The Sound of Perseverance
The Sound of Perseverance is the seventh and final studio album by American death metal band Death, released on 31 August 1998 through Nuclear Blast. It follows Symbolic from 1995 and closes a run that began with Scream Bloody Gore in 1987. Chuck Schuldiner leads a line-up that appears here for the first and only time: guitarist Shannon Hamm, drummer Richard Christy and bassist Scott Clendenin.
The record sits where death metal meets progressive, technical and thrash styles, and it is widely regarded as one of the band's most accomplished releases. AllMusic's Jason Hundey has called it one of the greatest heavy metal albums of all time. Schuldiner died of brain cancer-related complications in 2001, after which Death came to an end, so this is the last chapter of the story, and a fine one to hear.
The Sound of Perseverance: tracklist, credits and charts
9 tracks · 56:14Tracklist
- 1Scavenger of Human SorrowChuck Schuldiner6:55
- 2Bite the PainChuck Schuldiner4:30
- 3Spirit CrusherChuck Schuldiner6:45
- 4Story to TellChuck Schuldiner6:34
- 5Flesh and the Power It HoldsChuck Schuldiner8:26
- 6Voice of the SoulChuck Schuldiner3:43
- 7To Forgive Is to SufferChuck Schuldiner5:56
- 8A Moment of ClarityChuck Schuldiner7:22
- 9PainkillerDowning, Halford, Tipton6:03
- Produced by
- Jim Morris, Chuck Schuldiner
- Recorded at
- Morrisound Recording (Tampa, Florida)
- Mixed by
- Jim Morris
- Engineered by
- Jim Morris
- Label
- Nuclear Blast
- Length
- 56:14
Line-up
- Richard Christy · drums (drum set)
- Scott Clendenin · bass
- Shannon Hamm · guitar
- Chuck Schuldiner · guitar, vocals
Singles
- “Spirit Crusher” · 1998
Peak chart positions
| Chart | Peak |
|---|---|
| Austrian Albums | 35 |
| German Albums | 60 |
| Dutch Albums | 93 |
From MusicBrainz, Wikipedia and Wikidata. Only what the sources record is shown.
Released the same week
Also released on 31 August
Every year →
More from Death
Full discography →
The best of 1998
All of 1998 →
More on Nuclear Blast
The label →
Releases and pressings
How we know the release date wikipedia 1998-08-31; musicbrainz + wikidata 1998-09-15 (15 days apart, likely another territory)
| Source | Date | Note |
|---|---|---|
| MusicBrainz | 15 September 1998 | |
| Wikipedia infobox | 31 August 1998 | |
| Wikidata | 15 September 1998 | |
| US release | 15 September 1998 | earliest US date |
15 editions
| Date | Country | Label | Barcode | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | DE | Nuclear Blast | 727361633714 | other |
| September 1998 | FR | Nuclear Blast | 727361633721 | other |
| 15 September 1998 | US | Nuclear Blast | 727361633721 | original |
| 23 September 1998 | JP | Nuclear Blast | 4988002375721 | other |
| 2000 | DE | Nuclear Blast | other | |
| 2001 | US | Nuclear Blast | 727361633721 | other |
| December 2001 | RU | Irond | other | |
| 2005 | MX | Witch of the West | 727361154820 | other |
| 15 November 2005 | US | Nuclear Blast | 727361633721 | other |
| 15 February 2011 | XW | Relapse Records | 781676715428 | other |
| 15 February 2011 | XW | Relapse Records | 781676715527 | deluxe |
| 15 February 2011 | US | Relapse Records | 781676715527 | deluxe |
| 15 February 2011 | US | Relapse Records | 781676715428 | other |
| 18 November 2016 | US | Relapse Records | 781676715411 | other |
| 9 July 2021 | XE | Relapse Records | 781676715411 | other |
Cover art sources
coverartarchive · cropped: cropped from 2804x2794 to 2794x2794
| Source | Size | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| coverartarchive ✓ | 2804×2794 | cropped: cropped from 2804x2794 to 2794x2794 |
| fanarttv | 1000×1000 | upscaled |