Chuck Schuldiner Zero Tolerance
Candlelight Records CDL182 February 22nd, 2005
By Jason Jordan
Its quite unfortunate that metal giant Chuck Schuldiner has been marred by so many horrid, posthumous releases. Why record companies arent content to leave a rich legacy alone paved with innumerable Death records is beyond me. But, at any rate, it seems as if Zero Tolerance will see daylight no matter the amount of fan pangs audibly iterated.
The best part about this compilation is the Control Denied material. Basically, it sounds like an instrumental version of anything found on The Sound of Perseverance. Ornate musicianship is grand in and of itself, but without vocals the impact is much less jarring than it should be. The remainder of the first disc is 1985s Infernal Death demo and 1986s Mutilation demo. Would you be surprised if I told you that the quality is horrendous, and that fuzz overpowers everything? Though its interesting to hear a bands roots, theres arguably a sensible way to go about doing so; would it have been too problematic to clean and polish the demos more so? Disc two isnt much better, and the listener receives recordings of the Death by Metal demo, the Reign of Terror demo, and a stunningly terrible, live recording from 1990. The live songs were seemingly recorded in a primitive fashion, and there was no attempt to refine any of it. Couple the aforementioned complaints with the bare-bones cover art to reach the conclusion: shameless cash grab that reeks of unprofessional amateurism.
Im sad to say that its optimal to cling only to official Death releases when observing Chuck Schuldiner at his best. Maybe if a label took a little pride in what they were releasing, then an audience would have several, gilded options at their fingertips. But seeing as how greed pervades business I doubt the latter statement will ever ring true.
5/10
Official Chuck Schuldiner website
Official Candlelight Records website
Candlelight Records CDL182 February 22nd, 2005
By Jason Jordan
Its quite unfortunate that metal giant Chuck Schuldiner has been marred by so many horrid, posthumous releases. Why record companies arent content to leave a rich legacy alone paved with innumerable Death records is beyond me. But, at any rate, it seems as if Zero Tolerance will see daylight no matter the amount of fan pangs audibly iterated.
The best part about this compilation is the Control Denied material. Basically, it sounds like an instrumental version of anything found on The Sound of Perseverance. Ornate musicianship is grand in and of itself, but without vocals the impact is much less jarring than it should be. The remainder of the first disc is 1985s Infernal Death demo and 1986s Mutilation demo. Would you be surprised if I told you that the quality is horrendous, and that fuzz overpowers everything? Though its interesting to hear a bands roots, theres arguably a sensible way to go about doing so; would it have been too problematic to clean and polish the demos more so? Disc two isnt much better, and the listener receives recordings of the Death by Metal demo, the Reign of Terror demo, and a stunningly terrible, live recording from 1990. The live songs were seemingly recorded in a primitive fashion, and there was no attempt to refine any of it. Couple the aforementioned complaints with the bare-bones cover art to reach the conclusion: shameless cash grab that reeks of unprofessional amateurism.
Im sad to say that its optimal to cling only to official Death releases when observing Chuck Schuldiner at his best. Maybe if a label took a little pride in what they were releasing, then an audience would have several, gilded options at their fingertips. But seeing as how greed pervades business I doubt the latter statement will ever ring true.
5/10
Official Chuck Schuldiner website
Official Candlelight Records website
