ARTHUR'S MAN OF THE MONTH
Chuck Schuldiner of Death
This month's nominee is a man that I knew nothing about six months ago. I had heard that Chuck Schuldiner was the man on many occasions but I am a stubborn bastard so I did not listen. I finally decided to start listening to Death a couple of months ago and now I am fucking hooked. Schuldiner may not measure up to prior men of the month in terms of accomplishment but I make the damn rules around here and I say Chuck is in!!
Chuck Schuldiner was the founder of Death. Unlike many metal bands, Death was a singlehanded effort by Chuck. I suppose the closest approximation in the metal world would be MegaDave. Schuldiner played bass, rhythm and lead guitars on most of Death's studio efforts. When it was time for a tour, he would hire a band, often times based on their ability to create the sound that he recorded for the studio tracks. This may seem like a counterproductive practice and I would generally agree that having a permanent band would be ideal but when you listen to Death's seven studio albums you can hear that it worked.
Being an Arthur's Hall Man of the Month is all about accomplishment and impact. Chuck may not have impacted the geopolitical structure of the world but he did change the face of heavy metal. Schuldiner is widely recognized as the "Father of Death Metal". I am not one to pontificate about the genres of metal, but I do recognize that there are four major genres; New Wave of British Heavy Metal, Thrash, Power and Death. The bands that pioneered these genres include Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Metallica, Slayer, Helloween and Death. These bands are the "who's who" in metal and are to be lauded for their contributions to the only form of music that a man should listen to. My point is that Death, without question, belongs on this list.
Chuck Schuldiner's contribution to the world of metal cannot be diminished. Death metal is certainly not the most popular form of metal. That said, it is often the most innovative and musically complex. I will admit to not liking most so-called death metal. I find that most of the bands are musical wankers. What I mean by that is that these bands often forget that a song is supposed to have a hook and groove to it. Simply playing incredibly fast and complex music proves nothing to me. Being able to use that technical prowess to create a piece of music what impresses me and no one did it better than Chuck Schuldiner.
I certainly don't pretend to be a music critic. I would like to be able to give you a critical reason to start listening to Death now. All I can tell you is that if you have not listened to Death, you are missing the fucking boat. I find Death's (and when I say Death I really mean Chuck) sound to be unique. One of the things that I really dig about Death is the time signature changes and unique guitar tone. Death is one of those bands that you can instantly recognize the second that the guitar starts. I can't explain the sound from a technical standpoint but I do know that its great. I do find that Death appeals to my love for progressive metal tastes and while Death is recognized first as a death metal band I would argue that they are more of a progressive metal band but that is neither here nor there. Death is great...period.
So how do you go about appreciating the greatness of Chuck Schuldiner? I would recommend that you go grab The Sound of Perseverance and then work backwards. That is how I did it and it seemed to work. "Sound" is Chuck's last album. It is a wall of sound and complexity. Pure genius. My favorite Schuldiner composition is Symbolic. If I were to rewrite my "10 Greatest Heavy Metal Albums" article Symbolic would be on it. It really pisses me off that there will be no more Death albums.
At this point, I could go into the life of Chuck Schuldiner but out of respect, I will not. He lived a normal life. He had a girlfriend, no children and a couple of dogs. By all accounts, he was a good dude. His legacy has nothing to do with personal life, his legacy was forged by his amazing work in the studio and on stage. In 1999, he was diagnosed with brain cancer. After chemotherapy, the cancer went into remission and he seemed to recover. The recovery was shortlived.
Chuck Schuldiner died in 2001 of brain cancer. It is ironic that a guy like Chuck who was outspoken about his lack of hard drug use would die at the age of 34 while guys like Lemmy and Keith Richards live forever. I like to think that Chuck's musical genius and vision was just simply too much for any brain to handle and it overloaded like a circuit board and blew up. Some may find that in bad taste...but I tend to make light of things that make no sense. The metal world lost a true pioneer in 2001. He is missed in the metal community. Everyone knew that he was a trailblazer and unlike so many musicians who die due to idiocy...he died from something outside of his control. He is no martyr. I personally hate the martyr syndrome of music fans when remembering fucking idiots who kill themselves with drugs. Chuck Schuldiner will be remembered for generations for his innovation and contributions to the greatest art form of all time. I will be a lifelong fan of the genius who created death metal. Thanks for giving us some of the greatest metal ever Chuck. Rest In Peace...
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