Chuck Schuldiner

Charles Michael Schuldiner was born on May 13, 1967 on Long Island, New York to a Jewish father of Austrian descent and a mother from the American South, a convert to Judaism. Both of his parents were teachers. In 1968, his family moved to Florida. Schuldiner was the youngest of three children. He had an older brother named Frank and an older sister named Bethann. Schuldiner started playing guitar at the age of 9. His 16 year old brother had died and his parents bought him a guitar, thinking it would help with his grief. He was originally inspired by groups like Iron Maiden, KISS and Billy Idol, among others, and was particularly interested in the New Wave of British Heavy Metal, citing bands of that genre among his favorites. He frequently cited French band Sortilège as his personal favorite metal group. Schuldiner formed the band Mantas in 1983 when he was 16 years old. However, in January 1986, he moved to Toronto and temporarily joined the Canadian band Slaughter but quickly returned to continue the formation of Mantas, which changed its name to Death. the band evolved with many different musicians and influenced many bands by shaping death metal itself. He even designed the Death logo and its various incarnations during the length of his career. Under Schuldiner's leadership, Death produced seven full-length albums between 1987 and 1998, each of them receiving critical acclaim. Their best-selling album is "Human", having sold over 600,000 copies across the world since its 1991 release. Schuldiner commonly spoke out against artists who were garnering negative attention to the death metal scene. He openly condemned and disavowed stereotypes of metal musicians as being harmful to animals, people, or being anti-life. On his 32nd birthday, May 13, 1999, Schuldiner was diagnosed with a malignant type of brain cancer that invades the brain stem, and immediately underwent radiation therapy. In January 2000, Schuldiner underwent surgery to remove the tumor. The operation was a success, but the Schuldiner family was struggling financially. Many fund-raisers, auctions, and benefit concerts took place to help cover the costs. The money began to come in as the metal community, in total shock, realized that Schuldiner's life was in danger. The metal community and the Schuldiner family showed deep concern because Schuldiner could have lost his life due to lack of funds. Schuldiner continued to work on his music, continuing his work with Control Denied. About two years after his original diagnosis, in May 2001, the cancer returned and Schuldiner fell ill again. Many artists, including Kid Rock, Korn and Red Hot Chili Peppers, got together during the summer of 2001 to auction off personal items with the funds assisting Schuldiner's medical expenses, an effort covered by MTV. Schuldiner received chemotherapy to help with his treatment regimen, but it weakened him greatly. Chuck Schuldiner died on December 13, 2001, at approximately 4 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. He was cremated and MTV reported that recording artists, including Mike Patton, Dimebag Darrell, Glen Benton, King Diamond, Ville Valo, Trey Azagthoth and Max Cavalera, along with all of the former and active members of Death, attended his memorial service. Today, Schuldiner is considered by many musicians and bands to be a huge inspiration.Schuldiner is often referred to as "The Father of Death Metal", and his obituary in the January 5, 2002 issue of UK's Kerrang! magazine said that "Chuck Schuldiner was one of the most significant figures in the history of metal." Schuldiner was ranked No. 10 in Joel McIver's book The 100 Greatest Metal Guitarists in 2009 and No. 20 in March 2004 Guitar World's "The 100 Greatest Metal Guitarists".