DEEP INSIDE,
IN THE WORLD OF EMPTYWORDS

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  • Monday May 26 2008
    Top Heavy Metal Musicians Select Favorite Guitarists Of All Time

    The Brazilian Roadie Crew magazine organized a poll in which 330 guitarists were asked about their favorite guitarists of all time. Among the participants in the poll were current and former members of such bands as GUNS N' ROSES, KISS, MACHINE HEAD, NIGHTWISH, MEGADETH, SCORPIONS, TESTAMENT, ARCH ENEMY, KING DIAMOND, SEPULTURA, DIO, TWISTED SISTER, KAMELOT and DOWN.

    Chuck ended up in 35th place, and as Jane used to say: "he would've been so proud!" The full results of the poll — published in the new issue of Roadie Crew (#112) — can be viewed here. To walk-through the following images: [ 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 ] press P for previous or N for next images.
  • Saturday May 24 2008
    Blabbermouth's Symbolic Reissue Album Review On EW

    "For many reasons, it's hard to talk objectively about the work of Chuck Schuldiner and DEATH. For one, the man was taken from us far too early, leaving many musical pathways still untraveled. There's also the fact that his legacy, the arc of his creativity from "Scream Bloody Gore" to "The Sound of Perseverance" and into the CONTROL DENIED era, is an essential part of the evolution of heavy metal, impossible to remove fully and examine out of context. Each of DEATH's seven studio albums can be seen as both a fully-realized milestone in metal history, and a transition point leading into a future few could envision at the time." […] [more]
  • Wednesday May 21 2008
    To All Death & Control Denied Fans United Team Members Regarding United Devices

    From World Community Grid: Dear EmptyWords,

    We want to ensure that you continue to contribute to the research projects that you have currently selected, and also have an opportunity to participate in all of World Community Grid's latest projects, such as finding a cure for Cancer and Dengue Fever and building climate models that will improve the quality of life in Africa. To continue to participate in World Community Grid, you need to take some steps to upgrade the World Community Grid software on your PC or laptop. [WCG screensaver promo pic]

    As we announced in August of last year, World Community Grid is migrating from the United Devices (UD) software platform to the Berkeley Open Infrastructure for Network Computing (BOINC) software platform. The decision was made to provide a better volunteer experience for all World Community Grid members. You can read about the features and advantages of the BOINC software in a technical tip from the March 2007 newsletter and in a post about the transition in the Member News forum.

    As detailed in the technical tip and forum post, after May 31, 2008, World Community Grid will no longer be using the UD software and members who have not switched to the BOINC software will not be contributing to any of the research projects running on World Community Grid.

    This is a reminder that you need to install the BOINC software before May 31, 2008 in order to continue to donate your unused computer cycles to help humanity. The process of migrating to BOINC is very easy and takes less than 5 minutes.

    To start the migration, visit the World Community Grid website where you can download and install the BOINC software. The BOINC installer will detect if your computer is running the UD software and will help you uninstall it.

    If you have any questions, we encourage you to post them in the BOINC Agent Support forum.

    Thank you in advance for switching to BOINC and continuing to be an integral part of the success of World Community Grid.
  • Tuesday May 13 2008
    Articles & Stories Down Memory Lane To Celebrate Chuck’s Birthday

    Today, on Chuck’s 41th birthday, we have a detailed and passionate biography from Voices Of The Darkside where the band Death and it's predecessor Mantas become chronologically defined in relation to their time/genre/touring mates. Now we really know it all, we guess… (thanks Frank).

    BTW: Speaking of biographies, touring and all there is to know we can reveal this: did you know that Chuck actually had a little fear of flying? Isn’t that funny? A (death) metal musician going on a plane with shaky knees to enjoy his fans, if that’s not devotion… so now you know.

    Linking to the aforementioned biography we also have a The Fragile Art Of Existence review from the Transcending The Mundane Magazine, right after the release of the album, almost 9 (nine!) years ago… and only now on EmptyWords… Anyway, enjoy the updates!

    In other “news”: We’ve closed the sitering some time ago. As announced before, we re-evaluated the sitering. With only one (!) exception the sites did not work or had fallen into disrepair. We’ve moved the only remaining website, HumanDeath.de (we think it’s a great fansite!), into EW’s LINKS/RELATED II section. Thanks to those who participated.

    And finally: The only band member whose (last) name was unknown… until now is: Erik Meade. With this new information, the 7th paragraph from Voices Of The Darkside's biography, as well as pieces of other articles, about the lost bassist are outdated… Thanks Erik! This is what he said to EmptyWords:

    “Just in case you're interested, I was the bass player for Death during the "Back from the Dead" era. My name is Erik (with a k) Meade. My claim can be verified by Eric (with a c) Brecht as me and him both joined and left Death at the same time, so any tapes featuring him also include me. A little background on how we joined:

    In 1985 me and Eric were trying to put a band together when Eric got a call from Chuck saying he was moving to San Francisco and needed a band. He knew about Eric as Eric had been the original drummer for D.R.I. Eric asked if I wanted to play bass for Death and even though I’m actually a guitar player I said yes as we both knew about Death thru the underground tape trading scene.

    Chuck flew out and we started rehearsing at a rehearsal space run by a local punk band called M.D.C. We played a couple of gigs at a place called Ruthies Inn in Berkley and a show in San Francisco at a place called The Farm on a bill with Mordred. At the time we were working on some songs that later came out on Scream Bloody Gore. I remember that the last song we worked on was Evil Dead…

    Oh by the way, on a technical note, the guitar Chuck was playing at that time was home made by some guy in Florida and although it looked really cool from a distance it looked really shoddy up close. The contours hadn't been sanded very well and it was simply painted black with a can of black spraypaint. It also played pretty badly and the few times I played it I was amazed that Chuck liked it so much.

    Later when he got his custom BC Rich guitars made he had them designed to look like it so most people think he had the same guitar all the time. Well like I said my name is Erik Meade, not Eric (unknown)” […]

    Meanwhile the timeline has been adjusted. Okay, one more album review though: Live in L.A. from Voices Of The Darkside. Enjoy again! More soon!

    EW
  • Thursday April 3 2008
    Canadian "Ultimate" CHUCK SCHULDINER Tribute TV Report Available

    From Antoine Baril: "I just wanted to let you know that the special TV report on the Ultimate Death Tribute Show is now available online. You can watch it on our myspace www.myspace.com/symbolictribute or directly on youtube with this URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7b9-QC1GnUQ. I just thought that it would be great to share that with the Death community through the EmptyWords website. Thanks a lot!"

    From the media: "On Monday, March 3rd the French-Canadian TV channel Télé-Québec aired a special report on the benefit concert to honor late DEATH/CONTROL DENIED mastermind Chuck Schuldiner, which took place on December 12th, 2007 at the Theatre Imperial in Quebec City, QC, Canada.

    'Méchant Contraste' producer Marc Bergeron and his team followed the production process of the concert, which featured the local Death cover band SYMBOLIC alongside guest musicians Bobby Koelble (guitarist on Death's Symbolic album), Shannon Hamm (guitarist on Death's The Sound of Perseverance album), Scott Clendenin (bass on Death's The Sound of Perseverance album), Daniel Mongrain (MARTYR), Marc-André Gingras (QUO VADIS), Jonathan Lee (THE AUTUMN OFFERING, ex-ACHERON, ex-DEATH drum roadie for Richard Christy on The Sound of Perseverance tour), and Nick Barker (ex-DIMMU BORGIR/CRADLE OF FILTH drummer).

    The report focuses on the different steps that were taken by the event's organizers while putting the show together, the building of the stage and behind-the-scenes footage. As well, there are interviews with Antoine Baril, Shannon Hamm, Scott Clendenin, Bobby Koelble and Alexis Robitaille."
  • Wednesday March 26 2008
    B.C. Rich Launches Promotional Chuck Schuldiner Site

    From B.C. Rich: "We have some very exciting B.C. Rich news to share. In support of our launch of the new B.C. Rich Chuck Schuldiner Tribute Stealth guitars we have launched a promotional/educational website at www.chuckstealth.com. After a lot of hard work we believe that we have created a dynamic and interesting site that Chuck would be proud of. We're very excited about paying (or better: playing) this tribute to Chuck.

    "A long haired, energetic heavy metal axeman and gravel-throated vocalist, soft-spoken and to the point, wielding a jet black B.C. Rich Stealth." [Perry Grayson - Metal Maniacs]

    "As a guitarist, he's the best in his field, and one who refuses to be trapped by his genre's limitations and stereotypes." [Jeff Kitts - Guitar School Magazine]

    Chuck Schuldiner (1967-2001) was a musical innovator. Chuck is best known for being the founder, singer, guitar player and main songwriter of Death, which he founded in 1983 and developed into one of the first death metal bands. Many music biographers have referred to Chuck as the "Father of Death Metal". Chuck played several B.C. Rich models throughout his short but meaningful career, but the most recognized had to be his black single pickup, neck-through Stealth."
  • Monday February 25 2008
    New Classic Symbolic Review On EW

    We added a brand new Symbolic review from Deadtide.com (thanks Jason). As previously reported, Roadrunner Records will reissue DEATH's 1995 album Symbolic next March. The remastered edition of Symbolic will feature all tracks from the original release, plus the band's cover of KISS' 'God Of Thunder', as well as unreleased instrumental demos recorded in '94 with Chuck, Gene & Steve. This reissue will also feature brand new liner notes from longtime metal journalist Don Kaye.
  • Monday January 21 2008
    EW Updated With Biographies, Reviews, And More...

    EmptyWords reports: "We forgot to mention that we recently added three more biographies of Chuck, Death, and Control Denied (as part of the TALKS page, we just can’t get enough ;)), all from AMG (All Music Guide), the online vademecum "to help consumers and industry professionals navigate the increasingly complex world of recorded music and discover the very best recordings." (Justin, thanks for reminding us! ;))

    Last week we also added two Death album reviews from two different progzines: “Human” from Proggnosis, and “Symbolic” from Prog Archives. ProgArchives.com: “This album is quite extreme for many viewers of this site, but if you can stand brutal vocals you will be regarded with a great progressive album. In my opinion this is an essential for anyone who likes prog metal. It has some of the greatest riffs you will ever hear.” Enjoy!"

    In other news: From Blabbermouth: "Guitarist Shannon Hamm (DEATH, CONTROL DENIED) has teamed up with "Jonathan Lee (THE AUTUMN OFFERING, ex-ACHERON; ex-DEATH drum roadie for Richard Christy on DEATH's "The Sound of Perseverance" tour), Scott Clendenin (bass on DEATH's "The Sound of Perseverance" album), and Bobby Koelble (guitarist on DEATH's "Symbolic" album) in a brand new project "which is sure to be revolutionary," according to Hamm. The band is currently seeking a versatile singer who can handle all styles: "powerful, melodic, clean, nasty, aggressive — all in one," says Shannon."

    Shannon adds: "This project is in such an early stage right now that we haven't even had a chance to listen to anything that's been received yet. We will listen to and/or watch everything we receive, but we need to complete at least half of the material before making a group decision on a vocalist. We need to have all mp3's, You Tube links, Myspace links, etc. sent to beyondunknown67@gmail.com if at all possible so that we can access everything from one location. I also want to let everyone know that I'm trying to respond to all of the emails as I get the time. Thanks!"

    Bobby, Shannon, Scott and Jonathan took part in last month's benefit concert to honor Chuck, which took place on December 12, 2007 at the Theatre Imperial in Quebec City, QC, Canada. The concert — which featured the local DEATH cover band SYMBOLIC alongside a number of guest musicians — was filmed for future DVD release. Check out the photos here. The setlist was as follows:

    01. Spiritual Healing
    02. 1,000 Eyes
    03. Mentally Blind
    04. Scavenger of Human Sorrow (feat. Shannon Hamm & Scott Clendenin)
    05. Spirit Crusher (feat. Shannon Hamm & Scott Clendenin)
    06. Zombie Ritual (feat. Jonathan Lee & Scott Clendenin)
    07. Perennial Quest (feat. Bobby Koelble)
    08. Zero Tolerance (feat. Bobby Koelble & Nick Barker)
    09. The Philosopher (feat. Bobby Koelble & Nick Barker)
    10. Without Judgement
    11. Open Casket
    12. Secret Face
    13. Lack of Comprehension
    14. Within the Mind (feat. Marc-André Gingras & Daniel Perron)
    15. Bite the Pain (feat. Shannon Hamm, Jon Lee & Scott Clendenin)
    16. Moment of Clarity (feat. Shannon Hamm, Jon Lee & Scott Clendenin)
    17. Trapped in a Corner (feat. Nick Barker)
    18. Overactive Imagination (feat. Nick Barker & Daniel Perron)
    19. Misanthrope (feat. Nick Barker)
    20. Symbolic (feat. Bobby Koelble)
    21. Cosmic Sea (feat. Bobby Koelble)
    22. Pull the Plug (feat. Shannon Hamm, Bobby Koelble, Scott Clandenin, Jon Lee & Nick Barker)


    Guestbook message from Chuck's sister: "I want to thank everyone for your thoughts, even what seems like so many years later. We, his family, miss him more than I could ever express. My heart hurts always. I had dinner with Richard Christy in New York last month. We, as always, spoke of all the good times and funny things when Chuck was here. We hope we are nearing an end to the legal mess and will be able to finally put out Control Denied's last work. All of you have been more than patient. Again, thanks to all of you for remembering. Sincerely, Beth Schuldiner."
  • Sunday January 20 2008
    News About Control Denied, Death, Cynic And... Pestilence!

    CONTROL DENIED Debut To Be Reissued In February     [cover]

    Metal Mind Productions reports:     "There are several reasons for CONTROL DENIED to be taken much more seriously than just a side-project. One of them is certainly the name of the group’s founder - Chuck Schuldiner to this day remains an icon of death metal music, leaving behind a true legacy of amazing albums and memorable songs. Control Denied was his final and most personal creation – a natural continuation of the ideas gathered in DEATH’s three last albums – Individual Thought Patterns, Symbolic and The Sound Of Perseverance.

    Although musically the group ventured away from death metal into a bit lighter style, the progressive edge remained untouched – the band’s debut (and, as it was soon to be revealed, only) album, The Fragile Art Of Existence is still one of Schuldiner’s most fruitful efforts, showcasing mature, structured musicianship and amazing songwriting skills.

    And today Metal Mind Productions present re-release of this unique album by Control Denied. New digipak edition, limited to numerated 2,000 copies, digitally remastered using 24-Bit process on golden disc. This classic material from Nuclear Blast archives will be available on February 11th, 2008 in Europe and April 15th, 2008 in the US (via MVD)."

    Tracklisting: 'Consumed', 'Breaking The Broken', 'Expect The Unexpected', 'What If…?', 'When The Link Becomes Missing', 'Believe', 'Cut Down', 'The Fragile Art Of Existence'.


    Symbolic Reissue Track Listing Revealed

    From Blabbermouth: "BLABBERMOUTH.NET can exclusively reveal the track listing for the upcoming reissue of DEATH's classic 1995 album "Symbolic", due on April 1 via Roadrunner Records. The remastered LP will include the original album tracks plus several previously unreleased, ultra-rare, mostly instrumental demo recordings that were completed in early 1994 with the lineup of Chuck Schuldiner (guitar), Gene Hoglan (drums) and Steve DiGiorgio (bass). The package will also come with brand new liner notes written by longtime metal journalist Don Kaye."

    "Symbolic" reissue track listing:

    01. Symbolic
    02. Zero Tolerance
    03. Empty Words
    04. Sacred Serenity
    05. 1,000 Eyes
    06. Without Judgement
    07. Crystal Mountain
    08. Misanthrope
    09. Perennial Quest

    Demo/Pre-Production Recordings:

    10. Symbolic Acts (original "Symbolic" title) (instrumental)
    11. Zero Tolerance (instrumental)
    12. Crystal Mountain (instrumental)
    13. Misanthrope (instrumental)
    14. Symbolic Acts (original "Symbolic" title) (with vocals)

    * Tracks 10-13 recorded March 1994:

    Chuck Schuldiner - Guitar
    Gene Hoglan - Drum Programming
    Steve DiGiorgio - Bass

    * Track 14 recorded January 1994:

    Chuck Schuldiner - Vocals, Guitar, Bass, Drum Programming

    "Symbolic" has sold just under 50,000 copies in the United States in the 12 years since its release, according to Nielsen SoundScan.


    CYNIC To Record New Album

    American iconic death metal band CYNIC's MySpace has been updated with the following press release:     "Quality technical metal connoisseurs and open-minded music-lovers in general will be delighted to hear that Florida's legendary Cynic have returned to creative power after a successful European reunion tour in the summer of 2007 and will soon be recording a new album, their second after 1993's genre-shattering Focus debut.

    Cynic founding members Paul Masvidal (Guitars / Vocals) and Sean Reinert (Drums), who both gained reputation and praise while performing alongside Chuck Schuldiner and DEATH in the recording and touring line-up for the milestone album Human, are currently in Sanford, Florida, working on the mix for three new demo tracks together with producer Jason Suecof at his own Audiohammer Studios. The three new tracks are entitled 'Integral Birth', 'Evolutionary Sleeper' and 'Adam's Murmur' but Masvidal and Reinert have already written a full album's worth of new material and the band will use the demo to begin talks with record companies about a 2008 release.

    Masvidal comments, "I'm amazed that we're here again, and that is a testament to the unpredictable beauty of the creative process. We received so much inspiration during last summer's reunion tour that a flood of new material has since poured out of us. There must be a default metal root in us from childhood that insists on being watered and loved, so we're just trying to keep up with ourselves—the Cynic sirens are screaming inside and won't let up! Our policy has always been about surrendering to what feels most organic and staying in the flow. To put it mildly, this last year has been a creatively abundant and productive period. We're intoxicated about now and the future."

    More news on Cynic's recording and touring plans will soon be announced, and a new website will soon be launched at www.cyniconline.com. The long-standing website covering all Cynic-related projects can be found at www.cynicalsphere.com."


    PESTILENCE Reunion Announced

    And last but not least: From Land of Tears: "PESTILENCE IS BACK!!! There is a new line up: founder Patrick Mameli (vocals, guitar), the well known Tony Choy (bass) and drummer Peter Wildoer (Darkane, Non-Human Level and others). Patrick is working on new great songs which style he describes as a modern fusion of "Testimony..." and "Spheres", but even more technical and more brutal. A new album will be recorded at Jacob Hansen's Studios and produced by Patrick himself." More soon!
  • Monday January 14 2008
    B.C. Rich Guitars Launches Chuck's Tribute Stealth [logo]

    From B.C. Rich: "The Chuck Schuldiner Tribute Stealth has finally arrived. With great care we've designed a Stealth that can proudly represent Chuck's legacy and indelible mark on the death metal genre. Chuck played several B.C. Rich models throughout his short but meaningful career, but the most recognized had to be his black single pickup, neck-through Stealth.

    In purposeful style, Chuck laid down many creative and ferocious riffs on his B.C. Riches that launched him into metal icon status. Now it’s your turn to play tribute to a legend. A portion of proceeds goes directly to the family of Chuck Schuldiner."

    To help pay tribute to Chuck Schuldiner, B.C. Rich asked Stephen Jensen of Crystal Lake, Illinois' F3 Studios to create a tribute crest design to promote the tribute guitar. Stephen is honored to have been asked to create this logo design and help salute another great guitar hero who left his mark on music history.

    For more details on the specifications, please visit bcrich.com, or bcrich@myspace. Thanks Rock.
  • Saturday January 5 2008
    Beauty, Brains, And Brutality: The 'Girls of Metal' Release 2008 Calendar

    From Blabbermouth: [As previously reported on EmptyWords, EW], "Chicago-based Girls of Metal are proud to announce the 2008 release of their annual Girls of Metal calendar. The calendar features female heavy metal musicians and supporters and calendar sales benefit the American Brain Tumor Association.

    The Girls of Metal is an alliance of females in heavy metal with the purpose of bringing recognition and respect to women in the genre. Combining looks, talent, and a passionate love for heavy music, The Girls of Metal work hard to convey their message of gender equality within a male dominated scene. Jon Wiederhorn of Revolver magazine exclaimed "Move over, Suicide Girls!" in an April 2007 interview.

    In a recent interview, Girls of Metal member DanYell said the following about the formation of the organization: "The Girls Of Metal were formed a couple of years before the 2007 calendar was unleashed. Our founder is Melissa Zappa, and she, along with the help of some of the other GOM spent the early years planning and shaping our mission and goals. Once we had a firm idea of what we wanted to do as far as raising money for the charity, and how to put out a calendar we began work on the 2007 edition which was the first calendar."

    All proceeds from Girls of Metal calendar sales will be donated to The American Brain Tumor Association in memory of late DEATH frontman Chuck Schuldiner who died from a brain tumor in 2001. "While none of us personally knew Chuck, we all were/are certainly touched by his music and contribution to the foundation of death metal as we know it. It's rare to have such raw talent in this world, and Chuck certainly possessed such. He absolutely helped to shape the sound of the underground metal world, and his influence is still very prevalent today," says GOM member DanYell.

    In response to the reaction from the metal community, Girls of Metal member DanYell says: "We have received an extremely positive response to the calendar! Since the release of the 2007 edition we have had some great press on the Girls of Metal via Revolver magazine, The Onion, and other online mags. We have also had a lot of girls that identify with our mission, and want to join the Girls of Metal. It's fantastic that what we are doing is bringing more women in the metal scene together and showing people that we are definitely a force to be reckoned with!""

    For additional information about the Girls of Metal or to order a 2008 calendar, please check out EW's Benefit page. Thank you! Also please check out the Benefit page on the upcoming Seattle tribute, Jan. 20th. Thanks again!
  • Tuesday, New Year's Day 2008
    Roadrunner Records To Reissue DEATH's Symbolic Album

    Welcome to the new year! EmptyWords' 10th! In news: as previously reported on BraveWords, Roadrunner Records will reissue DEATH's 1995 album Symbolic next March. The remastered edition of Symbolic will feature all tracks from the original release, plus the band's cover of KISS' 'God Of Thunder', as well as unreleased instrumental demos recorded in '94 with Chuck, Gene & Steve. This reissue will also feature brand new liner notes from famous metal journalist Don Kaye. Further details as they surface.