Chuck Schuldiner (5/13/1967-12/13/2001)

Written by Alex Fidel on December, 13, 2010

Death: Real feelings

Today marks 9 years since Chuck Schuldiner, the driving force behind his bands Death and Control Denied, passed away from a brain stem tumor. Death started out in 1983 as Mantas, arguably the first death metal band. They later evolved from a bare-bones simplicity into incorporating deep melodies, progressive complexity, and powerful lyrics. No Death album is truly the same, as the lineup has changed from album to album. Many Death veterans include Paul Masvidal and Sean Reinert, guitarist/vocalist and drummer of Cynic (respectively), guitar virtuoso James Murphy, and Howard Stern Show host and drummer Richard Christy. Chuck had the kind of integrity that you Dueling Barstools readers find familiar in someone like Gary Johnson; very real, down-to-earth, and an affinity for integrity, despite the cutthroat nature of the music industry.

After completing the first Control Denied album in 1999 (after putting Death on hold in 1998), Chuck began to feel a sharp pain in his neck. It turned out to be a rare form of brain stem cancer. He underwent surgery and radiation therapy, and eventually regained health and began writing and recording for the second Control Denied album. He recorded all of his guitar parts, as well as Richard Christy’s drum parts, before he began to get sick again. This time he did not beat the cancer.

A legal battle ensued between the Schuldiner family and the record label. This lasted up until about a year ago, when it was announced that Relapse Records was to pick up the completion of the second Control Denied album, as well as reissue classic Death and Control Denied material and merchandise. So far, Control Denied’s The Fragile Art of Existence has been reissued in deluxe 2CD/3CD editions, and the entire Death catalog is available on iTunes for the first time.

Please take the time to check out Death and Control Denied. If you’re into more brutal metal, I suggest you check out Death’s Scream Bloody Gore, Leprosy, and Spiritual Healing. If you are into more melodic/complex metal, check out Death’s Human, Individual Thought Patterns, Symbolic, The Sound of Perseverance, and Control Denied’s The Fragile Art of Existence.