Death
Live in Eindhoven

THE REVIEW

Chuck Schuldiner is a magnificent character, the true father of death metal, capable of composing "Scream Bloody Gore" at only 15 years old, which is considered the genesis of this genre. He then gave life to other pillars of both pure, raw, and direct death metal like "Leprosy," and the more thoughtful, technical, and at times philosophical works like "Spiritual Healing," "Human," "Individual Thought Patterns," "Symbolic," and "The Sound Of Perseverance," revolutionizing the history of metal in just over ten years both with Death and with Control Denied with whom he wrote "The Fragile Art Of Existence"... Sometimes I am shocked when I think about how a man like him managed to see music and change it in his own unique way, and I'm even more amazed when I open my CDs and read the phrase "All music and lyrics by Chuck Schuldiner."

Unfortunately, after a long battle with cancer, this great man left us on December 13, 2001, creating an unfillable void in the hearts of his supporters. There were many attempts to save him, among which I want to remember the release of two live albums: "Live in L.A." and "Live in Eindhoven".
It is precisely the latter that I would like to analyze, the concert held by Death at the Dynamo Open Air in the Dutch city in 1988. Unfortunately, Nuclear Blast, which had printed it both in CD and DVD to raise funds for Schuldiner's medical expenses, decided to release it only three years after its recording, just months before Chuck's death, which happens when a label cares more about money than about the musicians who make it for them.
I would like to immediately note that this was the very first concert held by the band in two years after the temporary breakup in 1996, and on the Eindhoven stage, the brand new lineup fresh from the recording of "The Sound Of Perseverance" performed, so there are certainly no shortages of mistakes by all the members, but in general, the live performance doesn't seem to suffer much, even though the production is not the best.
The setlist is quite similar to "Live In L.A.", although here, the most heavily featured album is no longer "Symbolic" but "Human", from which half of the songs are taken. As usual, "The Philosopher" kicks things off, effectively warming up the Dutch audience and followed by "Trapped In A Corner," closing the songs taken from "Individual Thought Patterns"... Sure, the absence of Steve D. on bass is noticeable, but this is certainly not what lowers the level of the record. The inevitable "Crystal Mountain" arrives now, played really well, also because in my opinion, Chuck's new singing style fits it very well, which I believe is not the case for the songs of "Human," like the heavy duet formed by the splendid "Suicide Machine" and "Together As One," where surely the warmer voice that Evil Chuck had fit perfectly with the granite riffs of the songs...
After the beautiful "Zero Tolerance," comes the time for the sensational "Lack Of Comprehension," monumental from the first to the last note, which leaves room for a beautiful moment when Schuldiner introduces the first song taken from Perseverance, which had not yet been released, so it was heard for the first time by the fans, who for the occasion fell silent listening intently to the over eight minutes of "Flesh And The Power It Holds," truly a blast.
Towards the end, we hear Richard Christy's drumming, who would accompany Chuck in Control Denied, open the wonderful "Flattening Of Emotions," in my opinion, one of their best songs ever, which makes way for another pillar from the new album, "Spirit Crusher," which truly gives another taste to the live performance.
But could it end like this in your opinion? No, absolutely not; what is missing, essential like air for the closure of the show, is the great "Pull The Plug," now used to covering this role, representing the true cherry on the cake...

In conclusion, it may be inferior to "Live In L.A.", but every time you listen to it, you will surely be pleasantly surprised by how this record manages to transport you directly among the crowd moshing to the notes played by one of the greatest bands in history, with a smile, but also with a teardrop falling, knowing that you can no longer savor the legendary Death live, led by none other than Chuck Schuldiner...