Death
 

It's about time somebody came in to this hellhole and posted about some real metal; the kind of stuff that inspires you, challenges you, and makes you think while punching you in the face with a fistful of chains. I've been burning stupid bands in here off and on and I figure it's time to lay down some positive material before the populace gets uppity.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...Death_band.png

Death was an American death metal band formed in 1983 in Orlando, Florida (where most good metal comes from). At the time, Florida was a hotspot for death metal in the United States and produced a number of amazing bands including Obituary, Morbid Angel, and Deicide (none of which I expect anybody in this forum to know about). While all these bands are utterly badass in their own ways, Death were in some estimation the primogenitors of the majority of death metal heard today in the United States. The lead guitarist and vocalist, Chuck Schuldiner, was the only constant member and was the primary creative force in the band. He recruited friends and members of other bands to write albums, record, and tour, and this roster included people like Paul Masvidal (Cynic, Aeon Spoke), James Murphy (Obituary, Testament), Andy LaRoque (King Diamond), Ralph Santolla (Iced Earth, Deicide), fretless metal bassist Steve DiGiorgio, drummer Richard Christy (Howard Stern Show) and drummer Gene Hoglan (Dark Angel, Opeth, Unearth, Dethklok, etc. etc. etc. etc. etc.). Death released seven studio albums between '83 and '01 until Schuldiner was diagnosed with a malignant cancerous brain tumour. The metal community came out in numbers to raise money to pay for his cancer treatments (the dude was not anywhere near Gene Simmons rich) but they left his immune system weak and on December 13th, 2001 he died of complications of pneumonia, leaving behind a legacy arguably as big or larger than Pantera's Dimebag Darrell (yeah yeah bite me).

ITH I'll be reviewing and commenting on Death's seven albums in chronological order.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...loody_Gore.jpg

Scream Bloody Gore was the first full-length studio album released by Death after the release of several demo tapes and EPs. All the instruments on the album apart from drums (which Schuldiner apparently had a hand in arranging) are played by Chuck, including both lead and rhythm guitar and bass. SBG is widely believed to be one of the first real "death metal" albums, and lyrically it included themes relating to zombies, the movie Evil Dead, general gore, and demonic possession. While the production is nowhere near the sonic quality of modern metal albums, the songs are undeniably brutal and continue to kick the ass of most two-bit "musicians" these days. If you are familiar with other death metal bands then SBG will likely seem the most "normal" to you, as it was the precursor to Death's exploration of other musical and lyrical themes and levels of complexity. This album was recorded in regular ol' E tuning (because dropped doesn't necessarily mean good) and contains some decent guitar solos but mostly just a collection of sick riffs and terrifying vocals. For fans of Slayer, SBG can be said to be Death's Show No Mercy; it essentially demonstrated the talents of the members at the time and is obviously the bands' first release. In this case however, SBG is more complicated and technically more advanced but written entirely by only one member. :thumb:

Next album later today, although Leprosy is my least favourite.

not bad, not bad. looking forward to this thread :thumb:

So will I.......:)

What makes you say that?

I hope this lives up to my expectations as I quite like Death. Although my fave albums don't tally with the majority at all but then I remember the debut falling onto my record deck in 1987 and being blown away by it. ROFL at not knowing about certain bands. I think you may be in for a shock noob.

Well blow me down, I didn't expect all the tr00 kvlt people to come out of the woodwork. It seemed like all the threads on here since I came in were about A7X and the new Devil Wears Prada album :nono:

Hope I can live up to your expectations.

I've listened to 2 of those 3 and I really like Death as well.

Symbolic is wonderful.

I DL'd 'The Sound of Perseverance' the other day.
Totally blown away.

Death has always bored me, everything just seems off, especially in comparison to european metla bands.

I rather like the name of the band.
Person 1: Who are you listening to?
Person 2: Just some good ol... DEATH!!!!!!!

Gets straight to the point, haha. But seriously, Hersher you got me interested. I'll give her a whirl.

Facepalm has never been more appropriate.

and therein lies the reason why i don't post in the rock/metal subforums anymore. it's all metalcore and idiots bitching about how bad Metallica sucks.

i will pay attention to this thread as long as you steer clear of using annoying phrases like this:
carry on then. :)

nothing wrong with phrases like kvlt, br00tal or tr00 d00d.

I think it's hilarious that you have this notion in your head that no one here is familiar with bands like Death, Obituary, Morbid Angel and Deicide—some of the most well-known death metal bands I can think of—but nevertheless I'm looking forward to reading these reviews. Good start to what looks to be a good thread, though if Leprosy is your least favorite I think we may have pretty different perspectives on Death's discography.

They make Satan cry.

Post of the day.

I look forward to this thread also, I have heard a little Death and liked it. Hoping to gain a little more knowledge on the group and get into them further. Good job so far.

I have much love for Death.

And Steve Di'Giorgio is quite incredible.

You have all restored my faith in being able to actually talk about music on this site. YAY

Death is pretty great, although I do prefer Morbid Angel's "Altars of Madness" to anything Death has ever done.

I used to really dislike Altars Of Madness until a few years ago but I still prefer Death. My favourite Death album seems to be the OP'S least favourite Death album :(

I look forward to this with much excitement. I am getting a few albums from those 4 bands you listed above, which no one here knows.(haha)

Only had one Death album before, never really listened to it with intent though.

I'm sorry for being such a douchebag and not updating my threads; I recently started working a 9-6 job in retail for the first time in my life and I am not getting near enough sleep.

http://fici.bira.gen.tr/05.05.2007leprosy.jpg

Leprosy was Death's second album, recorded in 1988. It was produced by Scott Burns, who has recorded a lineup of amazing bands and made most of them sound totally badass (if more badass was even possible). I must confess I have listened to this album the least of the entire discog... It seems a little bland to me, actually. Rick Rozz is a rather poor guitarist in my mind and you can definitely tell that some riffs and solos were written and played by him instead of Chuck. In terms of the vocals, the effects on them and the way that Chuck sang at the time make them kind of normal as opposed to his usual unique voice. Nothing in the riffs really stand out to me and I find that most of the album sounds like the band finding the sound it's suited for. The consensus among most fans I've spoken to is that while Leprosy is more technically competent and creative than Scream Bloody Gore, SBG felt more "authentic" and had better crafted riffs. That said, Terry Butler's bass on this album is really decent (though I am still pissed at him for touring without Chuck in Europe), and there is one amazing song: Pull The Plug. Unfortunately for the cd, it's available on the Live in LA album which basically means that 100% prime-of-their-career Death is playing their early material (WHO ELSE DOES THAT NOWADAYS?!?) and makes Leprosy's version sound like it was played by baboons with BC Riches. (Korean made, of course.) Overall, I wouldn't really recommend Leprosy; even as just a part of Death's musical progression. It doesn't really deliver anything that the other albums don't do better.

Next up is Human... Which is dope. Yeeeeeee

What? No Spiritual Healing?:confused:

can't imagine why they would.

Oh c'mon. Open Casket is an absolutely Phenomenal song and it's Spiritual Healing next which was nowhere near as strong I feel.

Dur, of course Spiritual Healing is next...

Raindog is being sarcastic I think.

Jackhammer, Open Casket is a decent track. You can like it if you want. I don't.

Hey, I'm sorry to neglect these threads and I promise I will get back to them soon, but it's a massive heat wave here and so I've been listening to nothing but Cat Power and 80s hiphop for the last few weeks while working full-time. See you soon.

**** man. We need more posts for these dm pioneers.
I have every album, and I conclude that Symbolic kicks so much ass that your face will melt while listening. "Crystal Mountain" has got to be one of the best songs ever.

Fav songs:

Crystal Mountain
Zombie Ritual
Spirit Crusher
Misanthrope
Left to Die

i'm a mild fan

have to confess i only have Individual Thought Patterns, though

big fan of Obituary as well

Idk where I read/heard this, but I could've swore that John Tardy admitted in an interview to not actually singing lyrics on stage but rather just making sounds that sounded familiar to the studio recordings. Could be just a rumor, but it probably doesn't help the stereotype when it comes to death metal vocals for non "kvltists" if that's true

i can understand his "singing" on the studio tracks

never heard him live, though so no comment

Honestly I wouldn't care. He has the coolest voice of any death metal vocalist ever. Period. So I don't care what he's saying.

Hmm, I suppose the lack of lyrics doesn't really take away from a voice's instrumental quality. Like I said, it could be just a rumor but it's strange to think that he would feel like he had to do that if he has actual lyrics to the songs.

i have heard enough "cookie monster" vocals to actually disseminate what they're singing

so if he's spouting gibberish on stage, I'd know

Has anyone else here listened to Deaths early demo material? Really fun stuff - not complicated death metal, just fast, punk influenced extremism. "Death by Metal" is a really, really great track - even if it was recorded via a mono boombox.

I`m surprised this group doesn`t get more attention on these boards, because without doubt Death were one of the essential bands in the whole extreme metal movement and defined what death metal was all about. Chuck Schuldiner could run rings around a huge amount of metal guitarists and their move into more technical and progressive metal was equally amazing and they were on a par with Atheist on the progressive side on things.

There is also a lot of debate over their best albums and that`s largely a sign that all their albums were good but I slightly prefer the later material.

Symbolic> Individual Thought Patterns> Leprosy> Sound of Perseverance> Human> Scream Bloody Gore> Spiritual Healing.

I'm not overly surprised they dont get more attention, there seems to be more punk and hip hop fans on these boards than metal fans. I do agree that their albums were all good but I'd definitely have Sound of Perserverance at the bottom, I didnt like Chuck's vocal too much on that album (except for the Painkiller cover, where it worked well). The other 6 are pretty close and it could alter depending on my mood and what I've listened to recently, but this would be my order (Leprosy is always number one, regardless)

Leprosy> Symbolic> Human> Scream Bloody Gore> Spiritual Healing> Individual Thought Patterns> Sound of Perserverance

Now that this thread has popped up I'm a little surprised they don't get much attention. I think there are plenty of metal fans here, Chuck.

I love how old school Death sounds these days. It takes me back to the days when I thought Metallica was the most badass music ever. Not that I'm comparing Metallica to Death... Metallica just gave me a certain feeling when I was younger and I got that feeling again when I discovered Death. Human is my personal favorite.

Death just dominated and took over where Slayer and the other big two left off. Death, Morbid Angel, Autopsy then you had the Norwegians and Euros like Entombed and Pestilence...the Floridian and Metal Underground. I just didn't have any need for Slayer anymore. Favorite Death record is Symbolic, great progressive music, yet tight and heavy as hell!

I added the bold; and I did so because that is wrong. Death were & are an important band in extreme metal, death metal in particular, and music in general - however, they are not and have never been the defining death metal band. Death are 2nd wave of Death Metal; first wave bands such as Sepultura & Possessed were more important.

And while I doubt you think this, I know some newbs do, and it annoys me to no end, so I will say it; "Death Metal" was not a term dreamt up for Death clones or sound-a-likes. Death were neither the first Death Metal band or the most important (or well known) of the second wave of Death Metal.

I disagree with most of this. Firstly, defining means most representative of the genre as in terms of style, direction of the genre and a level of popularity and NOT necessarily the first to do that style. Secondly, Death were out before the second wave of death metal came in and had already released their first two classic death metal albums, the second wave came out around 1989/1990 when the record labels saw it as a marketable metal genre and most of the other best known metal bands had put their debut albums. Thirdly, I`ll agree that Possessed probably put out one the first ever true death metal album in "Seven Churches" but they were only a couple years ahead of Death before they split/released their last album making them pioneers rather than defining the genre. Fourthly, Groups like Celtic Frost, Slayer and Sepultura etc were just huge influences on the genre than actually representing the genre. Finally, Chuck Schuldiner wasn`t known as the "Father of Death Metal" for nothing.

The metal media, to what extent it exists, hands out such titles as though they were tic-tacs; Morbid Angel have been called the Ramones of Death Metal, for instance.