A retrospective on Chuck
Schuldiner (Death & Control Denied) has been
long overdue. Unfortunately Chuck will not be
around to read these words. Chuck was 34 when he
passed away on Thursday, December 13, 2001,
after a long bout with brain stem cancer. It was
a sad day for metal. I'd been researching and
writing this piece for months when the news
came. Chuck's suffering is over, but his memory
remains bright. In '96 I penned a Death article
for my zine Yawning Vortex to spread the word
about Chuck's new project, Control Denied. My
services seemed imperative again when Chuck was
diagnosed with cancer in '99. I'd intended this
to be a retrospective, not a memorial.
Reconstructing history without Chuck's
participation is something I was forced into.
Chuck had been ill for over two years when I
first started this article. He and I last spoke
on a tour bus in December '98. The love Chuck
had for his fans is mutual. The fans' support
proves some metal heads are indeed sensitive
individuals. Sorrow for the loss of our hero is
overwhelming. We wish he could have pulled
through, but find solace in the 8 albums of
uncompromising metal Chuck forged. Chuck's
lyrics to "Suicide Machine" tell us "How easy it
is to deny the pain of someone else's
suffering," but we cannot overlook Chuck's
musical contributions or his endurance in
fighting his illness.
The Birth of Death
The energetic metal axeman and gravel-throated
vocalist didn't always have 8 studio albums
under his belt. He was born Charles Schuldiner
on May 13, 1967 in Long Island, New York, the
son of Mal and Jane Schuldiner. Chuck's began a
long way from the famous Whisky in Hollywood or
the Dutch Dynamo Open Air Festival. In the quiet
Orlando, Florida suburb of Altamonte Springs
Chuck spent most of his life. It was late 1983,
according to metal journalist Borivoj Krgin,
when Chuck was joined by guitarist Rick Rozz
(a.k.a. Frederick DeLillo) and drummer/vocalist
Barney "Kam" Lee to form the Mantas, the
precursor to Death. The primitive metal birth
pangs for Chuck & Co. were filled with an urge
to shock audiences, fueled by bravado and
clashing personalities. Par for the course for
teenage kids forming a band, much less one of
the heaviest metal acts on Earth!
Chuck enjoyed recalling simpler times. He told
Guitar School, "When I first started the band,
I'd only been playing guitar for six or seven
months-I couldn't even play a lead. My main goal
was to bash out the most brutal riffs ever with
the most brutal guitar sound ever, but I always
had an urge to become a better guitarist. Though
things were very crude back then, I still had a
vision of becoming a very musical death metal
band. I knew it would take time to get to that
point, and I worked hard to get there."
Complexity must evolve from something. Chuck
pointed out to Ill Literature that it was "Rick,
Kam and myself-we didn't even have a bass
player. Reflecting on his youth, Chuck told
RIP's Jon Sutherland, "If you listen to my early
demos, you can hear the Venom influence." In a
chat with Metal Mania video show, Chuck cited
Kiss, Anvil, Mercyful Fate, Exciter, Raven,
Slayer, Hellhammer, Celtic Frost as "early stuff
I feel lucky to have been a part of." Voices
from the Darkside recently interviewed Kam Lee
online. "It was during high school," said Kam.
"I was starting to get into darker metal like
Venom, Hellhammer, and Mercyful Fate. I'd bring
the albums to show classmates and watch them get
spooked 'cause the stuff was so dark ...This
caught the attention of Rick [Rozz]...Then Rick
asked me if I would try out as a drummer...Later
that week Rick contacted Chuck, and everything
from that point is history!"
"History" leaves much to fill in. Borivoj Krgin
pointed out "they had a bassist for one very
rough recording (pre-Death by Metal), but it was
certainly no one that was in the band long
enough to qualify as a 'member.'" Mantas' first
official demo Death by Metal (Summer '84) had a
homegrown cover with a picture of Chuck, Kam,
and Rick in front of a sign bearing the words
"Danger, High Voltage." DBM's original track
list was "Legion of Doom," "Mantas," "Power of
Darkness," "Evil Dead," and "Death by Metal."
Kam told Voices from the Darkside, "It was
recorded in Chuck's parent's garage...and 'Power
of Darkness' was always on it...Chuck did the
vocals on that one..."
Mantas' first gig supposedly occurred on August 1,
1984, but trouble was brewing. Borivoj's liner
notes to the Death reissue CDs explains that
"lack of local support for the band's music was
at least partly to blame for the constant
internal turmoil within the group and Mantas'
eventual break-up in late 1984...Within weeks,
however, Chuck reconciled with Rozz and Lee..."
Chuck told Metal Mania, "I wanted to reform a
new band with a new lineup called Death. I
unfortunately had to resort to my old
members..." The bass-less Death by Metal was
then "reissued" with a black cover adorned with
skulls and an inverted cross. Listening to early
Mantas & Death tapes, one notices Kam and Chuck
vying for vocals. Chuck screams "Power of
Darkness"-and on "Beyond the Unholy Grave" both
duel on grunts and screeches. "He'd get tired
after a while, so I picked up the vocal duties.
First I tried to sing in a normal voice, but
that didn't work, so I went for the more brutal
approach," Chuck reminisced to Guitar School.
Death concentrated mostly on rehearsal tapes to
make the rounds in the underground.
The Chuck/Rick/Kam lineup only played a few
shows-as Kam put it, "covered in blood and
gore...black makeup around the eyes and stuff!"
Hirax singer Katon DePena contacted Chuck in the
early days of the metal underground: "He was
young at the time but already showed signs of
becoming one of the elite in the underground. He
was very into Hirax. He had all our demos. Chuck
sent us the rehearsals because he wanted to see
what we thought about his band. We thought they
were great and encouraged him to keep making
tapes...I have some favorite demos and that's in
there with all of them. Fuckin' great...just
complete raw metal." Borivoj recalls first
hearing about Mantas "at the
Metallica/Anthrax/Raven gig at the Roseland in
New York City back in August 1984. I happened to
see a flyer of theirs...put up by two guys, Mark
[Conrad] and John [Gross], who used to do a
fanzine called Guillotine in Florida...it
contained a phrase along the lines of 'heaviest'
or 'sickest', which caught my attention. So I
wrote to the address on the flyer...included
cash for the cassette, and got a letter backfrom
Chuck a few days later along with a copy of the
Death by Metal demo."
Death's second official demo was October 1984's
Reign of Terror, which Borivoj divulges "was
never actually mixed-and cost a whopping $80 to
record!" Death gigged at Ruby's Pub in Brandon,
Florida, on November 9th and December 30th. The
latter show was taped by John and Mark from
Guillotine and sold as the only official live
recording. Rick was out of the band soon after.
The 3-song Infernal Death demo appeared in March
of '85. Several more rehearsal tunes were
committed to tape by Chuck and Kam when Scott
Carlson (bass) and Matt Olivo (guitar) of Flint,
Michigan's Genocide relocated to Florida in May
to join Death.
Terry Butler, Bill Andrews, Chuck, James Murphy
Scott was the first to contact Chuck: "I mailed
him a copy of our demo...I read about them, and
they sounded so close in spirit to what we were
doing...I sent Chuck a tape after reading about
him in Guillotine. Matt and I were a musical
concept without a drummer or a second guitarist.
And Chuck and Kam were without a bassist or
second guitarist. It sort of made sense to
merge. We packed all of our stuff into one Chevy
Malibu and drove straight down there. 24 hours
straight till we knocked on Chuck's front door."
Practices took place in the Schuldiner's garage.
Matt recalls, "It was probably an average of a
110 degrees in there, but we loved it. It was
intense and so much fun. Because we already knew
the songs. There were never any lulls in
rehearsals." Scott remembers the only sour
point: "At first it was bliss. We found a
kindred spirit in Chuck and John and Mark from
Guillotine. But Kam was going through personal
problems, and he wasn't really able to fully
able to commit to the band. We were so young and
naive that we just saw it as him being a wimp or
a poser...It was just at the time that we were
mad at Kam, but in the big picture I understand
his position. I don't have anything bad to say
about him. I've hung out with him since and had
fun. The death metal world ended up a being a
better place because of it. You got Massacre,
Death, and Repulsion out of it." Matt focused on
memorable times: "We had so much fun and talked
for so long about playing death metal. We would
sneak into this drive-in theater and watch the
same movie every night just to get out. It was
just the time-of-your-life type of thing. It was
contrasted by the situation with Kam. That was
the only thing stopping us from going to the
moon."
Matt and Scott paint a picture of Chuck, plugging
away at a fast food job to accumulate equipment.
"Here was Chuck from Death," Matt explained,
"the coolest up and coming metal band, and he's
wearing a Del Taco uniform with his hair pulled
up." He may have worked his ass off, but, as
Matt noted, "Chuck always had great support from
his parents. He was never out in the cold with
his metal." Jane and Mal Schuldiner were
supportive of their son and his band. Scott
relishes their time living at the Schuldiner
house: "Chuck's mom was too sweet to deny us.
She made dinner for us every night. She was an
angel. Chuck's dad was always cool. They never
gave him grief about anything...except like
taking out the trash... when it came to Chuck's
future they never stepped in and made decisions
for him." "We had talked to someone at Combat
that said 'make a demo and you've got a deal,'"
said Scott. "Matt and I went down the mall where
Kam hung out to talk him into coming back to the
band. He was totally against it. That's when we
knew...we weren't gonna get anywhere. We decided
to go back home and regroup. And Chuck went and
started his adventure. "We were all young....
When we left we didn't really know how to talk
to Chuck about it. We knew it was gonna bum him
out. Instead we talked to his mom, and she
talked to him about it first." San Francisco was
on Chuck's horizon Chuck and Repulsion awaited
Matt and Scott. "He just wished us all the luck
in the world and we did the same for him," Scott
said.
By September, Chuck's relocation to San Francisco
was in motion. He teaming up with ex-D.R.I.
drummer Eric Brecht and a bassist also named
Eric. This lineup recorded the lightning fast
rehearsal demo dubbed Back from the Dead by
fans. It was also during this first jaunt to San
Francisco that Chuck, now handling all the
vocals, stepped foot on stage again. Borivoj
Krgin maintains "they had this idea to make
Death the fastest and heaviest band in the
world, which Chuck quickly grew tired
of-unsurprisingly. Eventually, he went back to
doing what he did best-playing super-heavy riffs
at varying speeds, always concentrating first
and foremost on crushing brutality rather than
speed." This lack of dynamics eventually led to
Chuck's return to Florida by December of '85. A
quote from the German zine Deathfu&k unravels
Chuck's brief trip to Toronto, Canada, in
January '86 to join death/thrash band Slaughter.
"It's unbelievable...Evil Chuck, who just joined
Slaughter in early January, left 'em again in
the same month! Official news from Slaughter
headquarters tell that Chuckie baby had to leave
'em coz of a total lack of band dedication..."
It was Slaughter bassist Terry Sadler who, years
later, explained perhaps the biggest reason for
Chuck's hasty departure to Snakepit's Laurent
Ramadier in 2001: "He lived in my parents'
basement with me for a while and my parents had
no idea. They found out and the shit hit the
fan. They wanted him and me out! I think Chuck
overheard our fighting and took off...We had no
bad feelings towards Chuck...but rumors started
flowing...We now wish Chuck the best of luck
with his health, and we're not kids anymore
slagging each other!"
Chuck wasted no time in heading out west again
after his return to Florida. Chuck hooked up
with drummer Chris Reifert on his second San
Francisco jaunt. Chris revealed that he met
Chuck before any big formal advertising could be
done for musicians. "Early in the year. I heard
he was looking for members out here. I already
knew about the group...I was pretty excited...I
got the gig. He was going to put an ad on the
radio on a local station. A friend of mine told
me about it before it even got aired. I got the
phone number." Chris furiously pounded the skins
behind Chuck's whirlwind guitars and acidic
vocals as early as a two song rehearsal tape
from late March '86. Chuck's bond with Chris
Reifert was the defining point for improvement
in Death's seedling sound. Chieko Redmer, then a
young metal fan, met Chuck at Ruthie's Inn in
'86: "I could barely even walk straight. I
remember that he was standing against the wall
inside, and I ploughed right into him-almost
knocking him down! I didn't know who he was, but
he helped me up and saw that I was very sick! I
remember telling him I was about to puke. He was
so nice that he escorted me outside so I could
throw up in the planter! This was a pretty nice
thing to do for a total stranger, not to mention
it being embarrassing for me! He was a total
gentleman. He presented me with a business card
with the slogan 'Corpse Grinding Metal' on it!
Very suave! We started hanging out after that,
and I met Chris. They would practice at Chris'
house in Concord. I'd go over there to watch...I
never forgot how funny Chuck is! His wacky
personality and silly sense of humor... He would
say these goofy things back then like
'understand rubberband?' and 'know what I mean,
jellybean?' Those days were great times...No
responsibilities. It was a bummer when Chuck
went back to Florida, but...Chuck never seemed
to lose his humbleness even though he got
famous."
In April, Chuck and Chris quickly followed up
Combat's request for a pro demo with Mutilation,
the most polished of the early Death recordings.
According to Bernard Doe of Metal Forces,
Mutilation was made with "Chuck also playing
bass." Doe conceded Mutilation was "the band's
best recording to date; both in terms of
material and production." The underground and
Combat Records were in agreement about
Mutilation. Despite the fact that the band was
still only a duo, Combat signed them up to a
five-album deal.
Land Of No Return: The Professional
Chuck's career as a professional metal guitarist
was just beginning, and before anything else
could be done a first album would have to be
recorded. In summer of '86, Chuck flew back to
Florida with Chris with big pipe-dreams about
their first album ever, far from the recording
capitol of the world. It was in Florida where
Chris notes Death "recorded a version of the
album and it got scrapped. Then we started over
again in L.A...It sounded really good at the
Music Grinder."
While back in S.F. Chris and Chuck befriended
neighboring thrash band Sadus, whose bassist,
Steve DiGiorgio, would later record on Death's
Human and Individual Thought Patterns and
Control Denied's The Fragile Art of Existence.
Says Steve: "They got a hold of Sadus' first
demo. The phone rang one day, and the dude on
the other end says, 'Hey, we're in a band called
Death from Concord. We dig your demo. Do you
guys wanna hang out?' So we got directions and
drove out to Chris' house. We met Chuck there.
We were just fresh out of high school, so we had
a lot of time to kill during the day. We asked
him where his band was, and he said, 'They'll be
out of school in a couple of hours.' And we're
like, 'School? These guys are young.' He played
the Mutilation demo. His 'band' got there a
little later...just Chris. 'How the hell do you
guys sound like that?' So, we went in Chris'
room...and they ran through songs. We figured we
didn't know many bands in the area. We were
always on our own, and here's a couple of guys
our age doing our type of thing." Steve
continues, "Back then we were young, and no one
had money. Jon Allen had a drum kit that was
barely hanging in there. But Chris had a nice,
huge Tama set, and Jon was just blown away.
Chris was like, 'But we can't practice in my
house very often. And Sadus had a killer
practice space. So, this deal got worked out
where we loaned them our practice space if Chris
would leave his drums set up so Jon could play
it. That eventually led to me filling in on bass
with them. Sadus would set up and go through our
set. And they'd get up there...All the Sadus
guys would pull up a pillow and watch us. 'Time
for a break.' We'd all go jump in the pool at
Darren's [Darren Travis, guitarist/vocalist of
Sadus] house or something. It went like that for
a few months...one band in a way. I was the
common denominator. They were looking for a bass
player the whole time, but no one was around."
Chuck expressed his approval of Scream Bloody Gore
to Metal Forces, "Randy Burns gave us a
super-heavy production...The only thing I kind
of regret now is not hanging around for the
final mixes. I think the rhythm guitar could
have been a bit louder in the mix." Not too
shabby for the 5 days Chris claims it took to
track SBG. "Right after we did the LP as a
two-piece," Chuck told Metal Forces, "we ran
into this guitarist, John Hand, whom we really
liked at the time, so we got him into the band.
He played with us long enough to have his photo
appear on the back of the album, but he just
couldn't play our newer material, so he had to
go. "Steve DiGiorgio remembers the lack of Death
gigs from that period, "We decided to do some
shows, and just figured we'd double session it.
Chris double sessioned for Desecration. We were
gonna do a Desecration, Sadus, and Death show
where me and Chris both double setted. But that
never happened because Chuck went back to
Florida and never came back." Something was
making Chuck homesick. He told Metal Forces,
"When I first moved to California back in late
'85, the scene was just starting to flourish.
There were lots of places to play, and the fan
support was just overwhelming. Unfortunately, as
time went by, most of the clubs closed down and
the scene just sort of died out. I knew there
was no way I was gonna be able to get a band
together there, so I decided to go back to
Florida. I told Chris he could move back down
with me, but he said he didn't want to." Chuck
and Chris were metal brothers, though, and Chuck
wished him "good luck in the future" in his
thanks list on his second album.
Scream Bloody Gore was released in May 1987. Chuck
was far from taking a rock star attitude after
getting signed and seeing his first album
issued, telling Metal Forces that "the reaction
from the fans has been just amazing...I really
have to thank everybody for their great support,
because it wasn't for them, we wouldn't be here
right now." SBG was an extension of the
over-the-top, pile-driving riffs and gory lyrics
from Death's demos. The gore Chuck would
outgrow, but the riffs would only become more
memorable as time passed. Chuck splattered
listeners with corpse-riddled tunes that had
much in common with flicks like George Romero's
Dead trilogy or the Italian "giallos" of Dario
Argento, Lucio Fulci, and Umberto Lenzi. Horror
is different from the jokingly satanic lyrics of
Venom and Hellhammer. When asked about satanism
in metal, Chuck told Metal Forces, "I'm not into
it."
Perseverance And Moments Of Clarity
It was Florida where Chuck based himself for the
rest of his career. 1988's Leprosy saw Chuck
leaning toward polished productions and an inner
conflict between the horror fan and the emerging
philosophical, down-to-earth Chuck. Leprosy
reunited Chuck briefly with Rick Rozz, who
brought with him Massacre bandmates Terry Butler
(bass) and Bill Andrews (drums). "Pull the
Plug," in particular, became the song fans went
absolutely nuts for whether in their bedrooms or
a crowded club. In his own words, Chuck told us
that "Pull the Plug" is about "being on a life
support system and having the right to die."
Chuck explained to Metal Hammer, "the lyrics are
more serious and on the next album they will get
even more realistic." Leprosy saw Chuck's foray
into touring, on a double bill with Dark Angel.
The road was-like life in general-filled with
ups and downs. Ex-Dark Angel guitarist Jim
Durkin informed me, despite rumors that have
been spread that he "got along really well with
Chuck and everyone before I left the tour and
didn't look back. Chuck and I had a lot of fun
hanging out and jamming. It had nothing to do
with us two."
Leprosy was the appetizer for Chuck's new
direction, but Spiritual Healing (1990) was a
cerebral feast-paving the way for every Death
album to follow. "Living Monstrosity," in
Chuck's own words, is about cocaine abuse among
pregnant women, while "Altering the Future"
tackles abortion. At 22, Chuck's guitar playing,
songwriting skills, were reaching new heights.
On Spiritual, Chuck's razor-sharp lead guitar
abilities took flight-and his solos were
bolstered by another young shredder, James
Murphy. [Murphy too has battled cancer recently,
and we wish him the best!] Chuck told Guitar
Magazine, "I started practicing more and came up
with the idea that, for this band to move
forward musically, we'd need a cleaner approach,
something real dry and in-your-face...Our
rhythms also became a lot more complex..." The
lineup mutiny Chuck endured when the rest of his
band went off to Europe without him tested his
strength, but Chuck was far from quitting.
Ex-manager Eric Grief, notes: "Chuck's
contention was that he did not feel the
Spiritual Healing tour of Europe was adequately
organized. Considering Death's previous negative
European experience with the Belgian agency
Metalysee (that tour being one of the worst
experiences Chuck had encountered as a musician
thus far), he did not want a repeat of that. He
kept exclaiming that he wanted his 'next
European tour to rage for the fans'. Chuck also
had mounting personal issues at the time, and no
manager to fall back on. Bill and Terry
countered by claiming that Chuck waited until
the very last minute to pull out, and they felt
his apprehension was not warranted. They argued
that Chuck had missed several opportunities to
bring Death back to Europe and that they were
sick of waiting...so they went anyway...That
bold move was the end of Bill and Terry."
For Human (1991), Chuck recruited Florida-based
Cynic members Paul Masvidal (guitar) and Sean
Reinert (drums), and Sadus' Steve DiGiorgio
(bass), which led to an injection of the
technical edge Chuck had been striving for.
Chuck, Paul, and Sean dug progressive metallers
Watchtower, but Human still retained the
signature Death sound. Chuck explained the
genesis of "Suicide Machine" to Rock Hard, "In
America, there's a doctor who invented a machine
that can deliver sick and suffering people to
death. I think it's a great invention. When
somebody really is incurably ill...and it's his
wish to die, then we must allow him that choice
before an endless suffering takes place."
On Individual Thought Patterns (1993) Chuck
furthered his sonic experimentation. Chuck hired
ex-Dark Angel skinsman Gene Hoglan, King Diamond
lead guitarist Andy LaRocque, and Steve
DiGiorgio Speaking of his new comrades, Chuck
told Metal Hammer, "One by one very gifted
musicians but perfectly fitting in the musical
concept of Death." Chuck told Watt, "I hope ITP
lifts metal as an art form to a higher level...I
don't set myself any boundaries." Chuck first
voiced his intentions to evolve by finding a
melodic vocalist in '93 to Guitar School: "In
the future I plan to do a more melodic,
straightforward metal side project with a singer
in the Rob Halford style."
Symbolic (1995) was the album on which Chuck's
assailed massive heights. Heavy, moody,
emotional, and full of technical twists and
turns. Gene Hoglan returned for Symbolic, but
Steve DiGiorgio was unavailable. The second
guitar spot was filled by Bobby Koelble.
Symbolic was one that Chuck would continue to
build on with his next two albums. "Do you
remember when things seemed so eternal? / Heroes
were so real... / Their magic frozen in time."
The words Chuck wrote for "Symbolic" send a
shiver up my spine, because I know that not only
was Chuck my hero, but I know he was such a huge
role model for thousands of young musicians
worldwide.
Steve DiGiorgio, Gene Hoglan, Chuck, Ralph
Santolla
Shannon Hamm, Richard Christy, Chuck, Scott
Clendinin
After coming off the road in '95, Chuck hooked up
with drummer Chris Williams (Talonzfury) and
began working on his new project, dubbed Control
Denied. Guitarist Shannon Hamm met Chuck through
Chris Williams. "We became really good friends,"
Shannon said. "Then Chris invited Scott
[Clendenin, bass] who was also in his band. So
we all came from the same place here. We did a
couple of demo tapes." Among Chuck's prospects
for Control Denied singers was Warrel Dane, from
Symbolic tour openers Nevermore. Commitments to
Nevermore prevented that, but Chuck didn't give
up, though Control Denied had to be put on hold.
He was only too aware that Death fans were still
hungry for more. Chuck told Metal Maniacs, "I do
things when I feel they're right. There was
label interest in Control Denied, but I felt
that the time was right to bring Death back."
Another slight lineup change occurred here.
Shannon explained , "That's when we started
working on the Perseverance stuff...and got
Richard [Christy] in on drums."
The Sound of Perseverance (1998) bludgeoned
listeners with infectious heaviness from Chuck's
introductory lead burst. Unaware of his fading
mortality, Chuck had written "A Moment of
Clarity", which tells us: "Life is like a
mystery / With many clues, but with few answers
/ To tell us what it is that we can do / To look
for messages that keep us from the truth." At
the Ventura, California, Perseverance gig I hung
out with Chuck for the first (and last) time. He
signed my LPs and CDs, and I apologized for
being such a fan-boy. But he understood. "I'm
the same way," he said, "like with KISS." I
spent the afternoon inside the venue, with no
one around but Chuck's friend Maria Abril. It
was unreal watching Chuck jam unaccompanied
before everyone showed up for soundcheck. He
didn't kick me out or wonder what I was doing
there. As a matter of fact, he was one of the
kindest musicians I've ever met!
A shocking press release was issued by Chuck in
spring 1999, just after tracking for the Control
Denied album, The Fragile Art of Existence, was
completed. "Toward the end of our time in the
studio, I started experiencing some pain in my
upper neck which I initially thought was a
pinched nerve or strained muscle. Having
completed the recording I consulted with a
chiropractor followed by a massage therapist and
acupuncturist who recommended I go for an
MRI...Well, I was right about the pinched nerve
but unfortunately it was being caused by a brain
stem tumor. "I am in my fourth week of radiation
therapy with some of the most sought-after
physicians in the field. I am also blessed with
the immense love and support from my family and
friends which is such a big part of getting
through something like this. To try to put this
into simple terms is obviously difficult but let
me say this: it is a mind, body and soul
expanding experience. The treatment has been
going well and with this type of aggressive
radiation the prognosis is very good. Patience
is something I have learned to embrace in my
fourteen years of living music and now it is
time to further master the art of patience on my
road to recovery. "I've always felt a personal
connection between the music and the
fans/friends who support it. It is that support,
that goes beyond the music itself, which I
appreciate with all my heart and soul."
The words sent Death fans reeling with sympathy
for their ill metal comrade. Months of radiation
followed, during which time The Fragile Art of
Existence was released. A medical fund was
organized for Chuck. He lacked insurance that
would cover the enormous expenses such a
volatile disease as cancer brings. Chuck's
family's assets were being poured into the best
care he could possibly receive. The Schuldiners
encountered much friction from hospitals that
were reluctant to treat Chuck without being paid
up-front. "Every single dime has been for him,
but Chuck would do it for me 1,000 times over, "
Chuck's sister Beth told MTV News.
The Fragile Art of Existence is what Chuck had
wanted the public to hear since '93. Clear
production, a solid lineup, and songs loaded
with themes both personal and relevant to all
people. The epic direction was made more
accessible by the powerful voice of Tim Aymar
(Psycho Scream). The title track closes out the
disc with the prophetic lines: "No time for
self-pity / No time for dwelling on what should
have been / But is yet to be." In "Believe"
there are further messages laced with experience
from Chuck's life. Chuck tells us: "If I was
paid for disappointment, I would be a wealthy
man / The magic lives in sincerity, in truth,
behind the thoughts I choose to stand... /
Awaiting discovery". Chuck told Metal Maniacs,
"These are words and things I need to
re-embrace-not for music, not for that outlet-I
need to re-embrace key words for a new
survival...Life is fragile."
Just before Chuck underwent surgery, MTV News
covered his story online on the web. Family,
friends, and fans braced themselves as Chuck
entered the hospital. Chuck made another
statement to the metal community following his
successful surgery: "I am alive and letting the
metal flow! I just finished writing the last
song for the new Control Denied album...100%
trend free. The responses to The Fragile Art of
Existence have been really awesome. Thank you
for embracing it! I also want to thank everyone
around the world for the incredible support you
have shown me. I read the emails and the letters
and appreciate your kind words and honesty...I'm
settling down here in Florida, feeling good and
looking forward to getting busy again with the
new record and tour to thank all my metal
brothers and sisters in person with some new
metal...Shazaamm!"
Recovery went awry, even though we had hoped with
all our metal hearts that Chuck would defeat
cancer and continue to astound us with new slabs
of raging metal. It was spring 2001 when Chuck
fell more gravely ill. Maria Abril, who worked
for nearly every label Death & Control Denied
have been on was Chuck's friend from her days at
Relativity Records. She spearheaded online
auctions on Chuck's behalf. The donations and
love flowed from the metal community, but all
the money in the world can't erase the horrible
side effects of experimental chemotherapy drugs
and the gruesome killer known as cancer.
By November 2001 Chuck's condition seemed to have
improved somewhat. He even emailed
Emptywords.org, the official Death & Control
Denied website, something he rarely did. Only
weeks later Chuck was hospitalized again with
pneumonia-his mother constantly at his side.
Those who knew feared each day that we would
lose Chuck. The news we all dreaded came, when
Yvonne Kluitman from Emptywords tearfully
informed us that Chuck had passed away on the
afternoon of Thursday, December 13, about an
hour after returning home from the hospital.
Chuck was human-and enjoyed simple things like his
dogs and cats ("The Guys"), canoeing, collecting
records, and cooking. Chuck, a humane soul who
was especially fond of his pets, rescued his dog
Heidi when she was a puppy from the horrid fate
of being trapped in a bag and left to die in a
dumpster. Never one to shrink from popularity
with metal fans and the intricacies such fame
brought with it, Chuck told Guitar World, "I'm
proud that I've never had a drug problem or
complained that success sucks and shot myself
like Kurt Cobain. Sorry, but success is
something people like me dream about." When it
came to Chuck's concept of metal, he was
uncompromising. Ex-Death guitarist Matt Olivo
told me shortly before Chuck's death, "He
doesn't have one dishonest bone in his body when
it comes to his own music. He has to do his own
thing." Chuck's old manager, Eric Greif
explained how Chuck stared misery in the face,
and slayed it with optimism: "One particular
moment will live on in my brain forever: we were
traveling somewhere in snowy Sweden... the only
guys still awake, having a deep conversation
about our lives, our futures, and the band. I
was quite down at the way things were going. He
put his arm on my shoulder and pointed at the
stars that were shining clearly. He said I had
nothing to fear-that fate would lead the way and
that things would turn out as they were meant
to. Chuck was like that-there were moments of
sheer depth, honesty and conviction...."
As for me, I can only say that I feel fortunate to
have known Chuck Schuldiner, a true heavy metal
hero, even for a brief time. We won't forget
you, Chuck, and perhaps we'll meet again on the
tour bus to infinity...
REST IN PEACE BROTHER Line-Up:
Chuck Schuldiner - vocals & guitar
Shannon Hamm - guitar
Scott Clendenin - bass
Richard Christy - drums
A pioneer leads the way and
establishes new standards. Too often words like
"vision" and "genius" are bandied about and
handed out like trinkets with little thought as
to their true meaning. In the handbook of
underground metal, however, one man clearly
shines as the true originator and visionary of
an entire genre. Singer/songwriter/guitarist
Chuck Schuldiner defines the word "pioneer."
Behind the careful guidance of Schuldiner, Death
became one of the most respected and innovative
bands in the metal scene. Death strove to create
their own sound, and Schuldiner’s passion and
dedication to this single principle resulted in
nothing less than the creation of an entire new
genre of metal. Death metal defined the
underground in the early ‘90s, firmly
establishing Schuldiner’s home state of Florida
as the Death Metal Capital of the World.
1998 marked Death’s first appearance on Nuclear
Blast Records when the band released their
seventh album, The Sound of Perseverance. The
album returned Death to the top of extreme music
after a three-year absence and featured their
strongest line-up yet: Shannon Hamm (guitar) and
Scott Clendenin (bass) from Control Denied and
drummer Richard Christy (now with Iced Earth),
who Schuldiner dubbed "the most amazing drummer
to come along in the last decade." Extensive
touring followed, including a headline run
through the States with HammerFall supporting
and appearances at Europe’s major festivals like
Dynamo.
The undeniably bright future of Death, however,
turned into a cloudy forecast of apprehension
and uncertainty when Schuldiner was diagnosed
with brain cancer. With the help of family,
friends, fans and organizations like MusiCare,
he was able to moderately control the cancer
with an operation, but after a short time in
remission, the cancer returned. Schuldiner
remains fighting for his life to this day.
Standing as a last will and testament to the
legacy of Death, Nuclear Blast proudly presents
the first live Death record and last Death
release, Live in L.A. (Death & Raw). Recorded on
a cool December night at the legendary Whisky A
Go Go in Los Angeles, CA, Live in L.A. (Death &
Raw) perfectly captures the distilled purity of
live music. An unquestionable human touch comes
through in the soundboard recording, which
retains a gritty intensity that’s missing on
overdubbed live records. No overdubs, no
corrections, no apologies. Just Death live. For
the last time.
ED ROMAN CARRIES A BIGGER SELECTION OF
USA BC RICH'S THAN ANY OTHER DEALER IN THE WORLD
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