THE FRAGILE ART OF EXISTENCE
The sad passing of death metal legend Chuck Schuldiner will forever leave a
void in the metal world. The man single handedly defined a genre with his
legendary group Death, which he formed in 1983 and released many albums of
brutal, yet musically intense music over the course of 15 years. But
somewhere along the way, Chuck wanted to turn to a more melodic venture and
explore his more straight ahead metal roots. And thus, he gave us the
amazing band Control Denied (which odly enough featured all the current
Death members from the final lineup). The one really good thing Chuck did
was hire a new vocalist Tim Aymar, who had the range, power and attitude to
deliver the type of classic metal Chuck intended. His voice is a cross
between classic Rob Halford, Bruce Dickenson with a flare all his own. Not
only did this combination succeed, but Control Denied managed to produce one
of the finest metal releases of the past 10 years. Sadly, Chuck passed away
on December 13, 2001 from a brain stem tumor and the metal world lost one of
it's brighest flames. This album is being reviewed in hopes that some of you
will discover the greatness of Chuck Schuldiner and that his music will live
on
for generations to come.
Control Denied's one and only album, released in 1999 was the last output
made by Chuck and holds some of his best guitar playing, compositions and
lyrics ever. The concept was to make a top notch metal album with terrific
songs and musicians and to show that Chuck was not only a death metal guy,
but a true fan of metal. Each track brims with his amazing, fleet fingered
playing along with co-guitarist Shannon Hamm, these guys gave us a guitar
assualt not seen since the glory days of Judas Priest and Iron Maiden. Each
track, from the opening opus "Consumed", to the catchy "Breaking the Broken"
and the multi-layered and dynamic "When the Link Becomes Missing", has a
soul and attitude all it's own. The songs weave in and out with a
dizzying and sometime frantic pace, but the more you listen, the more you
will hear the intense dynamic songs that not only capture the progressive
edge
of metal seldom heard in other genres, but the classic metal style that is
missing from todays 'metal' acts.
This disc is a few years old, but it stands the test of time and will always
be one of the finest metal albums ever created. We can only hope that Chuck
is
in a better place, making music again with the long lost brothers of the
metal world.
Chuck: you are missed and we will always remember the music you gave from
your heart, soul and your mind. Rest in Peace.
For more info on Chuck Schuldiner and to make a donation to his family go
to:
EmptyWords.org
