death metal band Death, released on August 31, 1998, by Nuclear Blast. The album featured guitarist Shannon Hamm, drummer Richard Christy, and bassist Scott Clendenin for the first and only time. It was also Death's final studio album, as Chuck Schuldiner died due to brain cancer-related issues in 2001, and Death subsequently disbanded. It is considered to be one of the most accomplished releases in Death's discography, and has been called one of the greatest heavy metal albums of all time by AllMusic reviewer Jason Hundey.
Background and recording
Prior to the recording of the album, Chuck Schuldiner had broken up the band due to tension with their previous label, Roadrunner Records and focused on his band Control Denied. He signed to Nuclear Blast, who mandated that Death release another album before the label would issue a Control Denied album. Schuldiner stated in a 1998 interview that frequent Death bassist Steve Di Giorgio, who had played on some of the album's demos, was too busy to play on the album, so Scott Clendenin, with whom Schuldiner had been playing in Control Denied, replaced him. Shannon Hamm, who also played in Control Denied, and new addition Richard Christy joined as well. The album was recorded at Morrisound Recording over a three-week period and had already been demoed twice in Schuldiner's home studio.
The instrumental "Voice of the Soul" was written during the Symbolic sessions, while "The Moment of Clarity" was anticipated to be the title track on the first Control Denied album. Other tracks from the album would have included "What If" and "Cut Down to Size", which were all worked on in 1997. Tim Aymar confirmed in 2010 that several Control Denied songs were reimagined as Death songs and released on The Sound of Perseverance. Hamm stated during the Death by Metal documentary that record labels were initially unwilling to take a chance on Control Denied, as it was not a proven band. He also mentioned that the Control Denied songs that were reused as Death songs included Bite the Pain, Spirit Crusher, Story to Tell, Voice of the Soul and A Moment of Clarity.
The band's cover of the Judas Priest song "Painkiller" was intended as a bonus track for Japan, but Nuclear Blast recommended that it be included on all releases.
Music
The Sound of Perseverance has been described as "[appearing] as an eerie specter that copiously reminds us of how our subconscious strangely discerns more than one can even imagine about oneself." The material on the album has been called "ambitious" and "mind-[bendingly]" complex. It is considered to be the most experimental and "expansive" Music journalist T Coles referred to the album as "death metal in an advanced form." The album has been characterized as combining the "best aspects" of the band's three previous albums, and "[taking] them one step further." The tracks have been described as "more aggressive, more progressive, and certainly more melodic." The album has been characterized by "sheer ferocity" and "raw emotion". The music on The Sound of Perseverance has drawn comparisons to Atheist, Dream Theater, Meshuggah and Cynic. Critics have made note of elements of progressive music and jazz fusion present in the album's rhythm section. Christy's drumming on the album has been described as "octopus-like". Schuldiner's vocals on the album have been described as "falsetto death metal shrieks. Afterwards, Schuldiner put aside Death and continued work on Control Denied's first album The Fragile Art of Existence.
Nuclear Blast released a deluxe edition in December 2005. It contains the original album as well as the DVD Live in Cottbus '98 and press pictures. It was also released as a DualDisc. Relapse Records released a second deluxe edition on February 15, 2011. The album was remastered and reissued in deluxe 2-CD and 3-CD formats, with the additional CDs containing unreleased demo material and a revised cover by original cover artist Travis Smith.
A vinyl reissue was scheduled to be released in November 2016 by Relapse Records.
Reception and legacy
The Sound of Perseverance has received critical acclaim and is considered by fans and critics alike as one of Death's greatest albums. Jason Hundey of AllMusic described it as "a truly glorious metal release, certainly Death's finest hour, and easily one of the top metal albums of all time".
The band Blackwater Sunset is working on a "full-length tribute album" that will feature Chris Poland on lead guitar, Marco Minnemann on drums, and Rich Gray of Annihilator on fretless bass, with mixing by Jim Morris.
Track listing
Personnel
;Death
- Chuck Schuldiner – vocals, guitars, arrangements, production
- Shannon Hamm – guitars, arrangements, vocals on 1996 demo
- Scott Clendenin – bass
- Richard Christy – drums
- Paul Payne – vocals on 1996 demo
- Steve Di Giorgio – bass on 1997 and 1998 demos
- Chris Williams – drums on 1996 demo, and 1997 demo of Bite the Pain
;Technical personnel
- Jim Morris - production, engineering, mixing, mastering
- Travis Smith - artwork
- Jay Speis - art direction, graphic design
- Eric Greif - legal & IP management
- Alex McKnight - photography
Charts
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