Even though it is pretty much established that the laurels of the originators of death metal
belong to Possessed, it is Chuck Schudliner (vocals, guitar, songs)
& Co. that can be credited with making it popular (with their
name, if nothing else). Death's classic albums "Scream Bloody Gore"
(1987) and "Leprosy" (1988) set the mark for death metal music for
the next decade. Then the band began to evolve, concentrating more
on technical skills and experimentation rather than on raw grind of
the early works. Albums "Human" (1991) and "Individual Thought
Patterns" (1993) received high critical acclaim for their
technicality. As for the band's lineup, it kept changing, so soon
enough the only remaining member was Chuck himself. In the late
1990s, he also became interested in power metal and started a
project called "Control Denied," but did not abandon his main
project either. "The Sound Of Perseverance" (1998) also included
Shannon Hamm (guitars), Scott Clendenin (bass), and Richard Christie
(drums, also played for Iced Earth).
But that proved to be Death's final album. Chuck Schudliner passed
away on December 13, 2001 from the brain tumor. He will forever
remain a legendary figure in the world of death metal.
SPIRITUAL HEALING (1990)
RATING: ***
BEST SONGS: "Living Monstrosity," "Altering The Future," title track
One of my first introductions into the world
of death metal. In my mind, the only things that separate this album
from thrash are deathly growls and a lot more complexity in music.
Lots of blasters, anger, and aggression, but still enough melody and
brains, not to make it a Cannibal Corpse-like joke. "Altering The
Future" has particularly interesting lyrics, very closely reflecting
my own (pro-death penalty and pro-abortion; then again: what would
you expect from the band with the name "Death"?). "Living
Monstrosity" reflects the horrors of life of a drug addict's
offspring, but Schudliner is really going overboard with symbolics
("born without arms, legs, and half a brain -- born addicted to
cocaine": come on, Chuck, if you are born without all these integral
parts, cocaine addiction would be the least of your problems!).
Still a neat album, although I don't listen to it as much, mostly
because the music is still kinda hard for me to
digest.
THE SOUND OF PERSEVERENCE (1998)
RATING: ****
BEST SONGS: "Scavenger Of Human Sorrow," "Story To Tell," "Flesh And The Power It Holds"
What can I say... even though by no means am
I a fan of this sort of music, this is definitely an album that
needs to be heard by the masses. The complexity of the material is
overwhelming. Every song has like 20 riffs, and not of the simple
kind. The main question is, as correctly stated by one of the people
who's heard this album, "how does he come up with this stuff?" The
vocals of Schudliner have undergone a drastic change: no longer a
growl, it's a very aggressive high pitched scream. Every song is
about 6 to 8 minutes, with enough multi-layered tempo-changes to
confuse Schnitke and other 20th century classic composers. I can't
even start to dissect the songs, everything is way too complex, and
I can't even tell any two apart (except for the brilliant
semi-acoustic semi-instrumental piece, "Flesh And The Power It
Holds"). Definitely not for everyday listening, but the art and the
skill of the band is undeniable. Oh yeah, and there's a "Painkiller"
cover, which I'll describe in more details in JUDAS PRIEST
COVERS section.
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