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Death
Origin Orlando, Florida, USA
Genre(s) Death metal
Progressive metal
Technical death metal[1][2][3]
Years active 1983–2001
Label(s) Combat
Relativity
Roadrunner
Nuclear Blast
Website www.emptywords.org
Former members
Last known lineup:
Chuck Schuldiner
Shannon Hamm
Scott Clendenin
Richard Christy
(See: full listing)

Death was an influential American death metal band founded in 1983 by guitarist and vocalist Chuck Schuldiner, and dissolved in 2001 after Chuck's death. Orlando is a major City in central Florida, USA and is the County seat of Orange County Florida. Florida ( is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States, bordering Alabama to the northwest and Georgia to the The United States of America —commonly referred to as the A music genre is a categorical and typological construct that identifies musical sounds as belonging to a particular category and type of music that can be distinguished from other Death metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal. It typically employs fast tempos heavily distorted guitars deep growling vocals morbid lyrics Progressive metal (often referred to simply as prog metal) is a sub-genre of Heavy metal music which blends the powerful guitar-driven sound of metal with the complex Technical death metal (also called tech death for short or also can be known as Progressive death metal) is a term used to describe bands in the subgenre Death In the Music industry, a record label can be a Brand and a Trademark associated with the Marketing of music recordings and Music Combat Records was an Independent record label from New York City. Relativity Records is an American Record label founded by Clive Davis. Roadrunner Records (Roadrunner Music Group BV is a Record label that concentrates on heavy metal bands Nuclear blast may refer to Nuclear explosion Nuclear Blast, a record label Charles Michael "Chuck" Schuldiner ( May 13 1967, Long Island, New York &ndash December 13 2001) was an Shannon Hamm is a Death metal guitarist He played with Death from 1996 until their break-up in 1999 Scott Clendenin is a Death metal Bassist. He played with Death from 1996 until their breakup in 1999 Richard Christy (born Thomas Richard Christy; April 1 1974 is an American Drummer, Comedian, Actor, Radio personality The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Death metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal. It typically employs fast tempos heavily distorted guitars deep growling vocals morbid lyrics Charles Michael "Chuck" Schuldiner ( May 13 1967, Long Island, New York &ndash December 13 2001) was an They are widely credited as the creators of the death metal genre, from the release of their first demo in 1983. Death metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal. It typically employs fast tempos heavily distorted guitars deep growling vocals morbid lyrics The band's label debut Scream Bloody Gore is considered a template of the genre, described as death metal's first archetypal document. Scream Bloody Gore is the first Album released by Death in 1987 [4] Schuldiner was the only member to remain in the band from start to end (although even he was not ever-present). Music biographers have referred to Schuldiner as the father of death metal. [5]

Contents

Biography

Early history (1983–1987)

Founded in 1983 by Chuck Schuldiner under the original name of Mantas in Orlando, Death were among the more widely known, early pioneers of the death metal sound along with California's thrashers Possessed. Charles Michael "Chuck" Schuldiner ( May 13 1967, Long Island, New York &ndash December 13 2001) was an Orlando is a major City in central Florida, USA and is the County seat of Orange County Florida. California ( is a US state on the West Coast of the United States, along the Pacific Ocean. Possessed is an influential American Death metal band and was formed in 1983 in San Francisco, California. In the late 80s, the band was both a part of and integral in defining the death metal scene which gained international recognition with the release of albums by a number of area acts. Death metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal. It typically employs fast tempos heavily distorted guitars deep growling vocals morbid lyrics

Together with Kam Lee (Barney Lee), and Rick Rozz (Frederick DeLillo), Schuldiner started to compose songs that were released on several rehearsal tapes in 1984. Kam Lee (born Barney Kamalani Lee) is an American Singer. He is best known for his vocal contributions to an early incarnation of Death Rick Rozz (born Frederick DeLillo January 9, 1967) is an American guitarist These tapes, along with the Death by Metal demo, circulated through the tape trader world, quickly establishing the band's name. Death by Metal is the first demo released by Death in 1983 The demo was originally released under Mantas in 1983 but was reissued on In 1984, Schuldiner dissolved Mantas and quickly started a new band under the name Death. Its members included the same Rick Rozz and Kam Lee. Another demo was released, called Reign of Terror.

In 1985, after the Infernal Death tape was recorded and released, Schuldiner fired Lee and Rozz in favour of Repulsion's bassist and guitarist, Scott Carlson and Matt Olivio, respectively. Repulsion were an early Grindcore / Death metal band from Flint Michigan. However, a drummer could not be found; consequently the band dissolved again. Schuldiner moved to San Francisco and recruited DRI drummer Eric Brecht, but he was not happy with this incarnation of Death and moved back to Florida without a band. The City and County of San Francisco is the fourth most populous city Dirty Rotten Imbeciles (also known as DRI) are a Crossover thrash band that formed in 1982 There, in 1986, Schuldiner got an invitation from early Canadian thrash band Slaughter to play on their album, which he accepted, moving to Canada. Slaughter was a Canadian Death metal band They formed in Toronto Ontario Canada in 1984 playing Thrash metal and briefly featured Chuck Schuldiner Country to "Dominion of Canada" or "Canadian Federation" or anything else please read the Talk Page This only lasted two weeks, however, as he found the situation not to his liking. He returned to Florida, then moved quickly to San Francisco again, where he joined with Chris Reifert. Chris Reifert (born 1969) played drums on the Death debut album Scream Bloody Gore and is the person that started pioneering the Death/Doom They recorded the Mutilation demo, which led to a deal with Combat Records, owned by Important Distribution (later becoming Relativity), that enabled them to record the first LP. Combat Records was an Independent record label from New York City.

Scream Bloody Gore was released in 1987. Scream Bloody Gore is the first Album released by Death in 1987 Schuldiner briefly had a second guitar player, John Hand, but Hand did not appear on the album (though his photo did). By this time Schuldiner moved back to Florida, leaving Chris Reifert behind. There, Schuldiner teamed up with former bandmate Rick Rozz and two members of Rozz's band Massacre, Terry Butler and Bill Andrews. Massacre was an American Death metal band They were formed in 1983 by Allen West and Bill Andrews and soon joined by Kam Lee, best known for his vocal Terry Butler, of Tampa Florida, US, is the current bassist in the Death metal band Six Feet Under.

The mid-era (1988–1992)

In 1988, that lineup recorded Leprosy. Leprosy is the second album released by Death in 1988 Notably different in tone and quality from the 1987 debut it is the first example of Scott Burns After much gigging in support of the album, including a quick and ill-planned tour of Europe, Rick Rozz was fired in 1989. After a tour of Mexico featuring guitarist Paul Masvidal (later to re-emerge in the Death camp), a replacement was found in James Murphy, with whom the third album Spiritual Healing was recorded in Tampa in the summer of 1989. Paul Masvidal (January 20 1971 is the guitarist singer and a founding member of the recently reunited Progressive metal band Cynic and currently also leads the James Franklin Murphy ( July 30, 1967, Portsmouth Virginia USA is an American Guitarist. Spiritual Healing is the third album released by Death in February 1990 Murphy was sacked relatively quickly. By this time Schuldiner abandoned the "gore" lyrical theme for more social critique as Death's musical style progressed from a more brutal style of death metal to a more complex, progressive death metal. Death metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal. It typically employs fast tempos heavily distorted guitars deep growling vocals morbid lyrics Death metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal. It typically employs fast tempos heavily distorted guitars deep growling vocals morbid lyrics Additional melody was added to the band's sound as well as more varied timings and song structures.

In 1990, on the eve of a European tour, Schuldiner decided against traveling, claiming at the last minute that he felt the tour was not adequately organized (and citing the group's previous disorganized European tour in 1988). Andrews and Butler continued with the tour of Europe as 'Death' regardless and recruited roadies Walter Trachsler (guitar) and Louie Carrisalez (vocals) to replace Schuldiner, much to Schuldiner's shock and disgust. Schuldiner took legal action and Butler and Andrews were fired from the band.

Schuldiner abandoned the idea of a band set-up altogether and began working with session musicians only. Schuldiner hired Steve DiGiorgio and recruited Sean Reinert and Paul Masvidal from underground Florida band Cynic. Steve DiGiorgio (born November 7, 1967, Waukegan, Illinois) is an American musician Sean Reinert (born May 27th 1971) is the drummer of Cynic and Æon Spoke. Paul Masvidal (January 20 1971 is the guitarist singer and a founding member of the recently reunited Progressive metal band Cynic and currently also leads the Cynic is a Progressive metal band with incorporated Jazz fusion founded in Miami, Florida, United States. In 1991, Death released Human, which is considered a more technical and progressive album than their previous works. Human was Death's best-selling album yet, receiving many accolades and some MTV play for the group's first video, directed by David Bellino, for the track "Lack of Comprehension". MTV ( Music Television) is an American Cable television network based in New York City. Due to obligations with his primary band Sadus, DiGiorgio was forced to depart after the recording of Human and new bassist Skott Carino did Death's extensive world tour, from October 1991 until March 1992, in addition to appearing in the music video for "Lack of Comprehension". Sadus is an American highly technical Thrash metal trio from Antioch California. A music video is a Short film or video that accompanies a complete piece of music most commonly a Song with lyrics

During this period of 1988-92, Death was managed by Eric Greif, a rocky relationship that culminated in at least two lawsuits between Greif and Schuldiner. Eric Greif (born 1962 is a lawyer and entertainment personality known first for a management career within the Heavy metal musical genre in the 1980s and later within the However, when interviewed by Thrash 'n Burn, Schuldiner was characteristically mellow about what the writer referred to as his "gruesome collaboration" with Greif: "We just came to the conclusion that it was stupid just fighting all the time, taking each other to court and all that stupid shit. "[6] After his final break from Greif, Schuldiner managed himself for the remainder of his career.

The final years (1993–2001)

In 1993, Reinert and Masvidal left the group to continue with Cynic, Schuldiner being unable to persuade them otherwise. Cynic is a Progressive metal band with incorporated Jazz fusion founded in Miami, Florida, United States. Schuldiner replaced them with drummer Gene Hoglan of the recently dissolved thrash metal band Dark Angel, and worked with guitarist Andy LaRocque from King Diamond for Individual Thought Patterns. A drummer is a Musician who plays a Drum or drums particularly a Drum kit ("drum set" or "trap set" Marching percussion Eugene "Gene" Victor Hoglan II (born August 31, 1967 in Dallas, Texas) is an American Extreme metal Thrash metal (sometimes referred to simply as thrash) is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal that is characterized by its fast tempo and aggression Dark Angel was a Thrash metal band from Los Angeles. Their over-the-top style (extremely fast heavy and lengthy songs with lots of tempo changes lyrics and Andy LaRocque (real name Anders Allhage, born 29 November 1962, Göteborg, Sweden) is best known as the guitar player of the King Diamond is the heavy metal band that King Diamond formed after the split up of his First Wave of Black metal band Mercyful Fate. Individual Thought Patterns is the fifth Album by Death, released in 1993 LaRocque being obligated to his band, Schuldiner hired a then-unknown Ralph Santolla as touring guitarist. Ralph Santolla, born on December 8th is an Italian-American metal Guitarist He has played in many bands in the past most recently Deicide, Death was arguably at the peak of their commercial and popular culture success, and the video for the track The Philosopher even made it on to an episode of Beavis & Butt-head in 1994 (Beavis also parodies Schuldiner's vocals in a mock 'drive-thru' order of 'tacos, to go!' in death-metal style). Beavis and Butt-head is an American Animated television series created by Mike Judge. Also in 1994, Death abandoned their eight year relationship with Relativity and signed with Roadrunner Records, their European distributor. Relativity Records is an American Record label founded by Clive Davis. Roadrunner Records (Roadrunner Music Group BV is a Record label that concentrates on heavy metal bands For 1995's Symbolic, Santolla and DiGiorgio were exchanged for underground Florida musicians Kelly Conlon and Bobby Koelble. Symbolic is the sixth Album by American band Death. It was released on March 21, 1995 through Roadrunner Records Kelly Conlon is an American Bass guitarist He has been a member of Death, Monstrosity, Vital Remains, Infinity Minus One For the Symbolic tour Brian Benson was brought in on bass (Conlon having left the band prior to the tour due to conflicts with Schuldiner).

After Symbolic, Schuldiner dissolved the band and all ties with Roadrunner and began writing songs for Control Denied. The band Control Denied was formed by Chuck Schuldiner to create progressive / Power metal, mixed with elements of Death metal recognizable in It was during this time that Schuldiner briefly worked with Florida studio guitarist James Hogan. James Hogan (born March 7, 1974) is a guitarist from Florida who has worked with the bands Left For Dead, and with Matt Mercado 's Schuldiner was still contractually obligated to record an album under Nuclear Blast with Death, and so he used several songs that were intended to be used for Control Denied, as several song titles on The Sound of Perseverance were originally Control Denied song titles (though, this is disputed, as Chuck himself denied using Control Denied songs as "filler" on the Death album). Nuclear blast may refer to Nuclear explosion Nuclear Blast, a record label The Sound of Perseverance is the seventh and final Studio album by American band Death. He re-formed Death with Florida musicians Richard Christy, Shannon Hamm and Scott Clendenin to record 1998's The Sound of Perseverance with his new label Nuclear Blast. Richard Christy (born Thomas Richard Christy; April 1 1974 is an American Drummer, Comedian, Actor, Radio personality Shannon Hamm is a Death metal guitarist He played with Death from 1996 until their break-up in 1999 The Sound of Perseverance is the seventh and final Studio album by American band Death.

After the album and two supporting tours, Schuldiner dissolved Death to pursue Control Denied with Christy and Hamm. The band Control Denied was formed by Chuck Schuldiner to create progressive / Power metal, mixed with elements of Death metal recognizable in Clendenin was dropped in favor of Steve DiGiorgio, who was once again available, and an underground power metal singer named Tim Aymar. Steve DiGiorgio (born November 7, 1967, Waukegan, Illinois) is an American musician Power metal is a style of Heavy metal music combining characteristics of traditional metal with Thrash metal or Speed metal, often within As Schuldiner finished Control Denied's debut album, he was diagnosed with brain cancer, forcing the band to scrap plans for a US and Canadian tour. A brain tumor is any intracranial Tumor created by abnormal and uncontrolled cell division, normally either in the Brain itself ( Neurons As he worked on the second release, Schuldiner's condition improved, but the tumor left him in a weakened, vulnerable state. He contracted pneumonia and was placed in the hospital. Pneumonia is an inflammatory illness of the Lung. Frequently it is described as lung Parenchyma / alveolar inflammation and abnormal He was released and returned home where, one hour later, Schuldiner died on December 13, 2001.

The aftermath

The second Control Denied release has yet to be completed and is mired in a variety of odd legal problems involving its label, the musicians (who have publicly stated their desire to complete the album) and Schuldiner's mother. In 2004, Hammerheart Records released a CD made up of old, pre-Scream Bloody Gore demos, along with partial demos of the unfinished album. Karmageddon Media (previously known as Hammerheart Records) is a Dutch Independent record label specializing in Death metal, Black metal This was issued under the name Chuck Schuldiner, not Death, but their markedly unfinished state and lack of vocals led few to pay attention, aided by Schuldiner's mother's pleas for fans to stay away from it.

Members of Death have dispersed all throughout the landscape of metal and popular music. Some, like Gene Hoglan from Dark Angel and Andy LaRocque from King Diamond, already had made a name for themselves. Eugene "Gene" Victor Hoglan II (born August 31, 1967 in Dallas, Texas) is an American Extreme metal Dark Angel was a Thrash metal band from Los Angeles. Their over-the-top style (extremely fast heavy and lengthy songs with lots of tempo changes lyrics and Andy LaRocque (real name Anders Allhage, born 29 November 1962, Göteborg, Sweden) is best known as the guitar player of the King Diamond (born Kim Bendix Petersen, June 14, 1956, Copenhagen, Denmark) is a Grammy Award nominated heavy Others went on to do so, like Sean Reinert, who formed the legendary Cynic with fellow Death member Paul Masvidal. Sean Reinert (born May 27th 1971) is the drummer of Cynic and Æon Spoke. Cynic is a Progressive metal band with incorporated Jazz fusion founded in Miami, Florida, United States. Paul Masvidal (January 20 1971 is the guitarist singer and a founding member of the recently reunited Progressive metal band Cynic and currently also leads the Ironically, both of these pioneering death metal musicians have ended up in a progressive, ethereal rock band named Æon Spoke, laced with delicate guitars and Masvidal's soft croon. Æon Spoke is a Progressive rock band from Los Angeles It was created by members of Cynic and former members of Death, Paul Masvidal and Sean Reinert Richard Christy went on to gigs with Acheron and Iced Earth before joining The Howard Stern Show. Richard Christy (born Thomas Richard Christy; April 1 1974 is an American Drummer, Comedian, Actor, Radio personality Acheron is an American death / Black metal band originally based in Florida. Iced Earth is an American heavy metal band from Tampa, Florida that combines influences from Thrash metal, Power metal, The Howard Stern Show is an American radio show hosted by Howard Stern on Howard 100, one of two channels on the subscription-based Ralph Santolla has also played with Iced Earth, as well as Sebastian Bach, both of which were also stations for Steve DiGiorgio (he is still playing with Bach). Ralph Santolla, born on December 8th is an Italian-American metal Guitarist He has played in many bands in the past most recently Deicide, Sebastian Bach (born Sebastian Philip Bierk, on April 3, 1968) is a Canadian heavy metal singer best known as ex- Frontman Steve DiGiorgio (born November 7, 1967, Waukegan, Illinois) is an American musician While Santolla is now in Obituary and before this he was in Deicide. Obituary is one of the pioneering bands of the Death metal genre Deicide is an American Death metal band formed in 1987 The band has sold close to 500000 releases in the USA since the SoundScan era making them DiGiorgio also played for Testament and is still active with his original band Sadus. Testament is an American Thrash metal band from California. Testament has two Top 40 albums and one Top 50 album to its credit in the UK Sadus is an American highly technical Thrash metal trio from Antioch California. Bobby Koelble founded the Orlando rock-funk-Latin fusion group JunkieRush in 2000. James Murphy was also in Testament for a while, formed numerous projects such as Disincarnate (as well as stints with death metal bands Obituary and Cancer) and has made a name for himself. James Murphy may refer to James Murphy (electronic musician (born 1970 American Co-founder of DFA Jimmy Murphy (footballer (1910&ndash1989 Testament is an American Thrash metal band from California. Testament has two Top 40 albums and one Top 50 album to its credit in the UK Disincarnate was an early Technical death metal band fronted by guitarist James Murphy, also of Testament, Cancer, Obituary, and Obituary is one of the pioneering bands of the Death metal genre Cancer was a British Death metal band which released three steady mid-paced typical death metal albums Murphy also has been stricken with cancer and, along with Deron Miller of CKY, is organizing a Death tribute album to be released upon completion. Deron John Miller (born May 21, 1976 in Chester Pennsylvania, U CKY ( Camp Kill Yourself) are an American rock band from West Chester Pennsylvania. A tribute album is a recorded collection of Cover versions of songs or instrumental compositions Recently, Kam Lee formed the band Denial Fiend with Terry Butler. Kam Lee (born Barney Kamalani Lee) is an American Singer. He is best known for his vocal contributions to an early incarnation of Death Terry Butler, of Tampa Florida, US, is the current bassist in the Death metal band Six Feet Under.

Band logo

The original Death logo was re-drawn and re-vamped by Chuck Schuldiner
The original Death logo was re-drawn and re-vamped by Chuck Schuldiner

Schuldiner designed the Death logo and its various incarnations during the length of his career. In 1991, before the release of Human, he cleaned up the logo taking out more intricate details and the "T" in the logo was swapped from an inverted Cross to a more regular looking "T", one reason being to quash any implication of evil.

Band members

Last known lineup

Previous members

Guitarists

Bassists

Drummers

Discography

Demos

Albums

Live Albums

Compilations

Videography

See also

References

  1. ^ The Man-Machine Will Rock You: The Existential Paradox of Technical Death Metal, The High Hat, issue 9 (Fall 2007)
  2. ^ BNR Metal Pages
  3. ^ The simple technique behind a technical death metal band, Aardschok, November 1998
  4. ^ Allmusic.com Death Biography
  5. ^ ibid
  6. ^ Keeping Death on the Roads!, Thrash 'n Burn, February 1992
  7. ^ Emptywords.org Death biography
  8. ^ http://www.emptywords.org/RHinterview12-91.htm

External links

Voodoocult was a German Thrash metal band formed in 1994 by Phillip Boa, vocalist of the alternative band Phillip Boa & The Voodooclub. allmusic (previously All Music Guide) is a Metadata database about music owned by All Media Guide. MusicBrainz is a project that aims to create an Open content Music database
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