It’s the tragedy of life that success and sheer talent never seem to walk the same path. 

Such was the case of Death Metal pioneer Chuck Shuldiner. Chuck invented the whole genre of death metal almost single handedly and his contribution is immeasurable. A beloved member of the extreme music community Chuck was a highly unpretentious human being, staying aloof from Satanism and drug abuse.

Picking up the guitar at age 9 chucked took classical guitar lessons but later ditched it for the electric guitar practicing for hours and teaching himself the instrument. Drawing from early influences of bands such as Iron Maiden, Judas Priest & Kiss, Chuck incorporated elements of Jazz & Classical music into his playing becoming one of the first metal guitarists to do so. This added to uniqueness of his playing.

Death formed in 1983, realeased their first album Scream Bloody Gore in 1987 considered to be fist death metal album ever. Chuck would release 6 other studio albums under the Death banner. Constant line up changes led Chuck to prefer hiring session musicians for studio recording & live performances. In this way Chuck became synonymous with Death as no other member lasted long enough to become attached to the band’s name.

Chuck’s music was marked with a high level of musicianship.He is considered one of the inventors of the growling technique later to become an integral part of extreme music. His heavy riffs were well complemented by some of the best drumming ever recorded courtesy the likes of Gene Hoglan(Destiny, In Human Form) & Bill Andrews( Open Casket, Genetic Reconstruction).

He was really underrated as a guitarist often not getting due recognition. His virtuosic command of the instrument was quite evident on tracks such as Suicide Machine, Scavenger of Human Sorrow, Open Casket & Flattening of Emotions. A similarity could be drawn to another great guitarist Marty Friedman. Like Marty, Chuck too fused melodic and harmonic elements into his playing. He constantly stepped out of traditional scales and relied on his ear. Well at ease with sweep picking and string skipping he often used unconventional patterns for his licks.

In 1999 Chuck was found to have a tumor in his brain. What followed was a tough struggle with cancer for more than two years. The financial burden of the operations weighed heavily on Chuck & his family as they found it very difficult to bear them. The metal community stood united in their effort to raise funds for Chuck. But these efforts were unsuccessful as Chuck passed away in December 2001 leaving behind a great legacy.

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Rishi Agarwal is a student of finance and is a multi genre guitarist. He likes playing with his dog, christened Elvis after The King. He lives off the likes of Hendrix and Clapton , and aspires to one day jam with John Mclaughlin of The Mahavishnu Orchestra.