25 anniversary reissue of ROOT killer second album! Released less than a year after their opus Zjeveni!
Hailing from the obscurity of pre-second wave Czech black metal, Hell Symphony first saw the light of day in 1991 and fast became a canon of underground extreme metal.
ROOT was founded in Czechoslovakia (now Czech Republic) at the end of 1987. Although they have released 10 full length albums during their nearly 30 year history, most of their fans cite their first two Zjeveni and Hell Symphony as the band's best output. Similar to their countrymen MASTER'S HAMMER, rather than trying to push the limits of speed or aggression as many of their black metal contemporaries did, these two albums are more focused on building atmosphere and using rhythmic patterns to hypnotise the listener.
Review
...as many good records as they've put out since this time, I'd still consider this one of their greatest moments, eclipsed only by offerings like The Temple in the Underworld where they took these components and ramped up on both the emotional impact, the note selection, the contrast between snarling menace and unusual accessibility. Anyone searching the back stacks of the black or death metal archives owes him or herself a favor in checking this out, especially one of the versions with the live bonus tracks, which sound even more magnificent in some cases than their studio counterparts. Root. Ever poignant, rarely faltering. - From the Dust Returned 5/5
