Death - Live in L.A. (Death & Raw) (2001)^{Release ID: 178}

A raw and unpolished live package that still gives a real sense of the power and talent of one of metal's true legends.

The years following Death’s 1998 album The Sound of Perseverance were extremely tough for Chuck Schuldiner, his family and his fans. After finally finding a suitable vocalist (Tim Aymar of Primal Scream) to front his Control Denied project and recording a debut album called The Fragile Art of Existence, the tragic news that Chuck had been diagnosed with a brainstem tumour was released. The band’s planned tour was immediately cancelled and Chuck instead spent the next twelve months battling the disease while still attempting to write a second Control Denied album, which was to be called When Man and Machine Collide. Yet by 2001 his condition had deteriorated to the point where there was very serious concern that this legendary talent would not survive the illness, let alone have the chance to make more music. Whether Nuclear Blast (the label with both Death and Control Denied signed to their roster) were beginning to panic that they might lose the opportunity to release further material by either band, or whether they genuinely wished to assist the Schuldiner family is not entirely clear, but their decision to release two live CD/DVD Death packages in an attempt to raise money to assist Chuck was certainly a commendable one. The first of these packages was called Live in L.A. (Death & Raw) and was released on October the 16th 2001.

The first thing that needs to be made very clear about these live albums is that they were never intended to be released, at least not in this state. Recorded in 1998 with the same line-up that produced The Sound of Perseverance, neither album has been remastered or patched up in any way, shape or form. What you get in both instances is a very raw sounding Death concert with fairly crappy production and with some obvious mistakes on show, which probably doesn’t sound like a very worthwhile proposition. However, considering I find many live albums superfluous due to them sounding almost exactly the same as the studio releases, with no alterations in tracks and crystal clear mixes that give no real impression of the live environment whatsoever, I find these raw yet perfectly audible releases to be extremely refreshing. Not only do you get a real sense of what Death live must have been like when listening to Live in L.A. or Live in Eindhoven for that matter, the constant reminders that these guys are playing what is extremely complex death metal at high speed up on a stage in front of hundreds (if not thousands) of adoring fans make these discs valuable to any fan. That being said, it is a bit sad that Chuck never got to take part in the packaging and release of an official, premeditated Death live package the way he would have wanted it to be experienced.

Live in L.A. (Death & Raw) was recorded on December the 5th, 1998 at the Whisky in Los Angeles (obviously). As would be expected considering the line-up, there is definitely a large focus given to the more modern and progressive Death material as opposed to the comparatively simplistic, traditional death metal of early albums. With seven tracks off Symbolic and The Sound of Perseverance compared to a total of six selected from the bands first five albums (including none from Spiritual Healing), fans of the early material might be a bit disappointed with the lack of attention. Still, the fact that these guys, who were predominantly hired to play purely progressive metal for Control Denied, are cranking out versions of Zombie Ritual and Pull the Plug at all is something to be thankful for. As mentioned earlier, there are numerous little slip ups throughout the concert, with second guitarist Shannon Hamm in particular being a bit sloppy at times. Chuck is awesome as expected, but I do wish that he’d performed the vocals in the original style of each track, rather than all in the high pitched manner that he’d switched to for the last album. If you can accept the sub-par sound quality, Live in L.A. is an awesome example of a legend doing what he was born to do. I just wish these releases could have helped save Chuck’s life, may he rest in peace.

The first ever Death live album turned out to be one of two released near the end of the band's tenure, the other being Live in Eindhoven. Those albums were released to raise money to help treat Death founder Chuck Schuldiner when he was having his brain cancer, which he tragically succumbed to by the end of that year, thus ending the band and his side-project Control Denied. He put Death on hold for Control Denied, so this live performance became one of the last for the band. The setlist is heavily focused on the band's 4 albums from their progressive/tech-death era, with only two songs from their earlier death metal era. A solid setlist for anyone with even slight interest in Death!

Chuck could show how well he could perform with the band's final lineup. Bassist Scott Clendenin (who also passed away, in 2015) may not have been in the same level as Steve DiGiorgio, but he still sounds excellent. He can fill in the background of the guitars performed by Chuck and Shannon Hamm, and the drums performed by Richard Christy. Anyone one looking for clear audible bass, it's all in here.

A strange Halloween-ish intro begins the show, setting things up for the energetic "The Philosopher". It has catchy groove to fit well through the tempo changes for a technical standout. The bass can be heard and loud, especially when it transitions to the next track... "Spirit Crusher" is a notable highlight with riffing mixing brutality and melody, the latter appearing more in the chorus. Then "Trapped in a Corner" opens with one of the best leads I've heard from a tech-death band, though the heaviness is a bit unbalanced. "Scavenger of Human Sorrow" shows temporary drummer Richard Christy peaking at every minute from the beginning onwards with his massive drum skills. I say temporary because he only appeared in this album along with the rest of the lineup besides Schuldiner. The other two members are Scott Clendenin, who plays cold deep bass, thick to the core and as different as possible from the riffing, with thoughtful effort on his performance; and Shannon Hamm, playing great guitar rhythm, essential for a tight contrast with Schuldiner's leads.

"Crystal Mountain" charges through with catchy bass and strong guitar with a cleaner tone, sounding mystical as the song closes. Another one of the best is "Flesh and the Power it Holds", a legendary 8-minute epic filled with mesmerizing instrumentation, unforgettable soloing and brilliant lyrics. Next song "Zero Tolerance" is more aggressive while complex, and the title reminds of that extreme metal magazine Zero Tolerance, which I bought an issue last week as of this review (Book review to be worked on when not too busy). The more deathly fans finally get what they want with "Zombie Ritual" from the band's debut Scream Bloody Gore, with sick riffing in the intro. For the more progressive fans, there's still more of their final sound to come...

"Suicide Machine" is a classic example of their progressive direction. Half the riffs are heavy and the other half is melodic, both especially in the climatic pre-chorus. The mind-blowing time changes are unexpected but keeps things stable. There are extreme sections alongside a famous chorus hook. "Together as One" has mind-f***ing rhythms, along with bass pumping through the thrashy death of Sadus at that time. "Empty Words" is a solid blend of accessible, aggressive, and progressive that should appeal to the more progressive fans such as myself. The title track of Symbolic is an incredible highlight with tons of transitions. Finally, we get to the last track "Pull the Plug", but before playing the actual song, they play the Charlie's Angels theme! A bit confusing, but it leads to the actual song from the band's second album Leprosy, actually one of the best tracks I've heard in standard death metal, with emotional riffing and an epic solo. Incredible! I gotta listen to the original studio version.

I wouldn't say this is the best live performance to end the band's activity in a bang, but there are some great highlights here! Death fans should really pick up this album, and maybe also the DVD edition for a more worthwhile visual experience. RIP Chuck Schuldiner and Scott Clendenin.....

Favorites (one highlight per album): "The Philosopher", "Flesh and the Power it Holds", "Zombie Ritual", "Suicide Machine", "Symbolic", "Pull the Plug"