Death was an American death metal band from Altamonte Springs, Florida. Formed in 1983 under the name Mantas, the group originally consisted of guitarist Chuck Schuldiner, second guitarist Frederick "Rick Rozz" DeLillo, and drummer and vocalist Barney "Kam" Lee. The band went through many personnel changes during its tenure, before disbanding in December 2001 upon Schuldiner's death. The final lineup of Death featured Schuldiner on guitars and vocals, Shannon Hamm on guitars, Richard Christy on drums, (since 1997) and Scott Clendenin on bass (since 1998).

History 1983–1987

Chuck Schuldiner formed Mantas in 1983 with drummer/vocalist Kam Lee and guitarist Rick Rozz. The band recorded its first rehearsal demo in early 1984, which is known unofficially as Emotional. The recording featured a temporary bassist named Dave Tett, who left after just a few rehearsals and was the band's only bassist during its tenure as Mantas. The group released its first official demo, Death by Metal, in the summer of 1984. In September, the band briefly broke up for "two or three weeks", and returned in October under the new name of Death. The Reign of Terror demo was recorded later that month.

Shortly after the recording of the Infernal Death demo in March 1985, Rozz left Death; Schuldiner and Lee recorded the Rigor Mortis demo the next month. Guitarist Matt Olivo and bassist Scott Carlson of the band Genocide joined the band that May. However after Lee left and they struggled to find a replacement, the pair left after just a few months. In September, Schuldiner relocated to San Francisco, California and built a new Death lineup with bassist Erik Meade and former D.R.I. drummer Eric Brecht. The trio released the Back from the Dead demo in October, before both new members left in December and Schuldiner returned to Florida.

Death took a brief hiatus in early 1986, while Schuldiner briefly rehearsed with Canadian group Slaughter. In March, the guitarist and vocalist moved to San Francisco again, where he formed a new incarnation of Death with drummer Chris Reifert. Working as a two-piece, with Schuldiner handling bass duties, the group issued the demo Mutilation in April, which led to the band signing a deal with Combat Records. The band briefly played with bassist Steve Di Giorgio of Sadus, with whom they shared practice space. Di Giorgio also played on a test pressing of Scream Bloody Gore. In November the band recorded its debut full-length album, Scream Bloody Gore, which was issued the following May. Before the album's release, the duo was briefly joined by second guitarist John Hand.

1987–1992 Around the time of the release of Scream Bloody Gore, Schuldiner moved back to Florida without Reifert, who opted to stay in San Francisco. He subsequently enlisted former guitarist Rick Rozz along with bassist Terry Butler and drummer Bill Andrews from Massacre for a new incarnation of Death. The group issued Leprosy in 1988, however Butler did not feature on the album and bass was instead performed by Schuldiner. During the subsequent touring cycle, Rozz was dismissed from Death and temporarily replaced by Cynic's Paul Masvidal for a handful of Mexican shows.

After "a few weeks" with Mark Carter, the band was joined by guitarist James Murphy in the summer of 1989. Spiritual Healing was recorded at the end of the year and released the following February. During the subsequent tour, Murphy was fired and the guitarist role changed a number of times – first, Masvidal returned to complete a run of shows in April 1990, before Evildead's Albert Gonzales took over for shows between August and October. When Schuldiner refused to perform in Europe at the end of the year due to poor management and organization of the tour, the remaining members completed the tour without him, using members of the road crew as stand-ins.

Schuldiner parted ways with Butler and Andrews after their tour without him, and in April 1991 he returned to record Human with Masvidal, Sadus bassist Steve Di Giorgio, and Masvidal's Cynic bandmate Sean Reinert on drums. Di Giorgio was unable to commit to the band full-time due to commitments with Sadus, so he was replaced on the subsequent touring cycle by Scott Carino. In spring 1992, Death was forced to cancel a run of shows in the UK due to financial issues.

1993–2001 In early 1993, Schuldiner reunited with bassist Steve Di Giorgio to record Individual Thought Patterns, which also featured King Diamond guitarist Andy LaRocque and former Dark Angel drummer Gene Hoglan. LaRocque was unable to commit full-time to Death, so he was replaced for European festivals in the spring and a US tour in the summer by Ralph Santolla. For a European run later in the year, Forbidden's Craig Locicero took over when Santolla returned to his main band Eyewitness.

By early 1995, Di Giorgio had left Death and LaRocque had confirmed his inability to return. Schuldiner asked former Watchtower bassist Doug Keyser to join the band, but he declined, which led Schuldiner to add bassist Kelly Conlon and guitarist Bobby Koelble in time for the recording of Symbolic. After the album's release, the group performed at several European festivals, before Conlon was dismissed and replaced for subsequent tour dates by Brian Benson.

Early the next year, Schuldiner announced the disbandment of Death and the formation of Control Denied, following a disagreement with Roadrunner Records. The new group initially featured vocalist B.C. Richards, though he left the band in 1997. An early lineup of the band included guitarist Shannon Hamm, bassist Benson and drummer Chris Williams.

Death returned in the summer of 1997, with Control Denied members Hamm, Scott Clendenin (who by that time had replaced Benson on bass) and Richard Christy (the replacement for drummer Williams) featuring in the new incarnation of the band. Di Giorgio briefly returned and played bass on demos for The Sound of Perseverance, which was Death's final studio album and was released in 1998 with Clendenin on bass. After a tour promoting the album, Schuldiner returned to focus on recording the second Control Denied album. However, in 1999 he was diagnosed with pontine glioma, for which he underwent surgery in January 2000. Despite initially improving, Schuldiner's condition worsened in 2001, and, on December 13, he died. Shortly before his death, the band issued its first two live albums.

Members ImageNameYears activeInstrumentsRelease contributionsChuck Schuldinerall Death releasesBarney "Kam" Lee1983–1985Rick RozzguitarsDave Tett1984bassnone Scott Carlson1985none Matt OlivoguitarsErik MeadebassBack from the Dead (1985)Eric BrechtdrumsChris Reifert1986–1987Steve Di GiorgiobassJohn Hand1986guitarsnoneTerry Butler1987–1990bassBill AndrewsdrumsPaul MasvidalguitarsMark Carter1989noneJames Murphy1989–1990Spiritual Healing (1990)Albert Gonzales1990 Live 1990, 1991 Unknown (2020)Louie CarrisalezvocalsnoneWalter TrachslerguitarsSean Reinert1991–1992 drumsScott Carino1991–1992 bassGene Hoglan1992–1995drumsAndy LaRocque1993 guitarsIndividual Thought Patterns (1993)Ralph Santolla1993 Detroit, MI 1993 (2020)Craig Locicero1993 noneBobby Koelble1994-1995Kelly ConlonbassSymbolic (1995)Brian Benson1995 Shannon Hamm1997–2001guitarsall Death releases from The Sound of Perseverance (1998) to Vivus! (2012)Richard ChristydrumsScott Clendenin1998–2001 bass

Timeline

Lineups PeriodMembersReleasesEarly 1983Chuck Schuldiner – guitars, bass Kam Lee – drums, vocals Rick Rozz – guitarsNoneEarly – spring 1984Chuck Schuldiner – guitars Kam Lee – drums, vocals Rick Rozz – guitars Dave Tett – bassOne rehearsal tapeSpring – September 1984Chuck Schuldiner – guitars, bass, vocals Kam Lee – drums, vocals Rick Rozz – guitarsDeath by Metal (1984)Band inactive September – October 1984October 1984 – March 1985Chuck Schuldiner – guitars, bass, vocals Kam Lee – drums, vocals Rick Rozz – guitarsReign of Terror (1984) Infernal Death (1985)March – April 1985Chuck Schuldiner – guitars, bass, vocals Kam Lee – drums, vocalsRigor Mortis (1985)May – summer 1985Chuck Schuldiner – guitars, vocals Kam Lee – drums, vocals Scott Carlson – bass, vocals Matt Olivo – guitarsSeveral rehearsal tapesSeptember – December 1985Chuck Schuldiner – guitars, vocals Erik Meade – bass Eric Brecht – drumsBack from the Dead (1985)Band inactive December 1985 – February 1986March – late 1986Chuck Schuldiner – guitars, bass, vocals Chris Reifert – drums One rehearsal tape (March 1986) Mutilation (April 1986)1986Chuck Schuldiner – guitars, bass, vocals Chris Reifert – drums Steve Di Giorgio - bassRehearsals and Scream Bloody Gore test pressing May - November 1986Chuck Schuldiner – guitars, bass, vocals Chris Reifert – drumsRehearsals (May 26, 1986) Rehearsals (May 28, 1986) Original Florida session (July 17, 1986) Rehearsals (August 20, 1986) Scream Bloody Gore (1987)Early 1987Chuck Schuldiner – guitars, vocals, bass Chris Reifert – drums John Hand – guitarsNoneLate 1986 – May 1987Chuck Schuldiner – guitars, vocals, bass Chris Reifert – drumsJune 1987 – May 1989Chuck Schuldiner – guitars, vocals Rick Rozz – guitars Terry Butler – bass Bill Andrews – drumsRehearsals (September 23, 1987) Leprosy demos (November 1987) Rehearsals (December 5, 1987) Leprosy (1988) Chicago, IL 01.21.1988 (2020) Tampa, FL 02.10.1989 (2020) New Rochelle, NY 12.03.1988 (2020)June 1989Chuck Schuldiner – guitars, vocals Terry Butler – bass Bill Andrews – drums Paul Masvidal – guitars NoneJuly 1989Chuck Schuldiner – guitars, vocals Terry Butler – bass Bill Andrews – drums Mark Carter – guitarsSummer 1989 – April 1990Chuck Schuldiner – guitars, vocals Terry Butler – bass Bill Andrews – drums James Murphy – guitarsRehearsals Joke/Jam tracks Studio instrumentals New Rochelle, NY March 17, 1990 Spiritual Healing (1990)April 1990Chuck Schuldiner – guitars, vocals Terry Butler – bass Bill Andrews – drums Paul Masvidal – guitars NoneAugust 1990Chuck Schuldiner – guitars, vocals Terry Butler – bass Bill Andrews – drums1990 rehearsalAugust – October 1990Chuck Schuldiner – guitars, vocals Terry Butler – bass Bill Andrews – drums Albert Gonzales – guitars Live 1990, 1991 Unknown (2020)October 1990Chuck Schuldiner – guitars, vocals Terry Butler – bass Bill Andrews – drumsTijuana 10.06.1990 (2020)October – December 1990Terry Butler – bass Bill Andrews – drums Louie Carrisalez – vocals Walter Trachsler – guitars NoneJanuary-May 1991Chuck Schuldiner – guitars, vocals Paul Masvidal – guitars Steve Di Giorgio – bass Sean Reinert – drumsHuman demos Rehearsals (January 1991) Drum and bass tracks Basic instrumental studio tracks Human (1991)October 1991 – April 1992Chuck Schuldiner – guitars, vocals Paul Masvidal – guitars Sean Reinert – drums Scott Carino – bass Live 1990, 1991 Unknown (2020) Belgium 12.23.1991 (2020)Band inactive spring 19921992Chuck Schuldiner – guitars1992 riff tapeDecember 1992Chuck Schuldiner – guitars Gene Hoglan – drums1992 demosEarly 1993Chuck Schuldiner – guitars, vocals Steve Di Giorgio – bass Gene Hoglan – drums Andy LaRocque – guitarsIndividual Thought Patterns (1993)April – August 1993Chuck Schuldiner – guitars, vocals Steve Di Giorgio – bass Gene Hoglan – drums Ralph Santolla – guitars Detroit, MI 1993 (2020)September – October 1993Chuck Schuldiner – guitars, vocals Steve Di Giorgio – bass Gene Hoglan – drums Craig Locicero – guitars NoneBand inactive late 1993January 1994Chuck Schuldiner – guitars, vocals, bass, drum programmingJanuary 1994 demo (1994)March 1994Chuck Schuldiner – guitar Gene Hoglan – drum programming Bobby Koelble – guitars Steve Di Giorgio – bassMarch 1994 demo (1994)January – May 1995Chuck Schuldiner – guitars, vocals Gene Hoglan – drums Bobby Koelble – guitars Kelly Conlon – bassSymbolic (1995)June – October 1995Chuck Schuldiner – guitars, vocals Gene Hoglan – drums Bobby Koelble – guitars Brian Benson – bassMontreal 06.22.1995 (2020)