Death

Death was an American band from Orlando, Florida, formed in 1983 by guitarist, vocalist and songwriter Chuck Schuldiner, who remained its sole constant member through a long series of lineup changes. Widely regarded as one of the founding bands of death metal, Death is credited alongside acts like Possessed and Morbid Angel with shaping the genre's early sound.

Their debut album, Scream Bloody Gore, is considered one of the foundational death metal records, built on raw, aggressive riffing and guttural vocals. As the band's catalog progressed through albums like Spiritual Healing and Human, Schuldiner steadily pushed the music toward a more technical, progressive and melodically sophisticated style, distinguishing Death from many of its more straightforwardly brutal peers.

Later albums such as Symbolic and The Sound of Perseverance further cemented the band's reputation for combining intricate musicianship with death metal intensity, influencing generations of extreme and progressive metal bands. Schuldiner is widely credited as one of the originators of extreme metal, though he was famously modest about that legacy. Death disbanded in 2001 following his death from brain cancer.