December 13, 2001. The day dawns grey – and it’s about to turn black. The news breaks that , one of the most crucial musicians ever to inhabit the swamps of death metal, has died from a brain tumour at the age of 34.
Schuldiner’s former band, , were pioneers of the death metal scene, and linchpins of metal’s underground. But even after he steered the band away from their twisted, provocative beginnings into more technical and progressive areas, they never achieved the mainstream breakthrough they deserved. Death began life in Florida in 1983 under the name Mantas, well before there was anything even approaching a death metal scene.
The original line-up featured the 16-year-old Chuck – calling himself ‘Evil Chuck’ – on guitar, plus singer/drummer Kam Lee and bassist Rick Rozz. The trio began to write and record demos, circulating them through the tape trading network. The 1984 tape would be an early landmark in the developing death metal scene.
“I love the , bands like Maiden and Saxon,” Chuck later said. “But I wanted to combine their style with the harder end; with what Slayer and Venom were doing. I didn’t set out to create something new – it just happened.
” By the end of 1984, Mantas had changed their name to Death. The demo followed, along with several live tapes. But in a taste of what was to come, the line-up was thrown into chaos when Schuldiner parted ways with Lee and Rozz.
He brought in bassist Scott Carlson and guitarist Matt Olivio from.