{"id":74135,"date":"2025-08-11T07:32:31","date_gmt":"2025-08-11T07:32:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/74135\/"},"modified":"2025-08-11T07:32:31","modified_gmt":"2025-08-11T07:32:31","slug":"pre-order-born-human-the-life-and-music-of-deaths-chuck-schuldiner-from-decibel-books-read-an-exclusive-excerpt-now","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/74135\/","title":{"rendered":"Pre-Order \u2018Born Human: The Life and Music of DEATH\u2019s CHUCK SCHULDINER&#8217; from Decibel Books! Read an Exclusive Excerpt Now!"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\t\t\t\t<img width=\"820\" height=\"521\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/dBNews_2025-08-08_BornHumanExclusiveExcerpt-820x521.png\" class=\"attachment-article-img size-article-img wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" decoding=\"async\" fetchpriority=\"high\"  \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p>\t\t<a class=\"gofollow\" data-track=\"MTkyNiw0LDEsNjA=\" href=\"https:\/\/ozzyosbourne.lnk.to\/screamvinyl9h\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Sony-May-2025-Ozzy-Osbourne-content.jpg\"\/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Decibel Books proudly presents Born Human: The Life and Music of Death\u2019s Chuck Schuldiner, the fully authorized biography of the legendary Death frontman, offering a balanced and unprecedented look into his life and career. Born Human, authored by accomplished journalist David E. Gehlke (The Scott Burns Sessions: A Life in Death Metal 1987-1997, Turned Inside Out: The Official Story of Obituary), features exclusive interviews, contributions, stunning new Ed Repka cover art and previously unreleased, hand-selected photographs from those who knew Chuck best. Born Human brings life to the dramatic story of the man who blazed an iconic path in metal music, laying the foundation for generations to come. Fans can <a href=\"https:\/\/store.decibelmagazine.com\/products\/born-human-the-life-and-music-of-deaths-chuck-schuldiner\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">pre-order their copy<\/a>\u00a0or order a <a href=\"https:\/\/store.decibelmagazine.com\/products\/born-human-death-luxe-edition-includes-limited-edition-t-shirt\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">special Death-luxe edition that includes an exclusive T-shirt<\/a> limited to 500 copies here. Both have an expected ship date in November.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/store.decibelmagazine.com\/products\/born-human-the-life-and-music-of-deaths-chuck-schuldiner\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-57503 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/BornHuman_BookMockUpFRONT.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"943\" height=\"1553\"  \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>A visionary whose groundbreaking recorded output earned him the title of \u201cGodfather of Death Metal,\u201d Chuck Schuldiner is one of the most influential figures in heavy metal history. Chuck channeled a tragic childhood into music that was brutal, technical, melodic and progressive, making his band, Death, a leader within the metal underground throughout the 1980s and 1990s. His uncompromising approach was accompanied by an often-tumultuous relationship with bandmates, the music industry and the press at large, obstacles he went to great lengths to overcome. When he finally found peace, Chuck was stricken with terminal brain cancer in 1999. He succumbed to the disease in 2001 after a remarkable fight that defied the odds.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe finally met someone and we came to know over time, David E. Gehlke, whom we could entrust with our closely guarded family secret; this being the inspiration to the painful journey of Chuck\u2019s music,\u201d says Chuck\u2019s sister Beth Welty.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt is the culmination of different perspectives and experiences, not only from my family and myself, but from Chuck\u2019s friends, bandmates and countless people who were infused into his dynamic journey,\u201d offers Chuck\u2019s nephew Chris Steele. \u201cFinally, there is an accurate and concise chronicle of the man, brother, uncle, son, partner and trailblazer that was Chuck Schuldiner.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>At nearly 500 pages, (including a 32-page color image section) Born Human stands as the official document of Chuck\u2019s incomparable legacy. <a href=\"https:\/\/store.decibelmagazine.com\/products\/born-human-the-life-and-music-of-deaths-chuck-schuldiner\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Pre-order now<\/a> before its November 2025 release. European customers can purchase the standard edition of\u00a0Born Human\u00a0directly\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/cultneverdies.myshopify.com\/collections\/all\/products\/preorder-november-2025-born-human-the-life-and-music-of-death-s-chuck-schuldiner-hardback-book\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?q=https:\/\/cultneverdies.myshopify.com\/collections\/all\/products\/preorder-november-2025-born-human-the-life-and-music-of-death-s-chuck-schuldiner-hardback-book&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1754685101686000&amp;usg=AOvVaw07r8wX1M4Fp5DCk9PnEEGf\">here<\/a>\u00a0via Cult Never Dies.<\/p>\n<p>For an exclusive preview of\u00a0Born Human, fans can read the first excerpt online, which takes readers back to 1986 as Chuck and new Death drummer Chris Reifert prepare take two of the groundbreaking Scream Bloody Gore album.<\/p>\n<p>\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013<\/p>\n<p>Combat Records hadn\u2019t heard much from Chuck and Chris Reifert after being notified that Death was going to track Scream Bloody Gore at American Recording Studios in Orlando. Typically, a young band would be assigned a producer and studio by its record company, but this was Death\u2014the new Combat signee that only publicist Don Kaye and a few mid-level employees believed would succeed. The fact that Chuck and Reifert could select the studio showed a surprising lack of care and oversight from Combat. No one at the label had ever heard of American Recording Studios, nor had Chuck and Reifert before they found it in the phone book.<\/p>\n<p>Realizing it was a gigantic red flag for a young death metal band to record at an unknown studio, Combat called Chuck and Reifert for an update. After a mere two days, the sessions had already gone sideways. The staff at American Recording had no idea how to capture the band\u2019s sound no matter how much gesticulating Chuck did about extreme metal. When Chuck and Reifert mentioned other bands as reference points, their pleas fell on bewildered ears. The initial mixes of just Reifert\u2019s drums and a single guitar track were amateurish and nearly below demo-level quality. Alas, Chuck and Reifert had no choice but to admit that they regretted choosing American Recording. (\u201cWe felt like we knew what we were doing even though we didn\u2019t,\u201d laughs Reifert.) After one listen, Combat agreed. The label then decided to scrap the sessions and send Death back to California to record with producer Randy Burns in November 1986.<\/p>\n<p>(Cuts from the initial Scream Bloody Gore sessions have since emerged on the 2016 reissue of the album. There is no argument with Chuck, Reifert and Combat regarding the abysmal nature of its production.)<\/p>\n<p>Chuck had every intention of returning to the Bay Area that fall anyway, even if it meant continuing to crash on Reifert\u2019s bedroom floor and having to rely on whatever money his parents, Mal and Jane, could send via the mail. At 19, Chuck was delaying the realities and responsibilities of adulthood for as long as possible. He did not have gainful employment, but he had Reifert, who was still in high school and had since moved with his family to Antioch, three blocks away from Steve Di Giorgio. After spending a few weeks at his childhood home in Altamonte Springs, post-American Recording session, Chuck was back at the Reiferts.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-57505 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/dBNews_2025-08-08_ReifertSchuldiner.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"850\" height=\"588\"  \/>Reifert (l) with Chuck, 1986<\/p>\n<p>Here, Chuck had plenty of time to reflect on what he had missed (an education) and what he had not done (getting up early in the morning, going to class, doing homework). During this period, Chuck spent most of his daylight hours practicing the guitar by himself or watching TV, then he would get picked up by Di Giorgio for trips to the 7\/11 convenience store for Big Gulps and jalape\u00f1o Fritos, before settling in for some gore movies. After all of that, it was off to the shared Death\/Sadus practice pad.<\/p>\n<p>Speaking of Di Giorgio, he was now very much a part of Death\u2019s day-to-day activities without being an actual member. Chuck and Reifert asked the bassist to learn every song on Scream Bloody Gore with the goal of future Death\/Sadus live appearances\u2014a double bill that Di Giorgio had first suggested. In fact, both bands were so sure of joint shows that they went ahead and created mock flyers featuring both of their logos. A real Death\/Sadus gig would have to wait\u2014as would Di Giorgio playing on a Death studio album. Surprisingly, Chuck and Reifert never asked Di Giorgio to play on the upcoming recording sessions with Randy Burns, an opportunity that would have likely significantly enhanced the album\u2019s low end. \u201cWe were just young and stupid,\u201d says the bassist. \u201cOne day, I picked Chuck and Chris up in my Chevy. They told me, \u2018We\u2019re going to be gone for a week.\u2019 I thought, \u2018Okay, cool. Whatever.\u2019 I didn\u2019t think anything of it, but when you\u2019re 17 or 18 years old like we were, you don\u2019t know how to communicate. That\u2019s how you learn your lessons.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Unbeknownst to Di Giorgio, Chuck and Reifert were headed to Los Angeles to record Scream Bloody Gore a second time. For as bad as the initial version of Scream Bloody Gore sounded, Chuck, Reifert and Combat all cast their worries aside, knowing that Randy Burns was there this time to helm the sessions. After all, he was fresh off the recording of Dark Angel\u2019s classic sophomore studio album, Darkness Descends. A few months before that, he had produced Megadeth\u2019s classic second album, Peace Sells\u2026But Who\u2019s Buying? And a few months before that, he was at the controls for Possessed\u2019s classic debut studio album, Seven Churches. The commonality between all three (other than being undisputed classics that Burns recorded) was \u00a0the Combat name affixed to them.<\/p>\n<p>In 1980, Burns assembled a small eight-track studio called Orange County Recorders. His work caught the attention of future Combat label boss Steve Sinclair, who then tapped him to produce the 1981 Hell Comes to Your House punk compilation released on the Bemis Brain Records label, which he co-owned. That work led Burns to engineer Suicidal Tendencies\u2019s 1983 self-titled debut. When Sinclair needed a studio recording done quickly at an affordable price, Burns was his guy.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWithout Steve Sinclair, I don\u2019t know whether I would have had a career or not,\u201d he says. \u201cI was good at delivering stuff on a budget, but I was very obsessive about making records. I didn\u2019t really think about money or trying to become famous. Basically, I\u2019d go from record to record, and after finishing one, I\u2019d start another. That\u2019s all I did. I didn\u2019t get out there and think about, \u2018Well, how do I get more money, and how do I get bigger budgets?\u2019 I just didn\u2019t think about that stuff.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Instead, Burns had to consider how to produce high-quality metal records at a fraction of the cost of other albums. (Peace Sells\u2026But Who\u2019s Buying? can be seen as an exception due to the financial backing of Capital Records, which acquired Megadeth\u2019s rights from Combat.) He faced some growing pains along the way, where he was \u201cmaking it up\u201d while trying to navigate the speed and intensity of extreme metal. Burns met various studio owners and fellow engineers who believed extreme metal was a lost cause, but he wasn\u2019t discouraged. By the time Chuck and Reifert came to him to re-track Scream Bloody Gore, Burns felt more assured as a producer.<\/p>\n<p>Part of this was attributed to his preferred place of recording in Los Angeles, the Music Grinder. The Music Grinder was a spacious, modern facility with a Neve console, which was state-of-the-art for the mid-1980s. Here, Burns and his assistant engineer, Casey McMackin, helped Megadeth make a massive leap in production quality with Peace Sells from their tinny and thin-sounding Killing Is My Business\u2026And Business is Good debut. When they set foot in the studio, the difference for Death was also immediate , and they marveled at the studio\u2019s size and amenities as compared to the sterile American Recording in Orlando. Chuck and Reifert\u2019s feelings may have been mildly enhanced by the fact that they were high and had a healthy reserve of weed stuffed deep in their pockets.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI was stoned and thought, \u2018Oh, my God. Do we get to record here? Holy smokes!\u2019\u201d says Reifert. \u201cIt felt like a fucking airline hangar. I don\u2019t know what it would look like now if I went back, but the Music Grinder felt enormous at the time. That was the first big studio we had been to. We were both like, \u2018Oh, fuck. This is so cool.\u2019 We were so excited to be there.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Burns spotted Chuck and Reifert\u2019s not-so-covert exchanges of cannabis. The producer was forced to play bad cop and gently told the giggling duo that their smoking made him feel uncomfortable, and that they were there to work. Luckily for Burns, Chuck and Reifert came prepared and opted to get \u201cbaked out of their minds\u201d after they had finished recording for the day at the hotel, where Reifert took it upon himself to eat so many snacks that he vomited. Chuck did not match his drummer in the munchies-to-vomiting department\u2014he had the rest of the album to track.<\/p>\n<p><a class=\"gofollow\" data-track=\"MTg5NSw1LDEsNjA=\" href=\"https:\/\/orcd.co\/vacuous-inhisblood\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Relapse-Records-February-2025-Vacuous-content.jpg\"\/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Nevertheless, all 12 proposed Scream Bloody Gore cuts had been rehearsed over and over. Chuck and Reifert knew the songs inside and out and had nearly every element of the album agreed upon by the time they arrived at the Music Grinder. With Combat now applying some pressure to get a worthy finished, the Death duo got down to business.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI was very impressed with their work ethic and how together they were,\u201d says Burns. \u201cThey knew exactly what they wanted to do. They could play the songs backward and forwards. Chuck was just spot-on with the guitars. He really nailed the stuff. I was impressed with the fact that they were so organized and on top of the material, were really hard workers and focused in the studio. It\u2019s a hard job making these records.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-57506 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/dBNews_2025-08-08_SchuldinerCake.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"850\" height=\"1063\"  \/>A true feeling of accomplishment: A cake in honor of Scream Bloody Gore\u2019s release<\/p>\n<p>The Scream Bloody Gore sessions were long\u2014Chuck, Reifert, Burns and McMackin usually started around 10 in the morning and wrapped at eight at night. Thanks to his rigid practice schedule with Chuck, Reifert needed only a few days to cut his drums. The Music Grinder featured a 25-foot ceiling made of wood, contributing mightily to Reifert\u2019s thunderous drums. Burns put Reifert\u2019s kit in the corner of the room and let its natural sound take over. \u201cThere\u2019s no reverb on his drums,\u201d says the producer. \u201cThe drums have this natural darkness to them from the big room.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Chuck tracked all rhythm guitars, lead guitars, bass and vocals. \u00a0He took his parts very seriously and was not one to waste time\u2014he quickly moved on to double-tracking his guitars after the first layer was complete, then moved on to leads. It\u2019s safe to assume that Chuck circa Scream Bloody Gore was a far better rhythm player than lead. He never learned music theory and was unable to articulate scales and modes; thus, his solos occasionally displayed a disharmonic flair on the album. The lead guitar style that would soon come to define the Death sound was already there: Chuck\u2019s patented bursts of tremolo-picked notes were always well-constructed and even trended in the melodic direction on \u201cEvil Dead.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Scream Bloody Gore is easily Death\u2019s most primal studio album. Chuck\u2019s riff repertoire at the time was either manic tremolo picking or meaty power chords, with the appropriate phalanx of evil guitar harmonies, particularly on the album\u2019s most popular number, \u201cZombie Ritual.\u201d The onus on speed is a snapshot into how much Chuck was listening to Slayer at the time, a band whose seamless transitions and avoidance of riff clutter were an apparent influence. His riffs are often decidedly simple (for example, the intro power chords to \u201cInfernal Death,\u201d which also re-appear on the closing title track) yet highly effective and engaging, such as the chunky \u201cRegurgitated Guts\u201d and the variations found on the chorus of \u201cBaptized in Blood.\u201d For as embedded in the firmament as Scream Bloody Gore has become, its enduring quality is a result of just how catchy and memorable the songs are.<\/p>\n<p>The three-song Mutilation demo showcased Chuck\u2019s capabilities behind the microphone as unforgivingly brutal, yet still decipherable. The same holds true for Scream Bloody Gore, a performance that future death metal growlers have routinely cited as having a profound influence. Chuck\u2019s patterns and cadences were simplistic, and he understood the true value of a memorable passage and chorus. Instead of the rapid-fire, word-salad delivery that most thrash bands (and Possessed) employed, Chuck\u2019s vocal patterns were deliberate, even patient, as he was prone to letting his lines breathe.<\/p>\n<p>The album does not lack satisfying moments in the vocal department, though. It starts with his first words on \u201cInfernal Death:\u201d simply, bluntly, \u201cDie!\u201d \u00a0From there, the savage couplings found in the chorus of \u201cZombie Ritual\u201d or his acidic mutations in the chorus of \u201cDenial of Life\u201d rank among some of the most memorable vocal lines in death metal history as do his lines in the pre-chorus of \u201cBaptized in Blood\u201d where Reifert picks up the pace, or his over-zealous one-liner in \u201cTorn to Pieces\u201d of \u201cman eating man!\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The disparity between Chuck\u2019s regular speaking voice and death metal vocals initially threw Randy Burns off guard. He wasn\u2019t the only one. Chuck\u2019s pseudo-California-surfer speaking voice had long drawn comparisons to Jeff Spicoli, the lovable high school stoner played by Sean Penn in the 1982 movie Fast Times at Ridgemont High. Chuck\u2019s propensity to casually insert \u201clike,\u201d \u201cyou know,\u201d \u201cwhatever\u201d and \u201cdude\u201d into his vernacular was often a source of amusement and puzzlement for his bandmates and friends. Chuck was born in Long Island, NY. He lived in Altamonte Springs, FL, thousands of miles from the California beaches. No one can quite pinpoint why Chuck sounded like a surfer\u2014not even his family, none of whom sound like him. Chuck\u2019s speaking voice was ultimately his and his alone, which made his ability to quickly reel off some of the most brutal vocals known to man circa 1986 all the more fascinating. (For the curious, nearly all interviewees for this book, unprompted, said that Chuck sounded like a surfer.)<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-57507\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Death-Scream-Bloody-Gore-Music-Performance-Vinyl_89710cce-6744-429d-a3b4-2593c7946a02.dbbba48cd81987.webp\" alt=\"\" width=\"1000\" height=\"1000\"  \/>Death\u2019s legendary debut album<\/p>\n<p>Several of the songs\u2019 lyrics had undergone mild revisions from the Kam Lee era, starting with the removal of satanic references. Throughout his career, Chuck was never willing to cross this line, despite never fully establishing his religious stance. Possessed, Slayer and Venom had already staked out the territory, and so had another Chuck favorite, Danish traditional metallers Mercyful Fate. At the time, the \u201ct\u201d in Death\u2019s logo remained inverted, perhaps the only signal that Chuck still wasn\u2019t ready to abandon the band\u2019s early anti-religion angle completely.<\/p>\n<p>Half of the album\u2019s lyrics are generated from Chuck\u2019s horror movie collection. \u201cZombie Ritual\u201d is based upon Zombie 2, \u201cRegurgitated Guts\u201d is from City of the Living Dead, \u201cTorn to Pieces\u201d is drawn from Make Them Die Slowly, \u201cEvil Dead\u201d takes its cues from The Evil Dead, the title track is inspired by Re-Animator and \u201cBeyond the Unholy Grave\u201d is taken from The Beyond. However, in keeping with Chuck\u2019s desire to be the most brutal band in metal, the lyrics on Scream Bloody Gore are primitive\u2014at times even misogynist, particularly \u201cSacrificial,\u201d which initially went under the title of \u201cSacrificial Cunt.\u201d The title remained in place until Combat intervened out of fear of being confronted by the Parents Music Resource Center (PMRC), which, at the time, was sending shockwaves through the music industry by targeting bands they deemed vile, sexist, satanic or plain old inappropriate. As it was soon to become known, \u201cSacrificial\u201d is about Possessed fan club manager and one-time Chuck friend Krystal Mahoney, whom he started to disparage with similar, unfortunate language after their relationship broke down.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt didn\u2019t take much for Chuck to decide that someone was a worthy enough inspiration for a song,\u201d says writer Borivoj Krgin. \u201cI think it was just something that he was feeling angry about at the time and wanted to express it in a song. Was it justified? Probably not, but it was a way for Chuck to vent.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI like the fact that Chuck really understood the thing about being offensive as being something that you want to do,\u201d adds Burns. \u201cI remember I was in the studio with one band around this time, maybe a few years earlier. They had a song, and it said, \u2018Fuck\u2019 in the lyrics. The guys were like, \u2018Randy, what do we do? Do we leave this in here, or do we take it out?\u2019 It\u2019s like, \u2018You\u2019re not going to be on the radio. Let me ask you this: Would your mom be offended if you left it in?\u2019 They said, \u2018Yes, probably.\u2019 I said, \u2018There\u2019s your answer. You want to leave it in.\u2019 Chuck didn\u2019t need any help with that. He knew exactly what he wanted to do.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Chuck experienced very few issues when cutting vocals for the 12 songs on Scream Bloody Gore, although Burns recalls a few moments where he needed to take a breather. Death hadn\u2019t played a live show in nearly a year, and Chuck\u2019s stamina was not quite where he wanted it to be. Chuck had proper vocal technique (he rarely lost his voice), but the intensity of the Scream Bloody Gore sessions was taxing. \u201cHe did these blood-curdling screams\u2014they were incredible,\u201d says Burns. \u00a0\u201cA couple of times, he would do those, and he\u2019d have to go and grab something and sit down because he would be a little dizzy. I was really impressed at just how intense he was. He put everything into it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Chuck and Reifert emerged largely satisfied with the Scream Bloody Gore sessions. The only downer was that Chuck was not around when Burns mixed the album and soon had complaints that his guitars could have been \u201clouder.\u201d Beyond that, Chuck and Reifert made good on Combat\u2019s gamble by recording the album a second time. The label and others close to Chuck then started to ask how\u2014and when\u2014he was going to complete Death\u2019s lineup. Again, logic would assume that they would have asked Sadus bassist Steve Di Giorgio, who didn\u2019t find out the pair recorded Scream Bloody Gore until it was too late.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe were in my truck smoking a doobie and hanging out,\u201d he says. \u201cFinally, I asked, \u2018So, where did you go?\u2019 Chuck and Chris paused and said, \u2018Oh, we recorded the album.\u2019 I was like, \u2018You recorded the album? What do you mean? Did you record the album? Like all the songs we were jamming?\u2019 Chuck goes, \u2018Yeah, dude. It sucked! I had to do all the rhythm guitars, my leads, the bass and vocals. It was too much.\u2019 I was like, \u2018I\u2019ve been here the whole time jamming with you guys! You could have asked me!\u2019 Reifert hit Chuck in the arm and was like, \u2018See! I knew we should have asked him.\u2019 But I don\u2019t think Chuck and Reifert wanted to impose. We were best friend bands. I don\u2019t think Chuck wanted my Sadus guys to feel like they were stealing me. Maybe it\u2019s for the better.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>With Scream Bloody Gore complete and handed over to Combat, Chuck returned to Altamonte Springs for the holidays. It was still up in the air whether Chuck would actually return to the Bay Area\u2014he did not give Reifert or Di Giorgio a firm commitment either way. Death, though, was still a \u201cband\u201d and making inroads toward adding new members, which is where the legend of John Hand begins and quickly ends.<\/p>\n<p>Pre-order Born Human: The Life and Music of Death\u2019s Chuck Schuldiner\u00a0exclusively from Decibel Books\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/store.decibelmagazine.com\/products\/born-human-the-life-and-music-of-deaths-chuck-schuldiner\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/store.decibelmagazine.com\/products\/born-human-death-luxe-edition-includes-limited-edition-t-shirt\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-57512\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/BornHuman_DeathluxeEditionInstagramPortrait.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1080\" height=\"1350\"  \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a class=\"gofollow\" data-track=\"MTkxNCw2LDEsNjA=\" href=\"https:\/\/propagandhi.ffm.to\/atpeace.PDA\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Epitaph-May-2025-Propaghandi-content.jpg\"\/><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Decibel Books proudly presents Born Human: The Life and Music of Death\u2019s Chuck Schuldiner, the fully authorized biography&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":74136,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[55],"tags":[223,52878,52879,52880,52881,8609,52882,12026,52883,88,52884,52885,52886],"class_list":["post-74135","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-books","tag-books","tag-born-human","tag-chris-reifert","tag-chuck-schuldiner","tag-david-e-gehlke","tag-death","tag-death-book","tag-death-metal","tag-decibel-books","tag-entertainment","tag-home-featured","tag-randy-burns","tag-scream-bloody-gore"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74135","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=74135"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74135\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/74136"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=74135"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=74135"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=74135"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}