41 Facts About Chuck Schuldiner

Charles Michael Schuldiner was an American musician.

Chuck Schuldiner cofounded the pioneering Florida death metal band Death in 1983, in which he was the guitarist, primary songwriter and only continuous member until his death in 2001.

Chuck Schuldiner became the lead vocalist in 1985 after original drummer and vocalist Kam Lee left the band.

In 1987, Chuck Schuldiner founded the publishing company Mutilation Music, affiliated with performance rights organization BMI.

Charles Michael Chuck Schuldiner was born on May 13,1967, on Long Island, New York.

The area was relatively undeveloped, and Chuck Schuldiner spent much of his time playing with his siblings in the wooded areas around his house.

Chuck Schuldiner became interested in art, music and sculpting at an early age, and started playing guitar at the age of nine.

Chuck Schuldiner, who was very close with his brother, "never really came to terms with" the latter's passing, according to his mother.

Chuck Schuldiner's parents bought him an acoustic guitar to help him cope with the grieving process.

Chuck Schuldiner quickly grew bored of guitar lessons, and found more interest in playing the electric guitar.

Chuck Schuldiner cited progressive metal bands such as Watchtower, and Queensryche as influences in a 1991 interview, as well as Kiss and Metallica, Slayer, Iron Maiden, Mercyful Fate and Raven were among the bands that he claimed as influences in a 1993 interview.

Chuck Schuldiner's mother said he formed his first band in the family's garage a few years after his brother's death.

Chuck Schuldiner stated he played his first live show at age 15 in a park near the family's residence in Altamonte Springs, Florida.

Chuck Schuldiner performed well in school before becoming bored with education and eventually dropping out.

Chuck Schuldiner has stated that if he had not become a musician, he would have liked to have become a veterinarian or a cook.

Chuck Schuldiner played guitar in the band, while Rick Rozz was on guitar and Kam Lee played the drums and performed the vocals.

In January 1986, Chuck Schuldiner moved to Toronto and temporarily joined the Canadian band Slaughter.

Chuck Schuldiner continued with 1988's Leprosy with the line-up of former Mantas guitarist Rick Rozz and rhythm section Terry Butler on bass and Bill Andrews on drums, and 1990's Spiritual Healing, where guitarist James Murphy had replaced Rozz in 1989.

Chuck Schuldiner had fired his manager Eric Greif but settled and re-hired him before the recording of his next, influential release.

Death's breakthrough album, Human saw the band evolving to a more technical and progressive style, in which Chuck Schuldiner displayed his guitar skills more than ever.

Chuck Schuldiner continued in this style with 1993's Individual Thought Patterns, 1995's Symbolic.

Chuck Schuldiner announced the following year that he had broken up Death and would focus on his new progressive metal band, Control Denied.

Chuck Schuldiner played guitar in the supergroup Voodoocult on the album Jesus Killing Machine in 1994 and played a guest solo on Naphobia's 1995 release, Of Hell on the track "As Ancients Evolve" as a favor to the band's bassist at the time who was a friend of Chuck Schuldiner's.

Chuck Schuldiner played lead guitar on a tribute track to Randy Rhoads called Hardly A Day Goes By with his Control Denied bandmates Chris Williams on drums, and Scott Clendenin on bass, as well as Craig Sease on vocals.

Chuck Schuldiner secured a record deal with Nuclear Blast in 1997, but the label required that he release another Death album before Control Denied.

Chuck Schuldiner was asked to be one of the many guest vocalists on Dave Grohl's 2001 Probot.

Chuck Schuldiner had experienced "extreme neck pain" in early 1999 and was diagnosed with pontine glioma that May, on his 32nd birthday.

Chuck Schuldiner had surgery in New York City in January 2000, which removed half of the tumor.

In May 2001, it was announced that Chuck Schuldiner's cancer had reappeared.

Chuck Schuldiner was at first unable to afford the surgery that he needed immediately.

Jane Chuck Schuldiner urged all who read the statements about Chuck Schuldiner and his illness to obtain health insurance, stating her frustration in the American healthcare system.

Chuck Schuldiner had taken out medical insurance after his first surgery, but the insurer had refused to pay because the cancer pre-dated insurance being taken out.

Chuck Schuldiner would go on until he couldn't anymore, and he really mourned that he couldn't finish it.

Chuck Schuldiner was the one who never gave up, who instilled hope and love in those all around him and he never cursed fate.

Beth Chuck Schuldiner has a son named Christopher Steele, who plays guitar.

Chuck Schuldiner explained that he had grown tired of the usual Satanic and horror-themed lyrical content of his contemporaries in the genre, and expressed a desire to explore "real life horrors" in his lyrics.

Chuck Schuldiner has been described as a "perfectionist" by some who had known him and worked with him.

Chuck Schuldiner used very little effects except for a chorus effect during his solos.

Chuck Schuldiner is often referred to as "The Godfather of death metal".

Chuck Schuldiner has been credited with pushing the boundaries of death metal and influencing the development of several subgenres.

Chuck Schuldiner's father is Jewish, and his mother is a Christian.