Death to All Honour the Late Chuck Schuldiner at MTELUS

Death was had by all at the MTELUS in Montreal this past Wednesday night. Quasi tribute act / quasi metal supergroup Death to All have been bringing the late Chuck Schuldiner’s musical legacy to fans around the world since 2012 - and their performance in Montreal was one for the books.

Understanding Death to All always requires a short mansplain. Death was a Floridian metal act formed back in 1984, spearheaded by the legendary Chuck Schuldiner. Originally getting inspiration from gory horror flicks like Evil Dead, the band’s 1987 debut Scream Bloody Gore would spawn an aptly-titled musical subgenre: death metal. Characterized by blood-curdling vocals and a chunkier, grimier instrumental sound, thousands of bands, to the likes of Cannibal Corpse, Morbid Angel, and Deicide, would pioneer this groundbreaking new sound.

What separated Death from their cadaveric competition, however, was their ability to always be at the forefront of the genre they created, always one step ahead of the curve. Over the course of 11 short years and 7 album releases, Death’s output would gradually evolve towards a technical and progressive sound with longer and more intricate song structures - a far cry from their debut’s classic bloody bangers like “Mutilation” and “Regurgitated Guts”.

Death’s discography is a case study in the evolution of metal music, in a similar fashion to how the Beatles’ 7-year run dictated the progression of rock music in the 1960s.

Long story short: Chuck Schuldiner is the man. And as these stories tend to go, he was taken from the world early after a battle with an aggressive cancer that took his life at 34 years old.

Since his 2001 passing, Death’s discography has been cemented as canon listening for metalheads around the world. As the group’s fanbase continued to snowball, a desire grew to see their material played live.

Enter Death to All, consisting of former Death members Gene Hoglan (drums 1993-1996), Steve DiGiorgio (bass 1986, 1991-1998), and Bobby Koelble (guitars 1994-1996). Joining this trio is Max Phelps, taking on Schuldiner’s parts on vocals/guitar. Together, the foursome delivers just about the best rendition of Death’s music that one could ask for. While traditional “tribute” bands often have zero connection to the material they play, Death to All feels like a living, breathing amalgamation of everything that made Death so great.

Death to All are currently on the Symbolic Healing tour, a celebration of Death albums Spiritual Healing and Symbolic, which are respectively celebrating their 30th and 35th anniversaries this year. While the band played fiery renditions of Spiritual Healing classics like “Defensive Personalities”, “Living Monstrosity”, and the album’s winding title track, the real treat came with a full playthrough of Symbolic - track for track, note for note.

Although I’ve been a Death fan for years and this is my third time seeing Death to All live, I’ve regrettably never actually listened to the fan-favourite Symbolic. I’m kind of glad that I put it off, however, as hearing this legendary album for the first time in a live setting was a phenomenal experience. Songs like “Crystal Mountain” and the opening title track play amazingly in a live setting, despite being on the more technical end of the metal spectrum. Such is a testament to Schuldiner’s songcrafting abilities, simultaneously exploring intricate song structures while keeping tracks lively and fun with good replayability value.

The most standout thing I noticed at the concert was the general age of the fans. Usually, concerts performed by legacy metal acts draw an older crowd - original fans from the heyday of metal music who helped propel the genre to monumental heights. However, the Death to All crowd was surprisingly young, with the majority of fans sitting in the 18-30 year old range. This is the real testament to the lasting legacy of Death’s music, showing that just as many new fans are flocking to the group’s sound as there were back during the band’s inception, despite not having released any new material in over 25 years. That is proof of legacy.

Death to All is currently completing a North American tour with support from Gorguts and Phobophilic and will embark on a European tour this summer. Don’t miss out!

RIP Chuck.