Chuck Schuldiner
Death along Possessed were one of the bands that help start the death metal in the early-mid 1980's. That may have been enough of a legacy to make Death's frontman important, but he didn't stop there. He kept progressing as a player and a writer. He pushed and broadened the boundries of death metal by bringing in his technical abilities and helped the genre to grow. I think he was progressing as a player and a writer even up until he was taken from us all too soon.
I adore Death sans their first album that I could never get in to. I met Chuck in 1998 and he was one of the nicest guys ever. It was Death/Hammerfall on the Sound of Perseverance tour in Springfield, VA. Absolutely phenomenal night. Incredible songwriter. RIP.
ReplyDeleteChuck Schuldiner could make the list on many levels: technical skill, writing, innovation. He was really a pretty amazing musician who, despite ability that might tempt him, was never self-indulgent. He was a guy I was definitely hoping to see on the list, especially since he gets forgotten all too often.
ReplyDeleteNot self-indulgent? Death was the epitome of self-indulgence, especially their last 4 albums.
ReplyDeleteI disagree. I always thought there was a point to what he was playing other than just showing off his chops.
ReplyDeleteguitarist = self-indulgent
ReplyDeletethey all are. the ones who aren't still are. it's why they are guitarists.
That's asinine. Sure, plenty of them are, but there are a lot who put the music ahead of showing off.
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