Symbolic
Symbolic is the sixth studio album by the American death metal band Death, released on 21 March 1995. It follows Individual Thought Patterns from 1993 and sits between that record and The Sound of Perseverance in 1998. The band had started out with the raw brutality of Scream Bloody Gore and Leprosy, and here they lean towards a more melodic style while keeping the technical edge of their earlier work.
It is a one-off line-up affair: Bobby Koelble plays guitar and Kelly Conlon bass, and neither appears on any other Death album. Gene Hoglan is on drums for the second and last time. The album has been widely acclaimed and is often ranked among the finest death metal records. A remastered edition followed in 2008 with five bonus tracks, which is a good way in if you are new to it.
Symbolic on Riffology
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Symbolic: tracklist, credits and charts
9 tracks · 50:39Tracklist
- 1SymbolicChuck Schuldiner6:32
- 2Zero ToleranceChuck Schuldiner4:49
- 3Empty WordsChuck Schuldiner6:22
- 4Sacred SerenityChuck Schuldiner4:28
- 51,000 EyesChuck Schuldiner4:29
- 6Without JudgementChuck Schuldiner5:28
- 7Crystal MountainChuck Schuldiner5:07
- 8MisanthropeChuck Schuldiner5:04
- 9Perennial QuestChuck Schuldiner8:20
- Produced by
- Jim Morris, Chuck Schuldiner, Chuck Schuldiner
- Recorded at
- Morrisound Recording (Tampa, Florida)
- Recorded
- Late 1994
- Mixed at
- Morrisound Recording
- Engineered by
- Jim Morris
- Labels
- Attic, Roadrunner
- Length
- 50:39
Line-up
- Kelly Conlon · bass guitar
- Gene Hoglan · drums (drum set), percussion
- Bobby Koelble · guitar
- Chuck Schuldiner · guitar, vocals
Peak chart positions
| Chart | Peak |
|---|---|
| Danish Vinyl Albums (Hitlisten) · 2025 | 6 |
| Croatian International Albums (HDU) · 2025 | 8 |
| German Rock & Metal Albums (Offizielle Top 100) · 2025 | 10 |
| Norwegian Physical Albums (IFPI Topplista) · Combined | 10 |
| Swedish Vinyl Albums (Sverigetopplistan) · Combined | 10 |
| Hungarian Albums · Combined | 12 |
| Swedish Physical Albums (Sverigetopplistan) · Combined | 19 |
| UK Rock & Metal Albums · 1995 | 30 |
| Poland 2 · Combined | 32 |
| German Albums · 2025 | 35 |
All 17 charts
| Finnish Albums · 2025 | 37 |
| Scottish Albums · Combined | 50 |
| Austrian Albums · 2025 | 64 |
| UK Album Sales (OCC) · Combined | 66 |
| Dutch Albums · 1995 | 68 |
| Swiss Albums · Combined | 87 |
| Belgian Albums (Flanders) · 2025 | 111 |
From MusicBrainz, Wikipedia and Wikidata. Only what the sources record is shown.
Released the same week
Also released on 21 March
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The best of 1995
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Releases and pressings
How we know the release date wikipedia + musicbrainz
| Source | Date | Note |
|---|---|---|
| MusicBrainz | 21 March 1995 | |
| Wikipedia infobox | 21 March 1995 | |
| Wikidata | March 1995 | |
| US release | 21 March 1995 | earliest US date |
| UK / Europe release | 21 March 1995 | earliest UK or European date |
17 editions
| Date | Country | Label | Barcode | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | CA | Attic | 777499200821 | other |
| 1995 | XE | Roadrunner Records | 016861895723 | other |
| 1995 | XE | Roadrunner Records | 016861895723 | other |
| 1995 | KR | Jigu Records Corporation | 016861895723 | other |
| 1995 | JP | Far East Metal Syndicate | 4988015055641 | other |
| 1995 | PL | Metal Mind Productions | 5907785014732 | other |
| 1995 | CA | Roadrunner Records | 016861895723 | other |
| 21 March 1995 | US | Roadrunner Records | 016861895723 | original |
| 21 March 1995 | XE | Roadrunner Records | 016861895716 | original |
| 5 August 1996 | JP | Roadrunner Records | 4988015062564 | other |
| 8 April 2002 | XW | Roadrunner Records | 016861895709 | other |
| 2008 | XW | Roadrunner Records | 0016861794606 | remaster |
| 1 April 2008 | US | Roadrunner Records | 016861794620 | remaster |
| 29 October 2008 | JP | Roadrunner Records | 4527583007692 | remaster |
| 2014 | US | Metal Blade Records | 039841531213 | other |
| 2017 | XE | Roadrunner Records | 016861895723 | other |
| 9 May 2025 | US | Roadrunner Records | 603497819362 | other |
Cover art sources
deezer · upscaled: major: best source 1200x1200, upscaled to 1500 (x1.25)
| Source | Size | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| deezer ✓ | 1200×1200 | upscaled: major: best source 1200x1200, upscaled to 1500 (x1.25) |
| coverartarchive | 1180×1200 | upscaled |
| fanarttv | 1000×1000 | upscaled |