Review by Mladen on December 8, 2023.

Impressive. With this re-release, we are talking about 1991, and Eastern Europe — more precisely, what was then called Czechoslovakia. Root were a fairly young band, Czechoslovakia wasn't really on the metal map, and Hell Symphony was only their second album. Now, we've checked out our CD list to see what else was available at that time, or before it. There were more than a few amazing albums, so maybe we shouldn't be as surprised, but we are. And, 18 years later, still a bit scared.

Honestly, maybe the wrong band took the name "Behemoth," as it is a perfect description for Root on Hell Symphony. It couldn't be heavier, the guitars sound like bloody machine guns and the drums are properly frightening. We'll just say that one of the tracks consists of nothing but ritual drums and vocals, and it's still perfect, and that might give you an idea. But, don't think that it is all about Big Boss' vocals — he doesn't even enter until five-something minutes of merciless thrashing in the beginning of the album have beaten you up from all directions. His croaks are sparse and sound weird even today, and on a couple occasions where he uses his baritone, the experience is a bit uneasy. Yeah, he is grown up and Satanic, and he means it: learn from that.

The overall sound couldn't be described as "modern," but it isn't old either. It is just damn real, like a perfectly recorded rehearsal right in your room. There are also three bonus live tracks, and we wish there were more. Basically, Hell Symphony is a loose concept, or, better, an album with a direction. It's a singular one and you don't have to be a genius to guess it, as every song is named after one of Satan's incarnations (Beelzebub, Leviathan, Loki, Abaddon, Asmodeus...).

Hell Symphony’s songs themselves aren't classics. They are made up of standard parts, and taken out of context some of them feel incomplete, but as a whole, Hell Symphony is perfectly rounded. From insane thrashing, high speed staccatos, through dark invocations to doomy heaviness, Root take you on a trip through some very dark dimensions.

In a way, Hell Symphony can be taken as predecessor. You have to know what happened afterwards to be able to appreciate what Root did in 1991. Take a look at what, much later, Rotting Christ or Moonspell started doing and in the "root" you will find this band. Then, if the drums make you think of Hellhammer, and the vocals of Attila Csihar, let us remind you that Hell Symphony came a couple of years BEFORE De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas.

So, in essence, the basic rough and alive sound on Hell Symphony was a perfect choice, and no one can say how many others saw something more than just what was recorded, and applied those ideas to their own music. Even today, you can take an idea from Hell Symphony and modernize it, and if you had something in your head that wasn't initially on Hell Symphony, and you manage to record it, you'll get another unique band.

Damn, Root knew what they were doing. In the time when brutality combined with otherworldliness was just starting to appear, they weren't afraid to stand out and do it. So, the band name is perfectly fitting after all. Classic.

Rating: 9 out of 10

Review by JD on May 31, 2009.

Root's "Hell Symphony" is a veritable Black hymnal of songs that the infernal one would approve of from the first strain of sound on this album, showing that they are band to be reckoned. The music can be described as being so very dark and strong, without ever coming across as being cartoonish. This is truly Satanism showing it's full intelligence, which is Christianity's number one worst nightmare coming all too true.

With very ruthless music that is a perfect blend of metal and blasphemous idealism through the most unearthly vocals I have heard in a very long time...making these hymns for Satan sound so incredibly sinister. Looking at it from another perspective... they are pretty good musicians in their own right, but it is still the whole lyric thing that makes me smile as their message seems to make even the staunches of Catholics more than a little uneasy to hear.

This is a Hell Symphony (Yeah I know... bad use of the album name)... without being complex or overly done. I can only describe them a striped down Meatloaf of Black Metal. Complex without seeming to be over anyone's head. That is very hard to pull off at the best of times yet the mighty Root does that the best that I have come across... while scaring the Christianity right out of you at the same time.

It is true that I like their other album "The Book" just a tad bit more than this one, but do not get me wrong here... "Hell Symphony" is a great album all on it own. I like this album enough that I think I am going to finish off this review with the ratings, and listen to it for the sheer pleasure of it. Root is one of the best on the world Black Metal scene today, and will always be.

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Musicianship: 8
Atmosphere: 8
Production: 8.5
Originality: 8
Overall: 8

Rating: 8.1 out of 10