Long Live Chuck Schuldiner!

Review by Chad Thomas Carsten Photos by Liam Himel

As I stepped out of my photographer friend’s vehicle and onto the bustling parking lot near downtown Tampa, Florida, I could immediately feel the positive heavy metal energy flowing from the outdoor Orpheum venue, radiating in the distance. As I got closer, I noticed a line that seemed to stretch for miles. Hundreds of metalheads wrapped around the venue, eager to get inside and experience heavy metal grandeur. It was a sight to behold – never before had I seen such dedication and enthusiasm for heavy metal music!

Simply put. The energy in that line was palpable; everyone getting ready to rock out were beyond ecstatic to be there. When it was finally my turn to go inside, my heart raced with anticipation as I walked through those doors. The sounds of guitars blaring and drums crashing resonated through my entire body – it felt like nothing else mattered at that moment except experiencing this special bond that only metalheads can share with one another. All in the name of honoring the mighty influential legacy of Chuck Schuldiner (RIP) and his legendary band Death!

San Diego, California thrash titans Nukem opened up the 30th anniversary of “Individual Thought Patterns” concert experience with a blistering onslaught of retro thrash that instantaneously had the audience headbanging at near neck breaking speeds, all through out their adrenaline induced set! With epic guitar solos, fast paced thunderous drumming, and fierce 1980’s style vocals that reminiscent the glory days of Exodus, Nukem proved to the audience of Tampa, Florida that thrash metal will never die due to the band’s nuclear apocalyptic speed infused thrash metal greatness!

New York death metal icons Suffocation (formed in 1988) straight up melted faces off in Tampa, Florida! How?! Through their bloodthirsty signature technical death metal brutality that fueled the circle pits to swallow the audience whole. Like an enormous metaphorical musical death metal black hole ready to consume galaxies!

Founding lead Suffocation guitarist Terrance Hobbs’ provided flesh ripping guitar solos that brilliantly meshed with the beautiful, but gut wrenching guitar and bass structures brought forth by Charlie Errigo and Derek Boyer. On top of the cutthroat bone crunching drumming presented by Eric Morotti with Ricky Meyers astounding guttural vocal range;the bands intense live showmanship properly showcased that Suffocation have successfully breathed new life inside their groundbreaking 35 years of death metal eminence! As the audience roared at the top of their lungs the entire time Suffocation flawlessly conquered the outdoor stage with their awe-inspiring formidable technical death metal originality!

With much anticipation in the audience from hundreds of people clamoring with joyful suspense, the mighty Death To All tribute to the legacy of Chuck Schuldiner’s Death (Altamonte Springs, Florida) finally hit the outdoor stage! As the the concert goers began chanting Chuck Schuldiner’s name as loud and proud as they possibly could! Death to All’s masterliness musicianship displayed at the Orpheum was indubitably mind-blowingly exhilarating!

Because Death to All’s set was an explosive two hour performance that featured a wide variety of deep album cuts from all seven of Death’s full length masterpieces that included “The Philosopher, “Flattening of Emotions”, “Spiritual Healing”, “Bite the Pain” “Pull the Plug”, “Crystal Mountain”, “Evil Dead”, among other great mind-bending Death tracks!

Death to All’s astonishing progressive death metal skills had Tampa, Florida completely mesmerized! With Gene Hoglans’s prodigiously breathtaking technical drumming, Steve Di Giorgio astounding fretless bass versatility, combined with the soaring guitar solos from both Max Phelps and Bobby Koelble, Death To All once again successfully captured the live heavy metal spirit of Chuck Schuldiner’s Death from all eras. Due to the bands professional “Florida Death Metal” carnage presentation that had left every single person in the crowd feeling more alive than ever before! Above, all! Never miss a Death To All show if it comes to your city. Because their concerts are a life changing experience that profoundly keeps the Florida death metal history alive!