Death: The Sound of Perseverance

Assignment Question #2

Rahul Mannapperuma

MUS505: Popular Music & Culture

Professor Gillian Turnbull

November 28th, 2016

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Death Metals emergence as a distinct subgenre around 1987 occurred simultaneously in

both the United States and Europe. Deaths Scream Bloody Gore (1987) is often cited as
the first death metal album in thus style. (Phillipov, Michelle 2012)1

DEATH was a Florida based death metal band formed in 1983 by guitarist and vocalist

Chuck Schuldiner. DEATH is considered by many contemporaries to be instrumental in shaping

the early years and pioneering the genre of Death Metal; one of extreme metals most popular

subgenres6, Today, the bands debut album Scream Bloody Gore (1987) is hailed as the Holy

Grail for the death metal genre and a milestone in the evolution of the genre as it broke away

from its thrash and speed metal origins to become one of the most widely popular (infamous) and

crushing forms of extreme metal music. DEATHs influence has grown leaps and bounds over

the years; their legacy to constantly push the limits of the genre, evolve and dominate has

influenced bands playing various brands of extreme music around the world.

When their (DEATH) new three-song demo tape arrived in the mail one day, we all
knew we were listening to something special; the first power chords of the opening track,
"Infernal Death," sounded so brutal, raw and evil that we stared at each other in disbelief.
It was unlike anything we've ever heard before. Right there we witnessed the birth of
death metal. -- Stephan Gebdi, HAIL OF BULLETS (HOL)2

Behind DEATHs famous sound and evolution throughout the years was a man who

many consider to be the godfather of the genre, Chuck Schuldiner. By the time the band

released their debut album Scream Bloody Gore in 1987, the band had already gone through a

series of sporadic changes with Schuldiner remaining the only constant. This would eventually

become the norm as Chuck began to prefer to record with live session musicians for each album

thereafter, of which there were 7 in total. This approach allowed Schuldiner to focus on the

evolution of the bands sound and getting the suitable musicians for each stage of the process.
1
Phillipov, Michelle. Death Metal and Music Criticism edited by Michelle Phillipov
2
Death Is Never Finished: Remembering Death Metal Pioneer Chuck Schuldiner
6
Purcell, Natalie. Death Metal Music: The Passion and Politics of a Subculture.
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In this paper, I will be showcasing and contrasting DEATHs signature sound. Starting

from Scream Bloody Gore (1987) and culminating in The Sound of Perseverance (1998), I aim to

analyze the bands sound at both ends of their career and speak to how they evolved over a

decade. With a closer look, we can uncover the intricacies in the bands evolution and see Chuck

Schuldiner as being a musical pioneer and visionary that is deserving of respect and recognition

outside extreme music circles.

Scream Bloody Gore

(1987)

Zombie Ritual is the perfect track to define DEATHs 1987 debut Scream Bloody Gore as

it encompasses within it so much of what made the release groundbreaking in the scene. The

album which features Chris Reifart on drums sees Chuck Schuldiner take on a bulk of the

responsibilities as he took on the duties of the bass and guitar while also writing all the songs.

Akin to the first notes Tony Iommi from Black Sabbath, let loose on the world,

Schuldiner unleashes a riff that will make the harmonic minor scale the root of countless future

death metal compositions. In a time where the world of extreme metal was engaged in a battle to

out-do each other in speed, the opening riff pierces through and reigns down a sound that

radiates pure evil and horror to its listener. As a listener, you are caught between the interplay of

the guitar, bass and drums while the riff works its way around you. And in an instant you are

launched into a wall of sound moving a mile-a-minute, a staple of the thrash/speed metal

compositions.

Zombie Ritual is such an iconic piece of music because in itself, you can hear the early

indications of a sound that is tearing itself out of the fabric of the standardized thrash metal
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composition framework. While it has passages of unforgiving speed, its tendency to deviate from

the straight forward approach to include riffs and passages that vary in tempo and groove, set the

foundation for the death metal sound that will evolve to become less speed oriented and more

focused on delivering its own style of extreme metal music.

Taking a closer look at the sound there are many features that stand out to make it a vital

composition. Something that becomes very evident to any listener is how pronounced the bass

sound is in the mix. This is something that adds the extra element of heaviness to DEATHs

sound which allows it to stand apart to its peers who played a flatter sound inspired by Thrash

metal. Almost contrastingly, Schuldiner also opts to have the guitar tone sit lower in the mix that

once again contributes to the heaviness of the song. The guitar tones purpose is not to

articulate every strum of Chucks guitar but to create a distorted wall of sound that sits below the

rumblings of the bass and together pummel the listener into state of paralysis.

Chris Reifarts drum sound and technique is also something that stands out on Zombie

Ritual. His contributions match Schuldiner for speed and precision at every turn in the track;

from the blistering speed to the calculated fills and tempo variations. His drum sound is

pummeling and rolls over everything else on the sonic palette that hasnt already mowed down

by Chucks guitar, bass & vocals.

The final and perhaps most potent ingredient in DEATHs sound on Zombie Ritual is

Chuck Schuldiners vocals. His guttural roars and high pitched screams soar over the

instrumentation and grab the listener by the collar. The instrumentation altogether creates a

sound that is heavy, evil and crushing in timbre (mainly due to Chucks adaptation and use of

harmonic minor & diminished scales) but its Schuldiners vocals that truly sell Zombie Ritual as

a soundtrack to a frenzied & bloody zombie feast.

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Zombie Ritual showed the world that you didnt need to rely on speed alone to sound

evil and deal in destruction. It was a revolutionary release because it married the ideas of speed

and technicality together with an image of evil that at the time shocked and immediately

attracted attention. Chuck Schuldiners song writing is probably at its most directly aggressive on

Scream Bloody Gore. With lyrics such as Drifting from the living, joining with the dead--

Zombie dwelling maggots, now infest your head Zombie Ritual lyrically pushes the envelope in

terms of subject matter. In fact, Deaths direct adaptation of gore, death and other negatively

perceived subject matter all contribute to the evil imagery that still is a valued as a commodity in

death metal circles.

Some argue that the pleasure of death metals evocation of the extreme lies in its
transgression of taboos of propriety and taste and in the presumed shock which such
transgressions are thought to produce (Overell 2010, 83). 3

All in all, DEATHs Zombie Ritual is a composition that communicates across its sound, lyrics

and structure a message so intrinsically evil and unforgiving that it becomes the formula for

countless metal acts who follow their footsteps in the years to come.

The music, as exemplified by the pummeling "Zombie Ritual," is gloriously raw, fast,
and primitive (and ridiculously catchy).Schuldiner had penned a powerful mission
statement for all future death metal bands to follow. Chuck's adolescent rage proved
infectious, and perhaps in spite of themselves, Death and contemporaries POSSESSED
spawned legions of imitators who solidified and improved upon the genre's tropes.
Arthur Von Nagel, CORMORANT.2

3
Overell, Rosemary. 2010. Brutal Belonging in Melbournes Grindcore Scene. Studies in
Symbolic Interaction 35: 75 99.
2
Death Is Never Finished: Remembering Death Metal Pioneer Chuck Schuldiner
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The Sound of Perseverance

(1998)

If Zombie Ritual was to be the song to pin the start of the DEATH legacy, Spirit Crusher

from the bands final album The Sound of Perseverance would make a fitting and worthy closing

bracket. Spirit Crusher is a staple of the sound and approach to song composition DEATH

adopted later on in their decade long career. Chuck Schuldiner teamed up with guitarist Shannon

Hamm, bassist Scott Clendenin & drummer Richard Christy to put together perhaps the most

technically complex release in DEATHs discography and the final result is a testament to the

level of musicianship of each of them.

Perhaps the most identifiable feature of Spirit Crusher is its opening bass guitar riff (a

similar feature to Zombie Rituals opening guitar) that sets the context for an unorthodox and

focused barrage of sonic destruction to follow. The bass sound is prominent once again and is the

catalyst for the numerous shifts in tempo & time signatures that constantly rise up around the

song. In context of the song, the bass guitar tones and riffs beat down on the listener and carry

with it a weight that rolls over the listener at every turn. As the song develops and other

instruments dynamics enter the mix, the bass guitar underpins the sound and bubbles up to the

surface through various key moments.

Chris Reifarts contribution to the drums on Spirit Crusher requires a careful ear to

appreciate the true complexity at hand. Long gone are the straightforward speed focused methods

of thrash metals influence and in its place we hear a calculated orchestra of percussion that drives

the track. The barrage of blast beats that sat below the surface on Zombie Ritual are replaced by

drumming approach that has borrowed a lot of from jazz and progressive genres of music. What

impressed most on the track is the ambidexterity of Reifarts who not only can run right along at
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blistering speeds but also play within the pocket of numerous hidden intervals across the song.

Spirit Crusher can be thought of a song that showcases all instruments as dynamic leads with no

sound remaining overlooked, and the drums are no exception.

The guitars on Spirit Crusher also speak so much to the evolution of DEATHs sound

from Scream Bloody Gore. It is not a coincidence as the main focal point of the instrument was

Chuck Schuldiner and he, himself, evolved tremendously as a musician and incorporated a

variety of techniques into the bands song writing from album to album. The guitar tones are a

precise laser of sonic distortion that has been calibrated so that both Hamm & Schuldiner can

articulate the complex riffs played between them.

The expansion in the number of guitars together with an expansion in ability allows

anyone to recognize the difference between Spirit Crusher and Zombie Ritual. The band has lost

almost all of the generic influences of Thrash Metal and developed a real unique identity by this

song. The composition on Spirit Crusher showcases a polyphonic approach to chaos; the rhythm

section is constantly shifting in and out of various time signatures (7/8, 9/4 etc.), while the lead

guitars act on its own whim at times and incorporate a wider palette of scales and techniques

(Phyrgian, Locrian & minor third) that make every twist and bend in the composition a delight to

witness.

Chuck Schuldiners vocal performance on Spirit Crusher is also worthy of note. His

vocals on this song and the entirety of The Sound of Perseverance strikes gold with a unique

balance of power and precision. The lower register roars and guttural driven screams of Scream

Bloody Gore have evolved into an entire different animal; Schuldiners vocals are both higher in

register and emanate a very torn vocal timbre. He is articulating his lyrics more clearly and

projecting it over the instrumentation in long, almost operating screams. Schuldiners vocal
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performance on Spirit Crusher was as such, a step in a different direction from the genre-

defining performance on Zombie Ritual.

The initial pioneers of this style Chuck Schuldiner of Death, Jeff Becerra of
Possessed, and Nic Bullen of Napalm Death adopted styles of vocal delivery that
comprised staccato barks and longer roars. The vocals of this period are best described as
proto-death metal in nature, as (with the exception of Bullens vocal style) they still
feature the reasonably clear articulation of words and phrases. -- Phillipov, Michelle.1

One thing that always remained constant was the overtones and subject matter that made

DEATH a force to reckon with. The message on Zombie Ritual still echoes through the chambers

of death metal. It was one that embraced gore, death and shockingly negative topics head-on and

was probably symbolic of the direction extreme music was headed and the teenage angst of

Schuldiner. However, on Spirit Crusher, the topics and lyrical content are a lot more serious and

thought out. DEATH matured a lot over the decade and by The Sound of Perseverance in 1998

were very comfortable tackling topics such as philosophy, spirituality and societal norms as

opposed to simply gore. Upon closer inspection, Spirit Crusher reveals itself to contain layers of

profound commentary on organized religion and its negative aspects. Lyrics like Human at

sight, monster at heart. Don't let it inside, it could tear you right apart paint religion in an

ominous and evil light, a warning to DEATHs listeners. Contrasting this with the sample from

Zombie Ritual we can see a clear evolution in the bands message over the decade. This shift has

been very important in showing the wider audience that extreme music while being aggressive,

does not need to be absent of challenging thought and ideas. However, it is important to note that

broad themes of death metal lyrics have not followed the same direction.

1
Phillipov, Michelle. Death Metal and Music Criticism, edited by Michelle Phillipov,
Lexington Books, 2012. ProQuest Ebook Central,
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Since Deaths early forays into horror, death metal lyrics have been characterized by ever-
escalating levels of extremity conceived by many as part of an attempt to keep . . . up with
the Joneses, in the words of one death metal musician -- Phillipov 2008, 2274

As Perry Grayson, one prominent critic puts it The Sound of Perseverance does not

blur genre lines, it renders them moot.5 It is for this precise reason that front man Chuck

Schuldiner is held in such high regards from prog-metal to technical death metal circles.

Schuldiners unwavering commitment to innovating and challenging the norms of extreme music

is one guiding commonality that travelled from the very opening riff of Zombie Ritual to the very

last howl Spirit Crusher. I am hopeful that by highlighting and analyzing the contributions of

Schuldiner through DEATH to metal music, we can put in perspective the true value of his work;

from a young musician kick-starting a death metal movement to a technically gifted and

profound song writer who changed the way extreme music could be played entirely, he forever

altered the course of metal music.

At once visionary and definitive, Death were the standard by which all future acts would be
judged, and yet to match the expressive, technical brilliance that ran from 'Scream Bloody Gore',
through to 'Leprosy', 'Symbolic' and beyond would always be the hardest of acts. To listen to
them now isn't just to bring memories flooding back, it's to lose yourself in a complexity so
beautifully structured that they still feels like a template for new possibilities, an ever-renewable
source. Jonathan Selzer, Terrorizer Magazine7

4
Phillipov, Michelle. 2008. Metal Downunderground: Mapping the Terrain of the Great Southern
Wasteland. In Sounds of Then, Sounds of Now: Popular Music in Australia
5
Perry Grayson - Looking Back: Precious Memories of Chuck Schuldiner (Final)
7
Jonathan Selzer Chuck Schuldiner: A Passing of a Legend Terrorizer Magazine, Issue 97 March
2002.
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Bibliography

1
Phillipov, Michelle. Death Metal and Music Criticism, edited by Michelle Phillipov, Lexington Books,
2012. 90-115. ProQuest Ebook Central, .
2
Death Is Never Finished: Remembering Death Metal Pioneer Chuck Schuldiner
http://www.npr.org/sections/allsongs/2011/12/12/143518038/death-is-never-finished-
remembering-death-metal-pioneer-chuck-schuldiner
3
Overell, Rosemary. 2010. Brutal Belonging in Melbournes Grindcore Scene. Studies in Symbolic
Interaction 35: 75 99.
4
Phillipov, Michelle. 2008. Metal Downunderground: Mapping the Terrain of the Great Southern
Wasteland. In Sounds of Then, Sounds of Now: Popular Music in Australia, edited by Shane Homan
and Tony Mitchell, 215 30. Hobart: ACYS Publishing.
5
Perry Grayson - Looking Back: Precious Memories of Chuck Schuldiner (Final)
http://deathtr.blogspot.ca/2011/04/looking-back-precious-memories-of-chuck_14.html
6
Purcell.Natalie. Death Metal Music: The Passion and Politics of a Subculture. Jefferson, NC:
McFarland. 2003
7
Jonathan Selzer Chuck Schuldiner: A Passing of a Legend Terrorizer Magazine, Issue 97 March 2002.

Referenced
Wilson, Scott. 2015 Elitist Aesthetics: Extreme Metal fans as tastemakers and gate-keepers. Music at
the extremes: Essays on sounds outside the mainstream (pp. 13-29)

Schuldiner, Chuck. Zombie Ritual. Death - Scream Bloody Gore. Relapse Records, 1987. MP3.

Schuldiner, Chuck. Spirit Crusher. Death The Sound of Perseverance. Nuclear Blast Records, 1998.
MP3.

1. @Unanything, Chuck Schuldiner Scale (MetalTabs.com)

Forumhttp://metaltabs.com/forum/showthread.php@t=38046.html
2. Chuck Schuldiner (Thelegendarybanddeath.com) Blogpost
https://thelegendarybanddeath.wordpress.com/tag/chuck-schuldiner/
3. Islander, Death: The Sound of Perseverance (Nocleansinging.com) Article, 2011
http://www.nocleansinging.com/2011/02/15/death-the-sound-of-perseverance/
4. Lars Gotrich, Death is Never Finished: Remembering Death Metal Pioneer Chuck Schuldiner. Article
2011 http://www.npr.org/sections/allsongs/2011/12/12/143518038/death-is-never-finished-
remembering-death-metal-pioneer-chuck-schuldiner
5. Georgianna Lowery. Chuck Schuldiner: The Father of Death Metal, 2012
http://hubpages.com/entertainment/Chuck-Schuldiner-The-Father-of-Death-Metal
6. @CommunistBear Odd Time Signatures (UltimateGuitar.com) Forum,2009
https://www.ultimate-guitar.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1109985
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7. @Mekkalayakay (Sputnikmusic.com) Forum, 2004

http://www.sputnikmusic.com/forums/archive/index.php/t-249362.html
8. [EmptyWords.org] http://www.emptywords.org/SK04-2000.htm
9. The Classical Metal connection expands (deathmetal.org) Article
http://www.deathmetal.org/news/the-classical-metal-connection-expands/