perserveringthroughmetal

[perserveringthroughmetal]

Scream Bloody Gore

In this post I will be going over the album Scream Bloody Gore by Death. This post will be an in-depth analysis of the album and each song from beginning to end, with that I will get started. 

The album was released on May 25, 1987, by Combat Records. Some call it the first true death metal album, while others give that to bands like Seven Churches by Possessed and Sepultura. The style of Scream Bloody Gore is nothing short of its title, with its violent lyrics and trashy sound drawing inspiration from the horror movie genre, it is brutal, some even say primitive, using down tuned guitars, a boss distortion pedal. Incorporating melodic styles, palm muting, and thrash style tremolo picking. This album also has Chris Reifert’s insane and talented drumming with blast beats and double bass drumming; Death went on to create a solid album. Chuck was only 18 years old upon its release and the album is full of shock value and gore. If you’re planning on reading this whole thing, I’m assuming you know enough about Death to have already listened to the album, if not; I do have to leave a trigger warning for slurs, gross and disturbing lyrics, and woman demonizing terminology. Read at your own risk because it’s completely full of shock value and not for everyone.

The album features the following songs: 

Infernal Death

Zombie Ritual

Denial Of Life

Sacrificial

Mutilation

Regurgitated Guts

Baptized In Blood

Torn To Pieces

Evil Dead

Scream Bloody Gore

Beyond The Unholy Grave

Land Of No Return

The first on the list is “Infernal Death”;it is about as straightforward as it sounds. It forces the listener to confront mortality. The point of the lyrics goes “Existence fading, into ashes, burn those bodies, to infernal death.” The raw vocals, aggressive sound, and gore filled lyrics explore themes of death and the fragility of human existence with emphasis on burning rotting flesh. With the song, just under three minutes, it’s fast, loud and gruesome, a perfect opening track for the album. 

“Zombie Ritual” is next; this song dives into themes of horror and gore. Painting a gruesome picture of a revengeful corpse and the dark ritual being in the center of the song. Decay, gore, and the supernatural give a very vivid imagery throughout the song. The song goes as such, Drink from the goblet, the goblet of gore, taste the zombie's drug, now you want moredrifting from the living, joining with the dead, zombie dwelling maggots, now infest your head.”

With unfiltered aggression, disgusting lyrics, insane guitars, and guttural vocals, thanks to Chuck Schuldiner, this song really encapsulates the dark, eerie and disturbing themes of the track. It delves deep into life and death with its lyrics in a way that captures the essence of a gory horror flick. The intro to this song plays in notes before going into a fast-paced rhythm with complete urgency as chaos flows throughout the entirety of the song.

“Denial Of Life” delves into the journey of mortality and despair and the rejection of life itself. This track has sacrificial imagery and overall, like the song, the denial of life. The lyrics go “The pain is so real before the dead, you'll have to kneel, hear your future screams, see your epitaph, as you scream, the dead they laugh.” facing death is the main point of the song and in Death’s fashion, goes about it in the most raw and brutal way. 

“Sacrificial” is next on the track list and goes into themes of a ritualistic violent sacrifice. With its horror themes and vivid dark and gory imagery. The brutality of this song and the musicality of Chuck Schuldiner, this track is a defining song in the death metal genre. The beginning of the song starts with these lyrics “With chainsaw in hand your death I demand, slicing through your fat, my awaited gore attack.” This song is nothing short of gory and primitive. 

 Next up we have “Mutilation”, its carnage, gore and primitiveness, with the pre chorus saying, “You must die in pain, you must die in pain.” and the chorus repeating the words mutilation. Chuck’s intense guitar playing and guttural vocals. I do have to say this song does have homophobic slur in it, but it could be because of pure shock value, and being it was 1987 written by a teenage Chuck. I can’t say Chuck Schuldiner himself was homophobic, but he did later hire two members of his band that were both gay, not sure if they were openly gay, but according to my own research, they had both come out as gay in 1991, which was during their time in Death, so it’s hard to say, either way, I still have to put this here or I wouldn’t be doing this analysis justice. 

Next is “Regurgitated Guts.” It can't get any more shocking than that, this song is about punishment, damnation and betrayal. It’s about a suicidal preacher and an unfaithful servant, they both face horrifying consequences, with the preacher returning from the dead that brings a curse leading to maggots and guts being..well regurgitated. This macabre and gore throughout this song mixing with Chuck's signature guttural vocals give this track a nightmare feel to it the lyrics go “Suicidal preacher hangs himself, unfaithful servant goes straight to hell, when he returns, your life will end, down from the skies maggots descend.” This song pushes boundaries with its horror inspired storytelling, bringing you inside the nightmare itself.  

“Baptized In Blood” is exactly how it sounds. This song talks about a baptism but instead of traditional water, it is quite literally blood. Water usually symbolizes cleanliness and purification, and in this case, blood symbolizes being unclean, evil and unholy, once again going for shock value that this genre encapsulates itself with. “Baptized in blood, destined to burn, dark is my soul, reborn they'll learn.” The unrelenting aggression and horrifying imagery this song displays are what makes it so intense. 

“Torn To Pieces” dives into themes of dismemberment and gore, staying true to the album title. This song is about a body being torn to pieces, making this song drenched in a grotesque atmosphere. The intensity of this song is palatable with its intense gross imagery and intense shock value. “Out to find the truth, behind the myth of man eating man, finding bodies tied, up to a stake, you cannot understand.” The graphic storytelling of this song showcases the pure shock value that this album contains. 

Next on the list is “Evil Dead.” This song is inspired by the 1981 horror film of the same name. It delves into themes of possession, madness, and loss of control; making a very chilling song that fits the album's aesthetic. The song starts out a bit melodic like “Zombie Ritual” before transitioning into unrelenting aggression creating an intense and eerie feel to the song. “Trapped inside a life which is not yours, spirits within causing terror, fear, and darkness.” This line showcases a sense of dread and entrapment along with supernatural horror.

“Scream Bloody Gore,” this song was another inspiration from the 1985 movie “Re-Animator.” The main character by the name of Doctor Herbert West injects bodies with a green liquid in an attempt to re--animate corpses. “Inject the reborn terror, the blood comes spurting out another to control, add it to your count, orders to destroy, rip and tear apart wishing for the end, your death is just the start.” This track is also the same name of the album, which makes it an unforgettable one, taking us on an extremely disturbing journey throughout the entirety of the album. 

The song on the track list is called “Beyond the Unholy Grave.” It’s a chilling song that speaks of death, decay and of course, the supernatural. It has themes of evil forces and rotting flesh that creates a haunting track full of terror. Chuck’s intense guitar and guttural vocals give off scary storytelling. The lyrics go “Messenger of evil, haunting your soul laying in peace taking my corpse.” These lyrics evoke a sense of both mystery and dread making it perfect for the album. 

The last track on the album is called “Land of No Return.” This ending track perfectly wraps the whole album together by once again delving into themes of gore, death and decay. Painting an image of mangled bodies and mutations. “Mangled bodies falling from the sky, grotesque mutation ripping out your eyes, now a corpses slave you'll learn to rot, a life of endless gore is what you've got.” This horror filled track is full of intense riffs and more guttural vocals from frontman Chuck Schuldiner. With its shifting tempos and unrelenting aggression, this final track leaves a strong impression on listeners, ending it on shock value and pure gore. 

On an ending note, this album is a great listen and is considered a staple in death metal. It’s fast, loud, aggressive with disgusting lyrics, if you like that and haven’t heard the album, I’d recommend giving it a listen. If you’re new to death metal, it is an interesting genre, and I’d definitely recommend it. This album was considered less polished and raw compared to other Death albums, which I will be going into soon, so if you’re interested in that, please look forward to it in the future. I tried to handle this album with as much grace as I could, as I love this band. This album is the first Death album and is widely loved by death metal fans, as it is considered by some the first, making it a historical album. Thanks for reading!

[perserveringthroughmetal]

Metallica: Garage Days to Legends

Metallica was founded in Los Angeles in 1981 by James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich who answered an ad in the newspaper. They then recruited bassist Ron McGovney who was a friend and Housemate to James Hetfield and lead guitarist Dave Mustaine. The name ‘Metallica’ was suggested by Ron Quintana who was very active in the Bay Area metal scene. After being well received and opening for bands such as Saxon, they went on to record their first demo No Life Til’ Leather. The tape trading scene loved it, so after being even more well received, they decided to relocate to the Bay Area, and due to Ron McGovney leaving the band, they successfully convinced their new addition, Cliff Burton to leave his current band Trauma and replace their former bassist. 

  In 1983, Metallica was signed to Megaforce Records and traveled to New York to record their debut thrash album Kill ‘Em All. Due to Dave Mustaine’s volatile behavior and frequent drug use, he was fired from the band shortly after arriving in New York in April of 83’ and was replaced by Exodus member Kirk Hammett. After hiring Kirk, they recorded the album, which consisted of classics, like ‘Whiplash’, ‘Hit The Lights’, and ‘Seek and Destroy.’ with their energy, fast guitars, and intensity, the album was well received. 

  Because of the success of Kill ‘Em All; they began recording their next album Ride the Lightning. They recorded this album in Copenhagen in the summer of 1984, recording absolute hits such as ‘For Whom the Bell Tolls’, and Creeping Death.’ During the fall of 84’ they were signed with Elektra records as they rose to fame. 

  In 1986, the band released Master of Puppets, which reached the top 30 album charts, even touring with Ozzy Osbourne. Unfortunately, in that same year, while they were on the Damage Inc tour in 86’ there was a horrific bus accident resulting in the death of Cliff Burton who was only 24 years old, that accident forever altered Metallica’s history. Cliff Burton will forever be known for his badass playing style and unique stage presence, and he will never be forgotten. 

After multiple exhausting auditions, Metallica found their new bassist, Jason Newstead, and immediately went on tour and recorded Garage Days: Re-Revisited.

   Metallica, then recorded their album …And Justice for All, which shot up to number six on the US charts. Following the tour, Metallica went on to release their first music video for the song ‘One.’ This anti-war anthem is based on the book by Dalton Trumbo called “Johnny Got His Gun.” 

  In the year 1991 Metallica had officially made it big time with their well known self titled album also known as The Black Album. This album was produced by the famous Bob Rock. The album made it to number one worldwide, selling 16 million copies around the globe. The album won them many awards including a Grammy for ‘Best Metal Performance’, an MTV award for ‘Best Rock Video’, and an American Music Award for ‘Favorite Heavy Metal/Rock Artist Award.’ The tour followed the success of the album, doing 300 shows in 3 years. Metallica also went to co-headline a tour with Guns ‘N Roses, which led them to release a live album called “Live Shit: Binge & Purge.

  In the summer of 1996, the album Load was released, which featured songs such as ‘King Nothing’ and ‘Until it Sleeps.’ The success of this album was huge, selling five million copies. The band had written so many songs during this time that they decided to release the 1997 album Reload. After the release of the album, Metallica chose to do a live DVD recording of their performances on stage called Cunning Stunts. In 1998, Metallic released another Garage Days album full of new covers and a double disk release, which led them to the 1999 release of S&M; recorded with the San Francisco Symphony. 

  In 2001, the band was working on releasing a new album, but things quickly turned sour when Jason Newstead decided to part ways with the band, which led to Bob Rock filling in for Newstead on the album St. Anger. After the album, the band began holding auditions for a new bass player, eventually making a final decision and hiring Robert Trujillo from Suicidal Tendencies/Infectious Grooves/Ozzy Osbourne. They soon began touring and making the documentary Some Kind of Monster. The documentary went on to become an important piece of documentation for the band, showcases their struggles and triumphs during the years. 

  After years of successful touring, Metallica released the album Death Magnetic in the year 2008, although it was an experimental album, it was still well received topping the charts at number 1. Following massive success, the band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in the year 2009. In 2011, The band released an album by the name LuLu, a collaboration album with Lu Reed. This album was not so well received and many consider it their worst work, but Metallica have stood by it, and embraced their F you attitude.

  The band had since made a milestone achievement and even made a theatrical release of their live performance called Metallica: Through the Never in the year 2013. In that same year, Metallica has been the only band to tour all seven continents, including Antarctica! They also performed at the Glastonbury Music Festival, another history-making feat for the band. 

  In the year 2016, Metallica were in the process of re-releasing their whole catalog and working on their 2017 album Hardwired..To Self-Destruct. In the year 2020, the band began making fundraisers and sponsored videos to the All Within My Hands foundation resulting in $118,000 which also led to a benefit concert which helped multiple charities including helping those affected by Covid-19 during its peak. In 2023, the band released 72 Seasons, which led to a movie release of their performance for the album and their 10th Grammy win.

To this day, Metallica has remained influential to so many bands today. Metallica have shaped the genre and helped build it for what it is. They will always be legends in the scene and will be known as one of the greatest bands of all time.

[perserveringthroughmetal]

A written short history of Death and the Legacy of Chuck Schuldiner.

Death. The pioneers of extreme metal, also known as death metal. The founder of this band is the late great Chuck Schuldiner. Chuck was born May 13,1967. Born in New York, he spent most of his time in Florida as his family relocated there when he was a child. Florida was the birthplace and ground zero of death metal, but before there was Death, there was Mantas. In 1983, Chuck Schuldiner, Kam Lee and Rick Rozz formed Mantas laying the foundation for what would become known as Death (1984). With raw, aggressive guitars, guttural vocals, and relentless blast beats took the underground metal scene by storm. Starting with the tape trading scene where they would trade demo tapes with other bands and fans before death metal became more mainstream. They traded demos by the names of ‘Death by Metal’, 'Reign of Terror’ and ‘Infernal Death’. It was a time before streaming and social media, so this was how underground bands could get their music out there. They traded with bands like Sepultura who Death thanked on their first big record Scream Bloody Gore (1987). This album is considered one of the first true death metal albums with their horror movie and gore inspired lyrics. Recorded in California with drummer Chris Reifert. Songs like ‘Zombie Ritual’, ‘Infernal Death, and ‘Mutilation’ made their mark on this album, which inspired many death metal bands and fans alike, making one of the most influential albums in death metal history, redefining metal as a whole and bring death metal out of its infancy into something that could be taken seriously. 

  Leprosy (1988). Death was refining their sound and growing as a band. This album shows growth and cleaner production compared to their first record. They recorded this album in Florida with help from Morrisound Recording. This album focuses on topics that moved beyond gore, taking inspiration from themes of disease, decay, and existential dread. Songs like ‘Pull the Plug’ and ‘Leprosy’ became staples in the death metal genre. With those killer vocals from Chuck Schuldiner and guitar from Rick Rozz, Bill Andrews on drums, and Terry Butler on bass, they created an album that is deep in meaning and heavy on sound, making it a great album overall and showing their growth through lyrics and music.

  After Leprosy, Death kept evolving their sound making the album Spiritual Healing (1990), even switching from their shock value of a logo, changing it from an inverted cross to a cross that was no longer inverted, slowly moving on from their intense gore fueled songs. Chuck’s songwriting took to writing more about social issues like addiction and corruption. With songs like ‘Living Monstrosity’ and ‘Spiritual Healing.’ This album took on more technical guitar work making their way to shift to a more progressive sound. After the departure of Rick Rozz; James Murphy had joined as their lead guitarist adding a much more melodic tone. Recorded at Morrisound Recording, this album has a refined sound that took the production quality even further along with their growth as a band. The changes Death made would broaden their artistic evolution, and keep them fresh allowing them to grow along with their sound, letting them grow from shock imagery and intense gore filled lyrics to a more complex sound. I do have to note that during this time in 1990, Chuck Schuldiner had problems with their European tour, having to cancel right before due to disorganization and personal issues which strained the band dynamic a little. In a 1991 interview Chuck was asked about this and his explanation was mismanagement and financial issues. 

  Their next album Human (1991) was a complex album marking it a turning point for Death. They included more technical, complex, and progressive elements in this album, many people consider this the birth of technical death metal. Human showcases more introspective lyrics, focusing on individuality and self-awareness throughout the album with songs like ‘Flattening of Emotions’, ‘Suicide Machine’, and ‘Lack of Comprehension.’ For this album, the band did have lineup changes. Chuck Schuldiner brought Paul Masvidal on guitar, Sean Reinert on drums and Steve DiGiorgio on bass. This album proved the growth of the band and showed their ability to evolve and make an impact on metal as a whole. 

  Individual Thought Patterns (1993) is their next one, they recruited Andy LaRocque on guitar who is known for his work with King Diamond. Andy LaRocque gave them a more melodic flair in their music. They also recruited Gene Hoglan on drums who gave them more flair in this album. With their tempo changes and more grown up sound, tracks like ‘Overactive Imagination' and ‘Trapped in a Corner’ showed the complexity in their riffs and solos. I should note that their bassist Steve DiGiorgio is called a pioneer for his fretless bass guitar, which he featured on this album, giving the album a more technical sound. This album brings out topics that are introspective and philosophical, addressing societal norms and personal struggles. This album also featured the song “The Philosopher” which had frequent airplay on MTV. The sophisticated songwriting further proved Death to be a force to be reckoned with. 

  Symbolic (1995) is Death’s sixth studio album. Again, there are some lineup changes, with Chuck recruiting Kelly Conlon on bass, Bobby Koelble on guitar, and Gene Hoglan again on drums. This album leaned a lot further into more melodic and progressive elements. Songs like ‘Crystal Mountain’ and ‘Symbolic’ explored more into philosophical reflection about mortality, and religion. Tracks like ‘Perennial Quest’ and ‘Empty Words’ took on a more introspective approach. Symbolic turned Chuck’s reputation as a visionary and not just in the death metal scene. 

  The last album of Death is called The Sound of Perseverance (1998). This album takes on a more melodic tone and shows the growth and experimentation Chuck loved to go through. This album featured Richard Christy on drums, Shannon Hamm on Guitar and Scott Clendenin on bass. Chuck took on a higher pitched sound to his vocals on this one compared to his deep growls on previous albums along with longer tracks and intricate solos, this album is personally one of my favorites with songs like 'Scavenger of Human Sorrow', ‘Flesh and the Power It Holds’ along with their instrumental track “Voice of The Soul.’ This album highlights self-reflection, mortality, of course, perseverance. With the ending track being ‘Painkiller’ a nod to Judas Priest, this album was an ending album for Death. A lot of people bring up that ‘Painkiller' was the last on Judas Priest’s album of the same name as the song. This song was Rob Halfords goodbye before leaving the band, and Chuck did the same with The Sound of Perseverance before he put all of his efforts in Control Denied. This album stands as a masterpiece of progressive death metal, influencing many bands through this album. Control Denied was a way for Chuck to explore further into more melodic sounds and songwriting wanting to continue his growth as an artist. The band released the album The Fragile Art of Existence (1999), with vocals by Tim Aymar and guitar by Chuck, this album is a powerhouse overall. Unfortunately, in 1999 Chuck was diagnosed with glioma which is an aggressive form of brain cancer. He went through treatment, surgery and chemotherapy, but faced a lot of financial struggles with the cost of treatment and medical care. Chuck never was let down though, death metal fans rallied for him, some even creating benefits and fundraisers for him. Even after his passing in 2001, Chuck’s legacy still lives on through his music, his fans, his family and friends. He will forever be a legend, known for his perfectionism, his love of metal, animals, people, and nature. Let’s keep his legacy alive for many more years.

writers note: I really enjoyed researching and reading more about this band, because I'm a huge fan. If you want more from me, please let me know, or leave some recommendations. Much love! 🖤🤘