Death is one of my favorite metal bands. It would be tough to overstate their impact on me. When my band formed, the first thing we did was learn a Death cover—“Crystal Mountain.” We still play it live sometimes.
I was 14 years old when Chuck Schuldiner passed away, and had only just become aware of his band. Death immediately entered the pantheon of great bands I’d never see live. A Death tour without Chuck was unthinkable, and rightly so.
It remains unthinkable today, but people in my position now have an opportunity to see the next best thing. Sick Drummer Magazine and Perseverance Holdings Ltd.—which represents Chuck’s sister Beth and her son, heirs to his intellectual property—have assembled a live tribute tour called Death To All 2012. It features an impressive lineup of former Death members: Gene Hoglan and Sean Reinert on drums; Steve DiGiorgio and Scott Clendenin on bass; and Paul Masvidal, Shannon Hamm, and Bobby Koelble on guitars.
The tour will visit San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, New York City, and Orlando. Other details remain sketchy. No word on content yet; the press relief says only that the tour will “celebrate the life and music of Chuck Schuldiner.” No vocalist has been announced either—a crucial detail, as Chuck’s voice helped define Death’s sound. I suspect that the tour’s “special guests” will be a rotating stable of renowned vocalists.
I’m conflicted about the prospects for this tour. The next best thing to seeing Death is still pretty far from actually seeing Death. Chuck’s spot onstage will be painfully empty, no matter the star power of the tour’s contributors. The vacant vocal slot is also cause for concern. A bad pick could ruin the experience, and death metal has no shortage of mediocre vocalists.
But I’d go see this lineup no matter what music they were playing. As it happens, they’re playing some of the best metal songs ever written. And it’s for an excellent cause: Sweet Relief, a charitable foundation that offers financial support to uninsured musicians who have been struck with serious illness. Given the circumstances of his death, Chuck would approve. And that’s good enough for me.
. . .
DEATH TO ALL 2012 TOUR DATES:
6/22/2012 – The Regency Ballroom – San Francisco, CA
6/23/2012 – House of Blues – Los Angeles, CA
6/26/2012 – House of Blues – Chicago, IL
6/28/2012 – Irving Plaza – NYC, NY
6/30/2012 – The Beacham – Orlando, FL
I like this idea. They could have done the obvious asshole move of just calling it Death, and getting a “replacement,” and simply taking a cash grab. Instead, they are being respectful of Chuck’s legacy and fans, and they’re giving it to charity. Who can’t get behind that?
I would hope it’s a rotating stable of vocalists, at least a few of them for each show. That way no one of them feels like they’re in the position of replacing Chuck. But either way, I would support this, if it came near enough to me (which it’s apparently not).
Meh, this whole Death revival business is partially a cash grab. Suspect remastered albums (in 2CD and 3CD format! Rare demos!), lousy shirt designs, a compilation of previously released live albums, an upcoming box-set.
I now await Eric Greif’s response.
what do you mean “cash grab” fukwit. The proceeds are going to Sweet Relief. THEY ARE A CHARITY. Get a clue before shooting you’re mouth off keyboard warrior
That was funny.
To this I will go. Without doubt.
In terms of style, Elizabeth Schall from Dreaming Dead actually does a mean Chuck vocal. Not to mention she could probably play most of his songs AND sing. I’m hard pressed to think of anyone else.
Erik Burke from Brutal Truth/Sulaco/Kalibas might be a good pick too. His vox on the Sulaco recordings always reminded me a bit of mid-era Chuck.
I’m there. I only saw Death once; back in 1987 at the first Milwaukee Metalfest.
I echo that. Elizabeth Schall simply rules.
Thirded. The first thing I thought was “why not get Elizabeth Schall to handle both?”
I’m guessing they’ll go less in the vein of actually trying to sound like him, and pick some contemporaries and/or friends. Kam Lee maybe?
Wish it was somewhere other than the Sunset House of Blues, but oh well, this is the closest I’ll get to seeing Death live. I’m there!
What it must be like to be able to complain that a show isn’t at your favorite venue in town. Consider yourself lucky that there are metal shows within 100 miles of you.
From Montana, I concur…
@FMA – Dude, I do appreciate it. I lived for over two years in Nashville, TN and almost nothing came through there. But it still doesn’t mean I like to go to a place where I always feel ripped off.
I am absolutely 100% there, without question. Chuck was one of my biggest influences, and I’d love to be there to pay tribute… just trying to figure out, since I’m right smack in between them, whether the NY show or the Orlando show is the better option.
Eric Greif has pretty much laid it down that Kam Lee will be nowhere near this.
Wow! If only they would visit the PNW–looks like I got an excuse to go to SF now, however.
On a side note, an idea I’ve had for awhile now seems to to coincide with this post. My question is this: Is there an organization or person,specifically,an MD, who has a love of heavy music and would treat musicians free of charge (barring major surgery, etc, etc.)? It feels like I’m always reading about an artist(s), who because of lack of insurance, find themselves crippled by medical bills. Of course this doesn’t count all the regular folks out there in a similar situation. I guess this isn’t anything new, it just fucking sucks.
Expand Medicare to treat everybody regardless of income, life status or lack of insurance already. That’s my two cents.
Western Europeans don’t seem to have this problem. Hmm…. I wonder why?!?!?
Unthinkable as it may seem, a Death tour without Chuck did happen before.
(Incidentally, I’m wearing my “Scream Bloody Gore” shirt as I write this): It’s for a good cause, but I can’t pretend to not feel ambivalent about “this whole thing.” It’s for a great cause, actually, like the above article mentions, but . . . as tragic as Chuck’s passing was, don’t we kind of owe it to the very meaning of Death (see disambiguation: I mean Death as the brooding abyss that awaits all`) to not have things like this happen? To use a romantic analogy: we still remember the name Achilles because after he fell, he never rose again, in any incarnation*. Chuck Schulnider is the Achilles of Metal mythology. And isn’t this sort of thing, despite the great cause, kind of an affront to his name?; won’t having some dude up there who didn’t write the words “TO THE LEFT AND TO THE RIGHT! FROM BEHIND!” screaming them be a little bit like watching your mom marry your uncle after your dad’s been dead for like two minutes? That’s a stretch, but I said: “a little bit.” Granted he’d be feeling them, the as-of-yet unannounced singer would be, he’d be a sociopath not to, but that doesn’t matter. Hell, he might even be awesome, and have Chuck’s voice down-pat. And, for that matter, while we’re hypothesizing: of course Chuck might want this. But that’s not ours to say. Guys, we gotta respect the barrier between Life and Death. Life has no meaning without death. And yes, this world is certainly less meaningful without Death, but seeing those songs live, beneath any banner resembling that which flew above the living head of Chuck Schulnider (though, bands should feel free, should be encouraged, even, to cover Death), no matter what the cause, the very idea seems perverse and in poor taste. That’s just me, though. I also frowned when my favorite band, Refused, announced they’d be playing Coachella this year. Believe it or not, I’m not actually a bad person, or even a depressive. Just got these fucked up standards by which I hold my art, and peers, and loved ones.
I agree with everything you said, but I prefer to think of it as “the best Death cover band you will ever see”. Who wouldn’t want to go to that show, especially knowing you will be surrounded by actual Death fans? All the fun, none of the implications.
Schuldiner***. Twice. Fuck.
I will probably go to this. I never had the chance to see Death, but they are one of my favorite bands. This will be a living memorial, rather than a next-best-thing, but a living memorial sounds good.
Doomed to Repeat, you make an interesting point but I have a feeling the shows will produce an unrivaled celebratory vibe that will override any feelings of “poor taste”. It’s the closest thing anyone will ever get to being able to celebrate and sing along and enjoy these fucking timeless amazing death metal tunes, without seeing a band play as Death for halloween or maybe just play a cover here and there at the shows. The positives stand to heavily outweigh the negatives, in my opinion.
I first got aquainted with Death when “Spiritual Healing” came out (which is often considered their worst album). It became the go-to record for me when the Big 4 weren’t being relentlessly spinned to death. From there, I sought out “Scream Bloody Gore” and they’ve been one of my favorite bands since. They were also responsible for me finally being able to grasp “death metal”. Just seeing the remaining members do “Evil Dead” or “Zero Tolerance” would be a treat in itself without the vocals however, it would also be fun to see someone do their best Chuck sounds. So, yeah, I’m definitely excited about this.
Death has no more than a handful of good songs, the best of which is “Lack of Comprehension”.
Sorry for my opinion in a post dedicated to honoring the memory of Chuck Schuldiner. May he rest in peace.
So next question is, when is an all star tribute to Quorthon/Bathory going to happen in the states?!?!?
Watain did a Bathory tribute set at Sweden Rock in 2010.
I saw Death twice, both times supporting Kreator, think it was 92-ish?, Chuck wasn’t singing, can’t remember who was, strange guitar tone too, loads of chorus.
The Germs did it without Darby. Steve Ignorant did it without Crass. The Dead Kennedy’s did it without Jello. Even Discharge did it without Cal.
No matter what the circumstance or genre one cannot question the motives of the parties involved. When discovering one band’s reformation the person involved said, “Why should Eyehategod make all the money?” I’m not here to question these motives, but I have a choice to attend these reunions just as the musicians involved have the choice to do them. Whatever your choice life goes on.
I wish this show was at the Metro or at the Vic, those places would’ve been more appropriate. House Of Blues is way too sterile of a music venue. Venue grievance aside, that week is gonna rule, the Chicago show is a few days before I fly off to Martyrdoom in NYC. Stoked!
DEATH is the band that inspired me to play guitar and to sing i have all thier ep’s all thier tapes and now that i can see them live is just amazing i know it sucks that chuck isnt there but hes in a better place now much love much respect to all of the members of death past new old whatever R.I.P chuck we will thrash this night in your honor
I wish I could go since Death was one of my favorite bands. However being pregnant limits my foray into concerts especially when my due date is between now and the beginning of July this year. Last time I saw Gene Hoglan was with Fear Factory in 2010 for their Mechanize tour in Ft. Lauderdale and Orlando. Totally worth travelling to see Gene drum both nights. Oh well hope everyone has a great time reminiscing about how great a band Death was. RIP Chuck.