Control Denied

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Control Denied
Chuck Schuldiner cropped.jpg
Chuck Schuldiner
Background information
Origin Florida, United States
Genres Progressive metal
Years active1995–2001
Labels Relapse, Nuclear Blast

Control Denied was a progressive metal band formed by death metal musician and Death founder Chuck Schuldiner.

Contents

Background

Schuldiner mentioned the idea of teaming up with a Rob Halford-esque singer in a September 1993 interview with Guitar School [1] and would go on to discuss the idea further in multiple 1995 interviews, mentioning Ronnie James Dio as the type of singer he would like to partner with, including Guitar World, [2] the Italian magazine Metal Shock [3] and the Dutch magazine Watt. [4] He had already started working on Control Denied riffs by the time Death was touring in Japan for the album Symbolic, [5] which took place in September 1995. [6]

History

Formation

B.C Richards joined the band in November 1995[ failed verification ], as vocalist, though he temporarily left the same year to focus on Wicked Ways. [7] Schuldiner attempted to get Andy LaRocque as a lead guitarist, but the lack of a label hindered it. [5] Drummer Chris Williams also joined around this time; Williams recruited Shannon Hamm on guitar and Scott Clendenin on bass. [8] By 1996, Richards had rejoined; [9] the following year he had left the band again, while Clendenin was replaced by Brian Benson. The name of the album at the time was The Moment of Clarity; other tracks from the album included What If and Cut Down to Size. [5] Jim Dofka notified his Psycho Scream bandmate Tim Aymar that Schuldiner was interested in him; after a brief audition and demo, Aymar was selected, beating out both Warrel Dane of Nevermore and Rob Halford of Judas Priest. [10] Earlier, Dane was almost selected as the singer, though the scheduling did not work out [11] as Dane was dedicated to Nevermore and didn't have the time. [12] Williams left the band as he couldn't "hang around waiting" any longer and went on to join another band, which led to Richard Christy joining the band as his replacement. [13]

The Fragile Art of Existence

Schuldiner signed with the record label Nuclear Blast in 1997, though the label required that another Death album be released before a Control Denied album could be issued. This led to the release of Death's The Sound of Perseverance in 1998, but finally the debut album The Fragile Art of Existence was released in 1999. [14] The Fragile Art of Existence was reissued in October 2010 by Relapse Records in a 2-disc standard format, with one hour of bonus material, and a 3-disc deluxe version, with two hours of bonus material. [15]

When Man and Machine Collide

A second album (which was recorded at Morrisound with Jim Morris under the initial title of "When Hate Strikes Down", [10] but which was later tentatively titled When Man and Machine Collide), was partly recorded in November 2000 after Schuldiner had signed with Hammerheart Records. [16] According to an interview with Hamm originally done in the Tampa Metal Music Examiner, Schuldiner and Christy had completed their tracks, while Hamm recorded three of his tracks before the funds were diverted to pay for Schuldiner's medical bills. [17] The death of Schuldiner in 2001 put the recordings on hold. Remaining band members had expressed a wish to complete and release the material. [18] However, there existed a longstanding legal dispute over the rights of the material with Hammerheart Records [note 1] , further postponing the completion and release of the album. [20]

Schuldiner's mother, Jane, affirmed in January 2003 that the album would be released. [21] Hammerheart indicated in a 2004 press release that it would release the "incomplete recordings", [22] to which Schuldiner responded that it would be "sacrilege." [23] Schuldiner initially announced in March 2004 that they would be uploaded and made available for free download. [24] The following month, she indicated that rather than release the rehearsal tracks, the entire completed album should be released instead. [25] Part of these incomplete recordings were released without authorization on the Zero Tolerance album, [26] which was announced as the title by Karmageddon Media in March 2004. [27] Schuldiner estate lawyer [28] and Death manager Eric Greif settled all matters with the label by 2009, allowing for the possibility of completing the album. [29]

On December 4, 2010, Aymar released a statement saying that plans were being made to record and release the album, stating that Jim Morris of Morrisound Studios (with whom Chuck Schuldiner recorded several albums during his career) had been in contact with Greif to begin planning and booking studio time to record the remaining parts of When Man and Machine Collide. [30] Plans were cut short by a break-in at Morrisound in the spring of 2011 that saw much of their equipment stolen, pushing back the completion of the album. [31] An exploratory meeting between producer Jim Morris and guitarist Shannon Hamm was held in December 2012. [32] Greif stated in October 2016 that the recordings would not be completed. [33]

Discography

Members

Line-ups

PeriodMembersStudio releases
1995None
ca. 1995
  • Chuck Schuldiner - guitar, vocals
  • Chris Williams - drums [34]
None
ca. 1995
  • Chuck Schuldiner - guitar, vocals
  • Chris Williams - drums
  • Shannon Hamm - guitars [34]
None
1995-1996
  • Chuck Schuldiner - guitar, vocals
  • Scott Clendenin - bass
  • Chris Williams - drums
  • Shannon Hamm - guitars [7]
1996 demo [8]
ca. April 1996
  • Chuck Schuldiner - guitars
  • B.C. Richards - vocals [9]
None
1997
  • Chuck Schuldiner - guitar
  • Brian Benson - bass
  • Chris Williams - drums
  • Shannon Hamm - guitars [5]
None
1997
  • Chuck Schuldiner - guitar
  • Tim Aymar – vocals
  • Scott Clendenin - bass
  • Chris Williams - drums
  • Shannon Hamm - guitars
1997 demo [35]
1997
  • Chuck Schuldiner - guitar
  • Scott Clendenin - bass
  • Tim Aymar – vocals
  • Richard Christy - drums
  • Shannon Hamm - guitars
None
Inactive from 1998 – 1999
1999-2001
  • Chuck Schuldiner – guitar, vocals
  • Steve Di Giorgio - bass
  • Tim Aymar – vocals
  • Richard Christy – drums
  • Shannon Hamm – guitar
1999 demo
The Fragile Art of Existence (1999)

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References

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  15. 1 2 "CONTROL DENIED: 'The Fragile Art of Existence' Reissue Streaming Online". Blabbermouth.net . November 18, 2010. Retrieved January 18, 2024.
  16. Robbie Woning (March 2002). "Memories of Chuck". Aardschok. Retrieved December 24, 2022.
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  22. "CONTROL DENIED: Unfinished Album To See Light Of Day". Blabbermouth.net . November 24, 2003. Retrieved January 4, 2024.
  23. "CHUCK SCHULDINER's Mother Says Plan To Release Incomplete CONTROL DENIED Album Is 'Sacrilege'". Blabbermouth.net . November 24, 2003. Retrieved January 4, 2024.
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Notes

  1. Hammerheart Records changed its name to Karmageddon Media in 2003, but changed it back in 2006. [19]