This is it. After more than 10 years of waiting, we have got it. The one, the only, true thrash metal album. Death have had six releases, made some drastic changes in their style and have finally achieved it.

Despite being labeled as the fathers of death metal, only their first album is truly death metal, mainly due to vocal abilities of main-man Chuck Schuldiner, who was never really a death vocal. His singing has steadily and gradually evolved into more and more shrieking, until now on this album we hear him really screaming. Not many people came to terms with it and have accepted, but it is what thrash metal is all about. Its most distinct feature are the vocals and Chuck has shown what thrash vocals should sound like. Screaming, aggressive, full of feeling, coming right from the heart. True thrash metal that is.

Not only the vocals, but the rhythm section is another display of the perfect sound of thrash. The drums can't be quite distinctly heard, they are no separate instrument, they are together with music, a living part of it. There is no "bang-bang", I'll rip your head off, there is steady drumming, supplying the guitarists with superb feeling of rhythm. The bassist puts up a very good effort, playing his part with a lot of technique and precision. His trade-mark bass-sound will be left through the years for generations and generations and every bassist will learn from it how to get heard without be boring or interfering in the overall guitar sound.

And of course, Chuck's contribution to the album is not through with his vocals. He has had six albums, and on every one of them has played genius solos, never getting the listener tired of them or repeating him, sheer genius. And the last album in Death's existence goes to show that six albums weren't enough to give everything away. His genius has never really been doubted, but it has also never ended. On "The Sound..." we don't get the separate solos, we are used to when listening any band, we have solos and rhythmic guitar-work united in one whole. This is why I really love saying that Death have gathered pieces of their music together and have done the most memorable thrash album with the most coherent and full sound. Pure 100 percent genius.

This an album comes at a time when thrash's glorious days have long gone and death's heyday passed as well. And however it shows how young thrash metal is and how easy it was forgotten. This is also the display of the best developings of a bands sound - the early albums, not so convincing, and the last ones the best ones.

This is the most mature, true, pure and by-the-book thrash metal album, uniting technique and speed in one in a fabulous manner, producing the best creation of the dying beast of thrash metal. It is a masterpiece and that is not exaggerated.

Rating: 10