I don't know what there is about this album, but somehow it just speaks to me more than any other album has ever done. This is just
the album for me, and before I knew of it, I did not hink that there would be an album that would stand out quite the way this one does.
For those of you who do not know what and who
Control Denied is, then I will happily fill you in. This is the last studio album metal mastermind Chuck Schuldiner released before he lost his fight with cancer on december 13 2001.
Chuck Schuldiner was the man who was Death (the band), Death was his band and his only. With each Death album Chuck pushed the boundaries musically from one release to the next and in doing so he also changed the face of death and hardcore metal for ever, by always setting new standards with each album that kept getting more melodic, technical and brutal. By looking at Chuck's path on the way to making this album, it is clear that this was an album that he just had to make.
Contol Denied has a more melodic approach than the Death albums, which the vocals done by Tim Aymar has alot to do with. I really love Chuck's agressive growls on the Death albums, but somehow his music just comes more alive with Chuck concentrating on the music and Tim Aymar on the vocals. Tim also has a much wider range and well, a much better voice than Chuck, and as I said he sings while Chuck growls.
But Chuck Schuldiner and Tim Aymar aren't alone in making this album what it is. Chuck is not alone on the guitar front either, the other great guitarist in
Control Denied is
Shannon Hamm who picks up where Chuck stops. They just compliment each other so well, it's a pure joy to listen to. Though I must admit that I find Schuldiner's solos a little bit more interesting than Hamm's, but again that I've always felt the same way in Death no matter who were the second guitar slinger.
Richard Christy commands the throne also known as drums, and while he just pounds the living daylight out of his tubs, his drumming is such a huge part of the music. He's not one of those drummers who "just" play drums, he plays music while keeping time.
The other part of this amazing rythm section and the last member of the band is Steve DiGiorgio, who delivers the best bass playing I have ever heard on any album and unlike many others who play fretless bass, he plays metal with his own unique sound (most fretless bassists have a tendency to play and sound jazzy no matter what style they play).
The last piece is Jim Morris who has co-produced the album along with Chuck, and done a great job of it. The album sounds very together without ever sounding over produced.
The Fragile Art of Existence consists of 8 tracks, and I truly believe that every track is single material. You can say that this is to metal what Slippery When Wet (Bon Jovi) is to hair metal, so this makes it very hard for me to point out highlights, but well I will try anyway and quickly
What if...? springs to mind. This track is just cream for the ears with it's heavy intro of bass tapping, intense drums and hard riffing, only to evolve into this heavy and very driven verse riff and then to get very intense again in the bridge and great chorus with a great atmospheric solo and so on, just amazing!
Another gem among gems is the title track
The Fragile Art of Existence, which is both mellow, very hard and heavy and has more than a few surprises. A perfect ending to a perfect album.
The Fragile Art of Existence is a hard album to come by and not one you usually find in your local album store (although one of the online stores that we link to has it in stock ;-) ), but one thing I can promise you, and I usually don't give out too many promises when it comes to music, is that this album will be worth the hunt.
Sadly this is the only album that
Control Denied released before Chuck's too early departure from this world, but a second one was recorded just before his death, so we can only hope that one day
When Man and Machine Collide (the studio title of the unreleased second album) will be released. Until that great day, we can consider ourselves lucky enough to have this one!
Bottom line: A masterpiece!
Written by
Morten Monday, August 22, 2005
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