Death/Chuck Schuldiner Appreciation Thread

[yingmin]

Heheh, to each his own. What other dm bands do you like? Just out of curiosity

I like a lot of techy stuff like Gorod, Dying Fetus and Decapitated (though not "overly" techy like Viraemia or Rings of Saturn), a lot of the classic bands like Suffocation, Immolation, Morbid Angel, etc., more progressive bands like Opeth and Edge of Sanity, a fair amount of melodeath, and so on.

Also, this is a trifling point, and has nothing to do with me liking or not liking Death, but I've never considered them a death metal band. However much they contributed to the blueprint of what became death metal, to me they were always a thrash band. Kind of like Slayer: helped create death metal without necessarily being a death metal band themselves. Obviously some of you will disagree with that.

 

[groverj3]

Currently playing some Death covers in a band, Flesh And The Power It Holds, Spirit Crusher, Crystal Mountain and Misanthrope so far. The more I listen and play, the better it gets. Drumming on Sound Of Perseverance, amazing.

Yeah man, Richard Christy is a boss on the drums. He also played on the album Horror Show by Iced Earth. Didn't he leave music to be on The Howard Stern show or something random like that?

Death was pretty renowned for the drumming on most of their albums.

 

[groverj3]

I like a lot of techy stuff like Gorod, Dying Fetus and Decapitated (though not "overly" techy like Viraemia or Rings of Saturn), a lot of the classic bands like Suffocation, Immolation, Morbid Angel, etc., more progressive bands like Opeth and Edge of Sanity, a fair amount of melodeath, and so on.

Also, this is a trifling point, and has nothing to do with me liking or not liking Death, but I've never considered them a death metal band. However much they contributed to the blueprint of what became death metal, to me they were always a thrash band. Kind of like Slayer: helped create death metal without necessarily being a death metal band themselves. Obviously some of you will disagree with that.

I don't know, Scream Blood gore is pretty easy for me to classify as a DM album. I do agree though, that by the end of the band the label of Death Metal didn't really truly describe them. In the end though, very few bands are that easily classifiable.

Just my opinion of course

 

[watson503]

One of my favorite bands of all-time. Chuck has and always will be one of my biggest influences, what a loss when he died.

 

[Vhyle]

From what I understand, Chuck didn't know much theory. But he messed around with odd scales and "made up" his favorite scale, which so happens to be the harmonic minor. He liked the way it sounded so he used it quite a bit, hence is why a lot of Death's songs have harmonic minor scales in them.

 

[VacantPlanet]

Love Death, Chuck, and Control Denied. I'm not sure what the greatest metal album ever is, but TSOP is definitely a top contender. Chuck and Hetfield are by far my two biggest influences. I honestly think that Chuck should get a lot more respect than he does. In my mind, he was more important to the 90s metal scene than Dime. Pantera just kind of sputtered out around 96, but Death got better with each album. Really wish that they'd just release the last Control Denied album already.

 

[Krigloch the Furious]

I will now listen to Scream Bloody Gore.
Old school deathmetal cannot be touched. This new school shit just doesnt compare.

 

[Chuck]

Uhhh lol okay thanks?

 

[Vhyle]

I love the Human album the most, overall. For the songwriting, and it was their strongest lineup, in my opinion. Chuck jamming with Sean and Paul... you really can't go wrong there.

But for guitar tone and production, the Sound of Perseverance takes the cake. I LOVE the tones on that album.

 

[Danukenator]

Damn! The remaster of Human sounds amazing! My one gripe was that the album could have been a little more clear.

 

[Chuck]

Original production sounds good to my ears

 

[Seventary]

Great band! A huge influence.

 

[Rizzo]

Death changed my life!
Ok, puns apart, let's get serious: my top death metal band for sure and still probably my favourite metal band of all time. Surely changed my musical life and Chuck is one of my inspirations.
First time i listened to them i was literally blown away by hearing such aggression, technique and melody all at the same time. I remember thinking "i always listened to really raw, aggressive stuff or really technical and melodic stuff. that's the perfect blend!"

I own the entire discography except SBG that is too raw for my personal tastes but i'll try to get my hands on it in the future for completeness' sake (Leprosy and SH have been pretty hard to find, here in Italy).

I always found something magical in the songs, very fascinating atmospheres, loved the proggy approach.
Now that i know a little theory i can understand Chuck's abuse of the harmonic minor scale, which is a little disappointing speaking in terms of composition and general variety, but whatever! Still, he was able to create great riffs and harmonies that always kept the song going!

Speaking about the albums, i don't have a favourite one since any single one has its own vibe. But i can surely tell there isn't one bad release and i loved Human and ITP.
For what concerns the line-ups, i loved the work of Reinert, Masvidal, Hoglan, DiGiorgio, Murphy and especially LaRocque.
The other musicians never spoke to me as much. Sure, Christy's work on SOP is awesome but i think he kind of "overplays" on the drums for my tastes. Let's say, a little "show-offy".
Fun fact, i hate Shannon Hamm! Probably because he is the ultimate live butcher of others' solos.

Always loved Chuck's philosohphy too: "categories are for vegetables" and "it makes no sense being brutal for the sake of being brutal" are one of my favourites "artist quotes"!

 

[jrstinkfish]

I grabbed "Leprosy" from a store called Camelot here in Memphis back in 88, maybe 89. Changed me after one listen The triggered snare was a bit much, but it was the first album since "Reign in Blood" that turned my brain upside-down. Then I heard "Streetcleaner" and "Slowly We Rot" soon after, and my brain still hasn't recovered. So much good stuff released in that span between 88-91 -- those three albums, "Left Hand Path", "Harmony Corruption", "Blessed Are the Sick" ... on and on. I probably sound like an old coot, but nothing beats being around during the birth of a genre. Not much new stuff tickles my fancy.

And "Crystal Mountain" is also my favorite

 

[Chuck]

Haha sweet. I'm only 18 so I envy you! I greatly wish I could have alive and old enough to go see Death play or pickup a couple of their records.

 

[Rosal76]

Huge Chuck Schuldiner/Death fan here, too. Love his music and his positive attitude. One of the very few guitar players I like who's guitar solos are memorable. Also, one of the few bands that I know that didn't have to rely on extreme measures: musically, vocally, and graphically, to have a good career in death metal.

 

[Rosal76]

I don't think he knew much theory either, but I also don't get "freshness/innocence" part.

Every one will have a different opinion on this so this is mine...

Chuck wrote riffs that weren't overly complex, overly brutal and hyper fast like what Cannibal corpse, Morbid Angel and Monstrosity were playing at the same time and he didn't write solos that were so complex and chaotic like what Trey Azagthoth (Morbid Angel) was playing.

Chuck wrote music that was easy to understand and enjoy without forcing his music down the listeners throat or having the listener try and decipher what he and the band were playing to actually enjoy it.

 

[fps]

From what I understand, Chuck didn't know much theory. But he messed around with odd scales and "made up" his favorite scale, which so happens to be the harmonic minor. He liked the way it sounded so he used it quite a bit, hence is why a lot of Death's songs have harmonic minor scales in them.

Listening to Death this makes a lot of sense, I love his use of moving 5ths as harmonies, gives an almost middle eastern tone to some of his riffs like Spirit Crusher, where he has the root 5th 9th and moves them up half a step and back, and harmonises in 5ths. So cool, one of the great things about guitar, that visual approach can create some very strange otherworldly sounds.

Really like his soloing too, like Trey Azagthoth, it might not be "perfect", but it fits perfectly.

 

[fps]

Yeah man, Richard Christy is a boss on the drums. He also played on the album Horror Show by Iced Earth. Didn't he leave music to be on The Howard Stern show or something random like that?

Death was pretty renowned for the drumming on most of their albums.

He drummed on Horror Show!? I had no idea, what a great album that is, the last great Iced Earth for me.

 

[fps]

Rosal76 - disagree about the soloing, there's a fair amount of nuts lead on Sound of Perseverance, very individual, he may not have been as advanced as Trey technically, but I think the approach is similar in some regards.