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Rating: It is a book that tells the artistic story of Death and its leader Chuck Schuldiner. From the initial cacophonous musical outputs, entirely unlistenable, to their global recognition with prodigious albums that have made the history of Death Metal. Chuck was a guy who always thought with his own mind; and who fought until the end of his days, defeated by a tumor that took him away at just thirty-four years old.
I managed to contact the author of the book, a young guy from the province of Vicenza. It resulted in this long conversation, this extended exchange of opinions, mostly on Rino's part, between two people who know Death and "Evil" Chuck by heart. Here then is the full account, I apologize in advance for the length, of this chat.
1) Hi Rino; I would like to start by asking you how you came to know Chuck Schuldiner's band; and also tell me how your love for all Metal music was born.
"My older brothers, especially the oldest, have always been passionate about metal and rock: music and records were never lacking at my house, so as a child, I unconsciously absorbed this interest. By elementary, I had become a real fanatic of Queen: Freddie Mercury's figure and his voice literally kidnapped me, so much that every time I rode in the car with my parents I would 'torment' them with a couple of cassettes that I listened to repeatedly. Fortunately, my father also appreciated them! In middle school, I became obsessed with recent rock bands like Backyard Babies and Hardcore Superstar, while in high school I had a period of partial detachment from music; I was won back after a concert by the same Hardcore Superstar, which my brothers took me to. The next day I raided my brother's room for Metallica CDs and started listening to them compulsively: it was curious to notice how it seemed I already knew all those songs, even though I had never consciously listened to them! From there, it was an incredible escalation: by nature, when I'm interested in a certain subject, I address it in a total way, I want to know everything about it. For metal, it was like that: at first, I didn't think it was an endless universe, I wanted to learn about its various subgenres, and I approached with some best-ofs to the main bands; but then I immediately wanted to document their detailed discographies, and from there I realized there were indeed many bands to know! More than ten years have passed since then, and I still haven't finished the research, the hunt: the need to always discover something more hasn't ceased, the hunger for knowledge is still bulimic. It also went like that for Death: they were one of those bands that initially didn't tell me much, I found them too hard: listening to 'The Sound of Perseverance' when death wasn't yet in my strings, I was a thrash fanatic. I was struck only by the poignant melody of 'Voice of The Soul', but I left that band alone for years. The impact was totally different than the first time: it seemed like something magical, as if in the meantime I had found the key to open chests full of wonders. Their albums were exactly like that: from 'Perseverance', listened to their entire discography backward, from the last to the first album, I was stunned by the beauty of that music and wondered how I could have ignored or neglected so much beauty until then. In parallel, I started documenting Chuck Schuldiner's lyrics and life, and here the definitive spark struck: I like to identify with bands and what they say, those I like only from a musical point of view are still a notch below those whose thoughts I share. And Death struck me: I identified a lot in Chuck's figure and philosophy, up to considering him a true existential point of reference. Those moments, those months of manic discovery, remain unforgettable and fascinating for me: I remember that I was never satiated, I kept looking for anecdotes, curiosities, rare pieces, or demo versions that might have eluded me. If Chuck's human and lyrical component hadn't been there, probably, I wouldn't have fallen in love so much with his Death."
2) One thing struck me more than others in the reading: the incredible support Chuck's family gave him. They supported and encouraged him from the beginning, when he had turned the garage into a rudimentary rehearsal room for his first not-so-melodic compositions! Even during the unfortunately terminal stage of his illness, his parents, sister, and best friends stayed close to him; even fulfilling his wish to die in his own home. In this regard, I would like to ask if over the years you've managed to get in touch with Chuck's relatives.
"I confirm what you say about the Schudiner family's union: if he became what he became, that is an honest, transparent, and value-rich guy, with a continuous desire for improvement without accepting compromises, it is due to his family. Unfortunately, I have not managed to get in touch with any of his relatives: years ago, when the book was still just a thought, a distant dream, I tried to write to his mother, without ever receiving an answer. I imagine it's understandable, given the countless letters and emails she must receive every day."
3) With your book, which I literally devoured in a couple of days, you eliminated a sort of "black hole" regarding Death: indeed, no one had ever undertaken to put in writing the artistic story of the Florida band. I can well imagine how proud and proud you must have felt for having completed such a complex project. Did you meet any musician who had the pleasure of playing with Chuck?
"Here again, I must answer negatively, even though an appendix of the book is signed by Joe Laviola of Gory Blister, who had met Chuck at some of his old 'Italian raids'. As for personal satisfaction, I have to say it was truly a source of pride to put my signature on the first book about Death: when I began to love this band and this musician, in fact, I felt an urgent need to put black on white analysis, reflections, anecdotes, and facts, told directly from the protagonists in interviews of the time, in order to be able to pass on to all, new and old fans, the story of this entity so important in the history of hard music. I love having detailed books and biographies of the bands I love: the internet is a great thing, but I find the existence of so many interviews, phrases, and statements scattered without order on the net rather sterile. I need the paper, the complete tome where I can find all the essentials about a certain topic."
4) I would like to dwell on the lyrics of Death's albums: an evolution, a prodigious transformation like the music conceived by the band. From the splatter-gore citations of the first two records, with the third work "Spiritual Healing" Chuck radically changed his attitude: he began to dedicate himself to socially relevant themes such as abortion, drug abuse, the danger of uncontrolled scientific progress. What can you add to my thought, Rino?
"I have to partially correct you because Chuck's lyrical evolution began already with 'Leprosy', an album where the first existential reflections could be perceived. They were always raw, not yet refined as obviously later; but already in that album, it was impossible to talk only about splatter for its own sake. Then with 'Spiritual Healing' came the whopping leap: and it is spectacular to observe how music and lyrics grew hand in hand, in a perfectly proportioned manner. The precision and consistency with which Schuldiner grew and evolved is one of the most beautiful aspects of Death's history, in my opinion: in fact, I must add that ignoring the lyrics aspect would mean losing 50% of Death's essence itself. If I fell in love with this band so strongly, it's also for the lyrics, or perhaps 'especially' for the lyrics. In them, Chuck addresses various themes and problems, and to the ones you list, I would add the predominant one: people's falsity. Chuck, although painted as arrogant and despotic, was actually a really humble, honest, and sensitive guy; he was disgusted by people's falsity, I believe that lies and backstabbing disturbed him in a particularly deep way, arousing a notable mix of anger and sadness within him. Sensations that marked his life, leading him to vent much frustration into music and, concurrently, to concentrate a strong critique of the human spirit in his lyrics. Always personally, I think that growing up, Chuck was very disillusioned by mankind: it is understood by the many lyrics in which he speaks of this falsity and these 'double faces', such as in 'Secret Face', 'Trapped In A Corner', and 'Mentally Blind', which is a fierce attack on those who do not make the effort to go beyond the vision of their own little garden. Social themes like abortion, drugs, and the like are fascinating, but they are often also treated by other bands; Chuck's truly exceptional lyrics, in my opinion, are those where he immerses himself in the human psyche and analyzes all its most morbid sides. The religious fanaticism of 'Spiritual Healing', the existence of people who live off lies and hide in easy escapes ('Low life', 'Overactive Imaginations'), the ignorance of those who criticize the 'different' as if they were a sideshow ('Together As One'). What then to say of lyrics on the edge of philosophical, like those of 'See Through Dreams', 'Symbolic', or 'Nothing Is Everything', real journeys into the most intimate emotions of his 'self'? Or his unanswerable questions about life's great mysteries, like in 'Destiny', 'Sacred Serenity', or 'Perennial Quest'? I find them very fascinating and poetic because Chuck was just this: a poet. Very important, then, was Chuck's need to think with his own head, to 'own his mind': the title track of 'Individual Thought Patterns' is eloquent in that sense. The lyrical growth path of Schuldiner thus went through various phases: from the splatter of the debut to the more introspective and critical lyrics of the subsequent albums; on 'Symbolic', instead, Chuck seemed more serene and, rather than criticizing the world's filth that surrounds us, he philosophized over the great questions of human existence. On 'Perseverance', instead, he went back, for some reason, to pointing the finger at human monstrosities: 'Scavenger Of Human Sorrow', for example, is a monumental accusation against all those people who morbidly feed on others' misfortunes (it brings to mind many trash programs of our TV, or people who took photos in front of the sunken Costa Concordia, if not even in front of the homes of some girl victims of heinous murders as if they were tourist spots!). 'Spirit Crusher' describes the human race as an 'immoral kind that destroys and kills', 'human in sight but monstrous at heart'. It is one of the harshest songs towards humans. The poetry of 'Story To Tell' and 'To Forgive Is To Suffer' is very high, while 'Bite The Pain' is almost moving: Chuck faces pain head-on, says to continue fighting despite the stabs, and it's sad to think that despite so much determination, destiny managed in any case to make him succumb in the end. Or maybe not: physically Chuck had to surrender, but his legend and 'teachings' have not. It's as if he still lives among us, it MUST be so: and my book aims to allow that to happen."
5) You did a great job by translating a good part of the songs written by Chuck. Did you have help from anyone who is a native English speaker for the translations? I ask you this because years ago I read an interview with Eddie Vedder, leader of Pearl Jam, who was horrified by how his songs had been translated into Italian. According to him, they were full of lies and completely wrong: if what he had composed had a positive sense, it was interpreted in the opposite way!
"The guys at Tsunami are very attentive and professional in this sense, we worked to make the translations as reliable as possible. Moreover, I also helped myself with various statements and interviews where Chuck himself explained the meanings of his lyrics, so I believe the result is realistic and absolutely reliable."
6) Chuck was a determined guy as few were in the music field; he loved what he did and especially never backed down. Always thinking with his own head and "leading" the band with extreme decision: seven albums released with seven different line-ups; a sort of dictator but with very clear ideas. Where do you think he could have reached? How far could he have gone with Death and with Control Denied?
"I think he would have continued on the progressive path taken with Control Denied. He probably would have put Death on standby, 'thawing them out' with increasingly considerable time intervals, until reducing their discographic presence to a minimum. His future was far from real death metal. Or, perhaps, he would have had an unexpected re-love for more extreme sounds and would have gone back to producing great techno-death albums after a long interval dedicated only to Control Denied: unfortunately we will never know."
7) Final sudden question: your favorite Death album and in a few lines, tell me the reason for such a choice. As far as I'm concerned, I'll tell you "Human": 34 minutes of total "auditory blast". Technique, violence, precision: like Swiss watches! They do not miss a cue, a time change. An incredible album, for me the best of ALL Death Metal.
"Also for me, the best is 'Human': it's like the tip of the pyramid, which sits exactly in the middle of Death's output. Before, there were very aggressive records where melody and technique were introduced gradually; afterward, very melodic and progressive records where the death component has less and less weight. 'Human' instead balances every element perfectly, I believe it's the representation of perfection in music, at least in the extreme ramifications of all heavy metal. I place it along with 'Master Of Puppets', 'Painkiller', 'Rust In Peace', 'Reign In Blood', 'The Number Of The Beast', and very few others among the BEST metal albums ever."
We have finished our journey through the Music of Death; in conclusion, I owe Rino an apology because I approached the book not very convinced given his young age. I told myself, guiltily: "Here comes the usual twenty-year-old who dares to approach the unapproachable Chuck Schuldiner". I had to change my mind after very few pages: he did an excellent and also exciting job in its final part. I am somehow grateful to him. I love Chuck like very few other musical figures; and I want to remember him with his beautiful smile on the cover photo.
"The most appropriate way to pay homage to Chuck is to keep listening to those masterful songs at high volume. Letting the metal flow" (Cit. Steve DiGiorgio).
Ad Maiora.
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