The Top Ten Songs from the Band: Death

No, these are not the top 10 songs about death in general – these are the top 10 songs from the band Death.

Keep in mind that these are my personal picks, for my personal reasons sometimes, but they’re based on 20 years of listening and knowing the music. I think most who know the band and the music will tend to agree with most of what I’ll say about it, but, as always, someone with something intelligent to say is welcome to weigh in.

I expect this article to be the beginning of a longer series of articles about this band, its music, and its front man, the late Chuck Schuldiner. I figured I’d start off a little lighter and give any readers who weren’t brushed up on the discography the chance to lay their ears on some of this to get in the mood.

Without further ado, the list…

Number 10
“Vacant Planets” from the 1991 album Human – this album is what you might call a transition album for Chuck – the instruments are just barely starting to get their own identities in a few places on this album, and this song sums up this album, and maybe the two previous albums, pretty well. The faster parts of this song have been honed to perfection with all the previous albums, and the break downs are just starting to hint at what’s to come.

Number 9
“In Human Form” from the 1993 album Individual Thought Patterns – the music in this song deserves a serious listen – it might be the most complex song on the album, musically, but the lyrics are especially silly on this one, so it gets dinged a bit. This is a song where you can really hear the direction that Chuck’s music was taking in the early 90s – this song was probably written in 1992. Think back to what mainstream metal was doing at the time, and this becomes even more impressive, because no one was breaking down the genre like this, except for maybe the progressive death metal troupe Atheist. Regardless of what everyone else was doing (or not doing…), it’s still a great song.

Number 8
Nothing is Everything” from Individual Thought Patterns – like most of the songs on this album, this one breaks the “groove machine” of drums and bass into two distinct instruments, and the chorus is a perfect example of this. There is wonderful musicianship on this short song – if you are a bass player, then you really need to listen to this whole album. You’ll hear the potential of your instrument as more than just a rhythm tool.

Number 7
“Flesh and the Power it Holds” from the 1998 album Sound of Perseverance – this song’s intro is great, and the solo is one of the more unique in the Death discography. Most of the songs on this album are masterful, and some other made the list. This is Death’s last album, sadly, and shows their continued “leaps and bounds” growth as musicians and Chuck’s pinnacle as a song writer.

Number 6
“A Moment of Clarity” from Sound of Perseverance – this one was tough…there are so many good songs that could have gone here, especially off of this album. This song contains the best solo on any Death song. It also is a very insightful song, in general, as far as the lyrics go. I don’t normally pay much attention to the lyrics of songs, but this song deserves a read through.

Number 5
“Left to Die” off of the 1988 album Leprosy – this song is the best on this album, although it is much less iconic than the track immediately following it, “Pull the Plug” Both songs were featured on the “best of” compilation, Fate, from 1991, but this song has something all it’s own. In spots, it’s a great example of the all-out speed that characterized the guitar work on Death’s first two albums, and all the musicians get their due here. Listen to this one first when you play this album.

Number 4
“Spiritual Healing” from the 1990 album Spiritual Healing – this song is the best on this album, by far. This might be the weakest album overall from Chuck, but this song ranks high because it’s about the best “groove” song that Chuck ever wrote. Death’s first three albums were about speed and technical prowess and this song caps that period of the band’s development nicely. This album, and this song in particular, was one of the first where the venom that Chuck could inject into his lyrics was turned on social and political issues, and not death and dismemberment.

Number 3
“Zero Tolerance” from the 1995 masterwork Symbolic – this is an incredible song from Death’s best overall album – by far. In fact, if you have to own one Death album, this is the one to try to find (and it’s not so easy to locate, around here anyway…) Most of the songs from Symbolic could be in this slot, honestly, but this one was chosen over several others like “1000 Eyes” and “Symbolic”, which did not technically make this list, because it’s the one where it all just comes together – the drums are particularly well-played here.

Number 2
“Empty Words” from the album Symbolic – this song is the best on this album and was darn close to being the best overall from the band. As with most great songs, it’s difficult to quantify the things that make the song great, but its complexity and the ease with which that complexity flows through the song are what ultimately make it as great as it is. Pay special attention to the way the rhythms work behind the chorus and the solos. Chuck was also well into his ability as a lyricist, and the vocals in this song mesh with the music (rhythm, timing, pace, etc…) better than most songs from any band in the genre.

Number 1
This was almost a tie, but the song “Story to Tell” from Sound of Perseverance edged out its next closest competitor. This song represents the peak of what Death was built to do. The lyrics, the complex layering of instruments, the flow – everything is perfect. By this time in Chuck’s music, and especially in this song, the limitations of repeating fifths and bass and drum grooves is basically gone, and in its place you have 4 musicians playing what are essentially 4 different little songs…that all mesh together perfectly. That’s the mark of a great improvisational jazz band, from where a lot of Chuck’s later music drew influence, and it’s applied to metal in this song about as perfectly as it can be. All that aside, the song just sounds and feels right, all around.

So that’s my take – in a body of work like Chuck’s, though, it’s difficult to pick favorites. It took a lot of listening to narrow this list down from about 40 songs, and then it took a lot more listening to narrow down the top 3.

Music speaks to different people in different ways, though. If you’re a Death fan, then you, no doubt, have songs that speak to you more than these might. I’d be curious to hear what fans out there have to say.

The other side of that coin is that is you’re reading this article and are not familiar with this music, or this band, then you can use this list as a handy reference to listen and see what you think. These songs might open a door for you. This is generally intelligent, well-crafted music…and it is all, of course, suitable for turning up loud and letting loose to.