Remixed by DEATH mastering engineer Alan Douches (West West Side Studios), remastered, repackaged and featuring tons of newly unearthed and previously unreleased demo and live tracks, listen to the ultimate version of ‘Individual Thought Patterns’ in its ultimate entirety here (BandCamp) or via player available below, before buying it here (Relapse Records) as a 2-CD or 3-CD deluxe reissue. DEATH, the heavy metal institution founded, realized, and helmed by legendary guitarist Chuck Schuldiner, released the ‘Individual Thought Patterns’ album (the follow-up to their 1991's album ‘Human’ – click yellow to find out more) in 1993. Expectations were high following ‘Human’, but Schuldiner proved once again that he could rise to any occasion. ‘Individual Thought Patterns’ included the track ‘The Philosopher’ (available below); arguably the best song to ever come from the world of extreme metal and to this date the most widely-recognized:
DEATH was founded in 1983 (known then as “Mantas”) in Orlando, Florida, by heavy metal icon, known to many as the founding father of death metal, Chuck Schuldiner. After creating quite a buzz in the metal underworld with their first demos, DEATH released debut LP entitled ‘Scream Bloody Gore’ in 1987 via Combat Records. By now legendary ‘Scream Bloody Gore’ is considered a genre template for death metal (“death metal's first archetypal document”):
“Boiled down to the most basic terms, this transition simply entailed propelling thrash metal's sheer speed and ferocious execution into further inaccessibility with the addition of gore-obsessed lyrics delivered via often indecipherably growled vocals. Needless to say, this unprecedented level of sonic hatred went down a storm with thousands upon thousands of angry teenagers across the world,” [explains Eduardo Rivadavia, AllMusic – more here]
Schuldiner enlisted guitarist Rick Rozz, bassist Terry Butler and drummer Bill Andrews for 1988's ‘Leprosy’, recorded with, by now legendary, death metal producer Scott Burns. Rozz left the band and was replaced by James Murphy before DEATH's third album, 1990's ‘Spiritual Healing’. Turmoil between the bandmembers that ensued the release, caused Schuldiner to enlist bassist Steve DiGiorgio, drummer Sean Reinert and guitarist Paul Masvidal into DEATH's ranks for the release of 1991's album ‘Human’. (“This release, along with the even more commercially successful ‘Arise’ by Brazilians SEPULTURA, helped ensure that 1991 should go down as the absolute apex of death metal's world domination,” couldn’t contain his enthusiasm E. Rivadavia, AllMusic.) In 1993, Reinert and Masvidal left the group and Schuldiner replaced them with drummer Gene Hoglan and guitarist Andy LaRocque for that year's release, fifth album ‘Individual Thought Patterns’, which continued to expand on the technical, progressive style that began with ‘Human’. In 1994, DEATH left Relativity Media after eight years and signed with Roadrunner Records which acted as their European distributor until then. Sixth album, 1995's ‘Symbolic’ benefited from Bobby Koelble on guitar and Kelly Conlon on bass. “But come 1996,” writes E. Rivadavia, AllMusic “DEATH's chief architect was hungry for a creative outlet with which to express his more mainstream heavy metal songwriting, and citing his own voice as too limited for what he had in mind, Schuldiner shocked the heavy metal community by disbanding DEATH and announcing his plans for an entirely new band, to be named CONTROL DENIED.” Entering into a licensing agreement with Nuclear Blast Records for both DEATH and his new project, Schuldiner recorded one final album with DEATH, 1998's ‘The Sound Of Perseverance’:
“Words cannot do this album enough justice. This is a truly glorious metal release, certainly DEATH's finest hour, and easily one of the top metal albums of all time. … This album delicately mixes the best aspects of past albums and takes them one step further. The album is more aggressive, more progressive, and certainly more melodic. … No “true” metal listener can ignore the fact that DEATH have carefully crafted the perfect album for the metal world, an album which draws from the creative pool of ATHEIST, DREAM THEATER, and CYNIC, yet remains pure unadulterated DEATH,” Jason Hundey, AllMusic – more here]
‘The Sound Of Perseverance’ featured Shannon Hamm on guitars, Scott Clendenin on bass and Richard Christy on drums. Chuck Schuldiner was diagnosed with a malignant brain-stem tumor in early 2000. After a long battle, he succumbed to cancer in 2001, age 33.
“Throughout this long journey and drastic evolutionary curve,” writes Eduardo Rivadavia, AllMusic Guide, “Chuck Schuldiner was the only constant, the effective mastermind behind DEATH's continually groundbreaking career, and his near-canonization at the time of his untimely passing only confirmed his unequaled stature at the top of rock's most uncompromising style.”
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