
So I recently had the HUGE honor of getting Don Anderson from Agalloch to answer some questions for me on the late great Chuck Schuldiner for my project. I hope you guys like the interview, and if for some reason you don't know Agalloch GO LISTEN TO THEM RIGHT NOW.
Remember, if you want to get involved with the project, shoot me an e-mail at Alloftheothersweretaken@gmail.com
Can you talk a little bit about your
experience with Chuck Schuldiners music?
I bought “Human” when it came out
and was immediately taken with it. Prior to getting into death metal
I was, like most people my age, listening to and brought up on
traditional metal and thrash/speed metal. But, I always preferred
technical metal and loved albums like “Beneath the Remains” and
“And Justice For All;” I actually preferred long songs with lots
of riffs crammed into it, which the latter album perfected. I always
wanted more extreme and brutal music and still had not seen a perfect
merging of brutality and technicality until I heard “Human” for
the first time. From there I followed the whole “death-jazz”
scene made up of similar bands like Cynic and Atheist. But, I think
Death really started the whole tech-death thing.
How do you think it evolved lyrically
over the course of his career?
I suppose the gore element is
obligatory for most Death Metal bands and particularly those earlier
ones. But, definitely by “Spiritual Healing” the lyrics became
more existential and philosophical and this approach really reached
an apex with “Symbolic.” Existential and introspective lyrics
were ground breaking in extreme music where one either adopted a
complete “gore” style a la Cannibal Corpse, or total satanism
like Deicide. I remember trying to decode the lyrics on “Human”
as much as the music itself.
How do you think Schuldiners guitar
playing evolved over the course of his career?
His soloing
became more melodic and complex. I noticed him playing with larger
interval relationships later—something perhaps taken from jazz and
fusion players and most likely his peer Paul Masvidal. He really
emerged into an underrated and brilliant lead guitarist following
“Human.”
How do you think Schuldiners growling
style evolved over the course of his career?
It seemed to get higher which I thought
melded nicely with the down-tuned guitars. It mixed well and cut
through better.
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