Charles Michael Schuldiner (; May 13, 1967 – December 13, 2001) was an American musician. He co-founded the pioneering Florida death metal band Death in 1983, in which he was the guitarist, primary songwriter and only continuous member until his death in 2001 of a brain tumor. He became the lead vocalist in 1985 after original drummer and vocalist Kam Lee left the band. His obituary in the January 5, 2002, issue of Kerrang! described him as "one of the most significant figures in the history of metal." Schuldiner was ranked No. 10 in Joel McIver's book The 100 Greatest Metal Guitarists in 2009 and No. 20 in March 2004 Guitar Worlds "The 100 Greatest Metal Guitarists". In 1987, Schuldiner founded the publishing company Mutilation Music, affiliated with performance rights organization BMI.
Biography
Early life and education
Charles Michael Schuldiner was born on May 13, 1967, on Long Island, New York. His father Mal Schuldiner was Jewish and the son of Austrian immigrants, and his mother Jane Schuldiner was from the American South and had converted to Judaism.
In 1968, his family moved to Florida. The area was relatively undeveloped, and Schuldiner spent much of his time playing with his siblings in the wooded areas around his house. He became interested in art, music and sculpting at an early age, and started playing guitar at the age of nine. His older brother, Frank, was killed in a car accident, according to a Guitar World interview with Jane; a Hulu documentary titled Into the Void: Life, Death & Heavy Metal, which had an episode focused on Schuldiner, stated that Frank died due to a gunshot wound to the head while visiting family in South Carolina. Schuldiner, who was very close with his brother, "never really came to terms with" the latter's passing, according to his mother. Schuldiner's parents bought him an acoustic guitar to help him cope with the grieving process. Schuldiner quickly grew bored of guitar lessons, and found more interest in playing the electric guitar. According to his mother, "From the first time he played the electric guitar it was as if a switch was turned on in him and it never turned off". and Metallica, Slayer, Iron Maiden, Mercyful Fate, and Raven were among the bands that he claimed as influences in a 1993 interview. The official Schuldiner website, Empty Words, quotes Schuldiner's mother making the claim that he enjoyed all forms of music except country and rap.
Schuldiner's mother said he formed his first band in the family's garage a few years after his brother's death. She stated he played his first live show at age 15 in a park near the family's residence in Altamonte Springs, Florida.
Musical career
Taking inspiration from Nasty Savage, Schuldiner formed Mantas (which he later renamed Death) in 1983 when he was 16 years old. He played guitar in the band, while Rick Rozz was on guitar and Kam Lee played the drums and performed the vocals. In January 1986, Schuldiner moved to Toronto and temporarily joined the Canadian band Slaughter. However, he quickly returned to continue the formation of Death.
Death underwent many lineup changes. With Chris Reifert, Schuldiner eventually released the first Death album, titled Scream Bloody Gore, in 1987. He continued with 1988's Leprosy with the line-up of former Mantas guitarist Rick Rozz and rhythm section Terry Butler on bass and Bill Andrews on drums, and 1990's Spiritual Healing, where guitarist James Murphy had replaced Rozz in 1989.
thumb|upright|Schuldiner in 1989
After Spiritual Healing, Schuldiner stopped working with full-time band members, preferring to work with studio and live venue musicians, due to bad relationships with Death's previous rhythm section and guitarists. This earned Schuldiner something of a 'perfectionist' reputation in the metal community. Schuldiner had also fired his manager Eric Greif but settled and re-hired him before the recording of his next, influential release.
thumb|Chuck Schuldiner in an interview for German Public Radio in 1991
Death's breakthrough album, Human saw the band evolving to a more technical and progressive style, in which Schuldiner displayed his guitar skills more than ever. He continued in this style (and continued the success of the band) with 1993's Individual Thought Patterns, 1995's Symbolic. He announced the following year that he had broken up Death and would focus on his new progressive metal band, Control Denied.
Schuldiner also played guitar in the supergroup Voodoocult on the album Jesus Killing Machine in 1994 and played a guest solo on Naphobia's 1995 release, Of Hell on the track "As Ancients Evolve" as a favor to the band's bassist at the time who was a friend of Schuldiner's. Schuldiner played lead guitar on a tribute track to Randy Rhoads called Hardly A Day Goes By with his Control Denied bandmates Chris Williams on drums, and Scott Clendenin on bass, as well as Craig Sease on vocals.
He secured a record deal with Nuclear Blast in 1997, but the label required that he release another Death album before Control Denied. As a result, The Sound of Perseverance was released in 1998, followed by the Control Denied album The Fragile Art of Existence the next year. Control Denied also had other players from the latest Death album but featured Tim Aymar, a melodic metal vocalist, as well as DiGiorgio. In a 1999 interview, Schuldiner spoke about why he didn't sing on the Control Denied album The Fragile Art of Existence "...these vocals are all I ever wanted to do in Death but couldn't. I've had this dream of recording like that for years, and it seems like a dream come true. Tim Aymar is an amazing singer and this is the main difference."
Schuldiner was also asked to be one of the many guest vocalists on Dave Grohl's 2001 Probot. Grohl, Napalm Death, Ozzy Osbourne, and Anthrax all increased efforts to raise funds for Schuldiner's medical bills.
Illness and death
Schuldiner had experienced "extreme neck pain" in early 1999 and was diagnosed with pontine glioma that May, on his 32nd birthday. Doctors said that the tumor had existed since his childhood, and he had shown no signs or symptoms prior to his diagnosis. He was at first unable to afford the surgery that he needed immediately. A press release called for support from everyone, including fellow artists. Jane Schuldiner urged all who read the statements about Schuldiner and his illness to obtain health insurance, stating her frustration in the American healthcare system. Schuldiner had taken out medical insurance after his first surgery, but the insurer had refused to pay because the cancer pre-dated insurance being taken out. Many artists, including Kid Rock, Korn, and Red Hot Chili Peppers, got together during the summer of 2001 to auction off personal items, with the funds assisting Schuldiner's medical expenses, an effort covered by MTV. The auction was poorly managed and only a small amount of money was received by the Schuldiners. Matt Heafy, vocalist and guitarist for Trivium, has stated that at the age of 15 his band had played a benefit show for Schuldiner while he was in the hospital in their days as a local band. Other artists that supported Schuldiner during this time include Dave Grohl, Napalm Death, Ozzy Osbourne, and Anthrax.
The cancer ultimately spread to parts of Schuldiner's brain that were said to be "too sensitive for surgery". Despite this, he continued to write music as his condition worsened. During this time, Schuldiner was in hospice under the care of his mother. At 4 PM EST on December 13, 2001, Schuldiner died. According to his mother, "At the end he thanked me for the golden memories of his childhood." According to MTV coverage his funeral was attended by Mike Patton, Metallica's former bassist Jason Newsted, Max Cavalera, King Diamond, Ville Valo, Trey Azagthoth, Glen Benton, Tim Aymar from Control Denied, and all the former and active members of Death.