The Sound of Perseverance is the seventh and final studio album by Florida 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 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.

Overview

In an interview done in March 1999, Chuck Schuldiner stated that the acoustic guitar-driven "Voice of the Soul" was actually written during the Symbolic sessions. Death has produced only two instrumentals (the other being "Cosmic Sea" from Human). "The Moment of Clarity" was expected 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. Schuldiner stated in an interview with Metal Maniacs the following year that none of his compositions for Control Denied had been used to fill space for a Death album. A few Control Denied songs were retooled as Death songs and released on The Sound of Perseverance. The Judas Priest song Painkiller was intended as a bonus track for Japan, but Nuclear Blast recommended that it be included on all releases.

Deluxe editions

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.

Reception

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". Chronicles of Chaos reviewer Paul Schwarz said the album "excels in all the right places. Great thrashings, technical solos, memorable choruses and clear vocals are the order of the day".

Track listing

Personnel

Death

Additional personnel

Production

Charts