死神

Death was an American death metal band formed in Altamonte Springs, Florida, in 1983 by guitarist Chuck Schuldiner (who later became the band's sole vocalist), drummer/vocalist Kam Lee, and guitarist Rick Rozz. Formed out of what would become the Florida death metal scene, Death is considered a pioneering death metal band. The band's 1987 debut album, Scream Bloody Gore, is regarded as one of the first death metal records, alongside the first records from Possessed and Necrophagia.

Death had a fluctuating lineup, with Schuldiner, aside from a European tour, the sole consistent member. The group's style progressed from the raw sound on its first two albums to a more complex one in its later stage. The band disbanded after Schuldiner died of glioma and pneumonia in December 2001, but remains an enduring influence on death metal.

History

Early history (1983–1985)

Chuck Schuldiner co-founded Mantas with Rick Rozz and Kam Lee in either 1983 or 1984 in Altamonte Springs, Florida. Death was among the more widely known pioneers of the death metal sound, along with California's Possessed.

Schuldiner, Rozz and Lee composed songs that were released on several rehearsal tapes in 1984. These tapes, along with the Death by Metal demo, circulated through the tape-trader world, establishing the band's name. In 1984, Schuldiner dissolved Mantas and started a band named Death with the same members. In an article written in December 2010, Tim Aymar stated that Schuldiner renamed the band Death to turn the death of his brother Frank years earlier into "something positive". Inspired by Nasty Savage, Death was among the first bands in the Florida death metal scene. Another demo was released, Reign of Terror.

In 1985, the Infernal Death tape was recorded and released. Rick Rozz was out of the band by early 1985. Schuldiner and Lee played with Scott Carlson and Matt Olivo, bassist and guitarist, respectively, of the band Genocide (later renamed Repulsion) for a short time. Lee had "personal problems" that caused him to be ejected from the band. Combat Records had offered the band a deal if they recorded another demo; the band could not convince Lee to rejoin. Olivo and Carlson left soon after. Schuldiner moved to the San Francisco Bay Area and recruited former Dirty Rotten Imbeciles drummer Eric Brecht, in addition to guitarist Erik Meade, who learned bass guitar. The band recorded the Back from the Dead demo and played shows at Ruthies Inn. Schuldiner was unhappy with this incarnation of Death, partly because he felt that Brecht, who had incorporated blast beats, was playing too fast, and moved back to Florida without a band. In 1986, Canadian thrash metal band Slaughter invited Schuldiner to play on their album. He accepted and moved to Canada. This only lasted two weeks, and he returned to the States. He returned to Florida, then moved back to the San Francisco Bay Area again, where he joined 17-year-old drummer Chris Reifert.

Record deal and Scream Bloody Gore (1986–1987)

Schuldiner and Reifert recorded the Mutilation demo in April 1986, which led to a deal with Combat Records. That summer, they began recording their first album, which was abandoned and written off as a mistake after Combat was unsatisfied with the recording, which Reifert blamed on the studio engineers. In November 1986, the band was sent to Los Angeles to re-record the album at The Music Grinder with Randy Burns, which the band felt optimistic about due to his work on Possessed's Seven Churches. The basic tracks were recorded in a couple of days, while Schuldiner recorded the bass, lead guitars and vocals at Rock Steady Studios, also in L.A.

Scream Bloody Gore was released in 1987 and is considered a genre template for death metal. The band briefly had a second guitar player, John Hand, but he did not appear on the album (though his photo did). Schuldiner and Reifert recruited Steve Di Giorgio of Sadus and rehearsed in Concord for live shows, which never took place as Schuldiner moved back to Florida. Reifert remained in California, where he formed Autopsy. Back in Florida, Schuldiner teamed up with former bandmate Rick Rozz and two members of Rozz's band Massacre, Terry Butler and Bill Andrews.

Mid-era: Leprosy, Spiritual Healing and Human (1988–1992)

In 1988, that line-up recorded Leprosy. After much touring in support of the album, including a quick and ill-planned tour of Europe, Rozz was fired in 1989. After a tour of Mexico featuring guitarist Paul Masvidal (later to re-emerge in the Death lineup), a replacement was found in James Murphy, with whom they recorded their third album, Spiritual Healing, in Tampa in the summer of 1989. Murphy left the band relatively quickly. By this time, Schuldiner abandoned the "gore" lyrical theme for more social critique. Melody was added to the band's sound.