Death was an American death metal band formed in Altamonte Springs, Florida, in 1984 by guitarist Chuck Schuldiner, drummer/vocalist Kam Lee and guitarist Rick Rozz. Death is considered to be among the most influential bands in heavy metal music and a pioneering force in death metal. The band's 1987 debut album, Scream Bloody Gore, has been widely regarded as one of the first death metal records, alongside the first records from Possessed and Necrophagia.
Charles Michael Schuldiner was an American musician. He founded the pioneering death metal band Death in 1983, in which he was the lead vocalist, guitarist, primary songwriter and only continuous member until his death in 2001. His obituary in the January 5, 2002, issue of Kerrang! described him as "one of the most significant figures in the history of metal." Schuldiner was ranked No. 10 in Joel McIver's book The 100 Greatest Metal Guitarists in 2009 and No. 20 in March 2004 Guitar World's "The 100 Greatest Metal Guitarists". In 1987, Schuldiner founded the publishing company Mutilation Music, affiliated with performance rights organization BMI. Schuldiner died in 2001 of a brain tumor.
Slaughter of the Soul is the fourth studio album by Swedish melodic death metal band At the Gates, released on 14 November 1995 by Earache Records. It was their last album before their eleven-year breakup from 1996 to 2007. Slaughter of the Soul is considered a landmark in melodic death metal and played a major role in popularizing the Gothenburg scene, alongside The Jester Race by In Flames and The Gallery by Dark Tranquillity. The album was recorded and mixed in Studio Fredman, early 1995.
Control Denied was a progressive metal band formed by death metal musician and Death founder Chuck Schuldiner.
Scream Bloody Gore is the debut studio album by American death metal band Death, released on May 25, 1987, by Combat Records. It is considered by many to be "the first true death metal record". Chuck Schuldiner, the band’s founder and leader, performed guitar, bass and vocals, and composed all tracks on the album.
Spiritual Healing is the third studio album by American death metal band Death, released on February 16, 1990, by Combat Records. It is the band's only album to feature both guitarist James Murphy and bassist Terry Butler and the last to feature drummer Bill Andrews.
Human is the fourth studio album by American death metal band Death, released on October 22, 1991, by Relativity Records. The album marked the beginning of a major stylistic change for Death, being more technically complex and progressive than the band's previous efforts. The lyrics are more introspective when compared to the gore-based lyrics of Scream Bloody Gore and Leprosy or the social commentary on Spiritual Healing. This new style would continue to evolve on all following Death albums. This is the only album to feature Cynic members Paul Masvidal on guitars and Sean Reinert on drums, both 20 at the time, and the first to feature bassist Steve DiGiorgio.
Fate: The Best of Death is a compilation album by Death. It contains songs collected from their first four albums, Scream Bloody Gore (1987), Leprosy (1988), Spiritual Healing (1990) and Human (1991).
Individual Thought Patterns is the fifth studio album by American death metal band Death, released on June 22, 1993, by Relativity Records. It is the only album by the band to feature guitarist Andy LaRocque, the first to feature drummer Gene Hoglan and the second and last to feature bassist Steve DiGiorgio. Manager Eric Greif described the album as "an angry record, angry lyrically", attributing it to his conflict with Chuck Schuldiner at the time.
Symbolic is the sixth studio album by American death metal band Death, released on March 21, 1995, by Roadrunner Records. The album was remastered and reissued on April 1, 2008, with five bonus tracks. It is the only album to feature Bobby Koelble and Kelly Conlon on guitar and bass, respectively, and the second and last album to feature drummer Gene Hoglan. The album has received unanimous critical acclaim.
The Fragile Art of Existence is the only studio album by Control Denied, a progressive metal band founded by Chuck Schuldiner. It was released worldwide on Nuclear Blast America in 1999. Metal Mind Productions reissued the album on April 15, 2008. The release was digitally remastered and limited to 2,000 copies. The album was again re-released in 2010 by Relapse Records, available in two-disc and three-disc editions. The three-disc edition was limited to 1,000 copies.
The Sound of Perseverance is the seventh and final studio album by American death metal band Death, released on August 31, 1998, by Nuclear Blast. The album features a whole new lineup of members except Chuck Schuldiner; it is the only album to feature guitarist Shannon Hamm, drummer Richard Christy, and bassist Scott Clendenin. It is also Death's final commercial release, as Chuck Schuldiner would die due to brain cancer-related issues in 2001, and Death would subsequently disband.
Barney Kamalani "Kam" Lee is an American death metal vocalist. He is best known for his vocal contributions to an early incarnation of Death from 1983 to 1984, and later joined Massacre in 1985.
From Beyond is the debut studio album by American death metal band Massacre, released in 1991 on Earache Records. The album was re-released with a different cover and the Inhuman Condition EP as bonus tracks.
Eric Greif was an American lawyer and entertainment personality known for a management and record production career within the heavy metal musical genre in the 1980s and early 1990s, and later within the legal profession. He was also known for being the longtime manager and lawyer of metal musician Chuck Schuldiner. Canadian filmmaker Sam Dunn has referred to Greif as a "hugely important figure in the extreme metal scene." He was the nephew of deceased American writer and publisher Martin Greif.
Reign of Terror is a demo album by American death metal band Death, released in October 1984. An interview of the band's lead vocalist and guitarist Chuck Schuldiner was later re-released in 1985 as “Reign of Terror II” which includes a set from October 1984.
In the Eyes of God is the fifth studio album by the American noisegrind band Today Is the Day, released on July 20, 1999, by Relapse Records. It is the only album by the group to feature Brann Dailor and Bill Kelliher, who would both move on to form Mastodon. First issued in 1999 on CD and vinyl formats, the LP was a limited edition of 1,000 total: 900 black copies sold to the public, and 100 clear copies that were given away as gifts to the staff of Relapse.
Vivus! is a live album released by American death metal band Death through Relapse Records. It contains two previously released live albums: Live in L.A. and Live in Eindhoven. Both shows contained on Vivus! were recorded in 1998. Disc one features the band at Whisky a Go Go in Los Angeles, while disc two is a recording of the band on the festival stage at Dynamo Open Air. The band's manager, Eric Greif, has stated that the inspiration for the set and its title was the Kiss album Alive!.
Florida death metal is a regional scene and stylistic subdivision of death metal. Some of the most significantly pioneering and best-selling death metal acts emerged in Florida, especially in the Tampa Bay area. As a result, Tampa is unofficially known by many death metal fans as the "capital of death metal." The scene coalesced in the mid-1980s through early 1990s around the output of bands such as Death, Nasty Savage, Deicide, Monstrosity, Morbid Angel, Atheist, Obituary, and others. The producer Scott Burns and the studio Morrisound Recording were also instrumental in developing and popularizing the Florida scene. Some bands which originated outside of Florida, such as Malevolent Creation and Cannibal Corpse, relocated to the state in order to participate in this burgeoning scene. The Florida bands featured a more technical approach to the evolving death metal sound, a style which spread beyond the confines of the state, and some were instrumental in creating the progressive death metal subgenre. The death metal genre as a whole, including the Florida scene, declined in popularity in the second half of the 1990s, but many bands within the Florida scene persisted and the scene resurged in popularity in subsequent decades.
