Death

One of the more storied bands in metal, the band known simply as Death is recognized as one of the most influential bands in the field of death metal. Their origins date back to 1983, with the first incarnation of the band, then known as Mantus, featuring guitarists Chuck Schuldiner and Rick Rozz along with drummer Kam Lee. Lee and Rozz would leave to form Massacre in 1985, though Rozz would return, along with other ex-Massacre members, in 1987. Schuldiner eventually moved to San Francisco and teamed up with drummer Chris Reifert (who would later form Autopsy) and it was this duo who recorded the legendary debut, Scream Bloody Gore. A raw, primitive affair, bearing quite a similarity to another death metal pioneer in Possessed, Gore created quite a buzz at the time, and the seeds of the infamous Floridian death metal scene had thus been planted. Schuldiner then moved back to Florida, hooked up with the aforementioned Massacre members, and two more landmark albums, Leprosy and Spiritual Healing, were released, with the band's popularity steadily increasing.

In 1991, Schuldiner decided to take the band to another level. With an all-new lineup, 1991's Human presented a different view of death metal, mixing advanced technical musicianship with brutal riffing. As influential as the early material was on early death metal bands, Human and the later Death albums have proven equally influential on a host of 90's technical death metal bands. Now with regularly shifting lineups, Death continued progressing in the technical death metal field until 1996, when Schuldiner decided on another change. Dissatisfied with his own vocals, and desiring a less death metal style, he disbanded the group and started the project later to be known as Control Denied. After some dabblings with that project, Schuldiner decided to record one more album as Death, that being The Sound Of Perseverance, after which he formally revived Control Denied.

In 1999 Chuck was diagnosed with a brainstem tumor, and he spent much of the next two years battling cancer. Though it was reported in 2001 that he might be improving, eventually the disease took over, and sadly he passed away on December 13, 2001. Almostly universally reported as a truly nice guy, he will be missed by all metal fans, but his legacy will live on.

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Discography

Studio Live Compilation Video

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