|1) (1984 - 2002) |Death was an influential death metal band founded by guitarist and singer Chuck Schuldiner in Orlando, Florida in 1983. They released several demos as Mantas before changing their name in 1984. 2) Death was a protopunk band formed in Detroit in 1971 by three African-American brothers, the Hackneys. Their only album was 1975’s …For the Whole World To See. These sessions were recorded between 1973 and 1974. 3) A horrorcore rapper from New Orleans, who released an album “Possessed by the Ouija Board” in 1993. == Death 1 == Death is widely considered one of the most influential bands in the genre. The band’s debut, “Scream Bloody Gore”, has been described as “death metal’s first archetypal document,” and Schuldiner himself as the “father of death metal”. However, Schuldiner dismissed such attributions in an interview with Metal-Rules.com, stating, “I don’t think I should take the credit for this death metal stuff. I’m just a guy from a band, and I think Death is a metal band.” As of 2008, Death has sold over 1.5 million albums worldwide, with 368,184 albums having been sold in the US alone (not counting sales prior to the Soundscan era), making them one of the top-selling death metal bands of all time. After the album “Spiritual Healing”, Death began moving away from their early death metal sound and adopting more of a progressive metal style, with jazz-influenced bass playing and more complex time signatures. Their best-selling album, “Human”, was released in 1991 and is considered by many to be the band in top-form. Their last album, “The Sound of Perseverance”, was released in 1998. In 2001, Chuck Schuldiner died from a three-year battle with brain stem cancer and the project ended. Along the way, Death included celebrated musicians from the death metal genre, including bassist, Steve DiGiorgio, drummer Gene Hoglan, and guitarist, James Murphy (Testament, Obituary, more).|There was an aid to help Chuck, it started in June 2001. There was signed Death merchandise which went for auction along with other band merchandise like “Fear Factory ” “Obsolete” gold record.|Despite the effort this was not enough to save Chuck. == Death 2 == Death’s music falls somewhere between ’70s hard rock and the more stripped-down, straightforward garage rock one might deem proto-punk. Obviously influenced by Cream and the Jimi Hendrix Experience, most of their songs span multiple parts and time signatures. “Let the World Turn” even features a drum solo. With the exception of that song, a reverby slow-jam, the album stays uptempo. It’s replete with wonderful, memorable moments, like “Freakin’ Out,” which mixes a classic-sounding garage riff with an unexpected chorus that sharply repeats the title phrase over a snare beat. “Rock-N-Roll Victim” avoids hard-rock cliché by augmenting the drums with handclaps. There’s not a bad song in the bunch, but the songs from Death’s only official release are the clear highlights on …For the Whole World to See. “Keep On Knocking” is a simple, catchy rock song that gets all the elements right, particularly Bobby Hackney’s urgent vocals and David’s spot-on guitar solo. “Politicians In My Eyes,” the EP’s A-side, is masterful. Form meets content as Bobby alternately spits out and wails lyrics decrying hypocritical politicians. David’s guitars and Dannis’ drums, similarly, sound angry, accusatory. Fiercely energetic, it sounds so rooted in such a particular time and place that it has a kind of canonical familiarity, like something that’s been played on the radio for years. |
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