The 7th date of the second run of the Death to All tour left it’s mark on the NYC metal scene. The tour has proven successful despite the bumps and bruises to the inaugural run, yet the spirit of the great Chuck Schuldiner and its devout followers has kept it going. Now there it was again, a packed show at Irving Plaza with die hard Death fans eagerly waiting since early in the afternoon, to pay tribute to what most would agree is the Godfather of Death metal; and the man who single handily reinvented a whole genre.
The Human-era lineup was in charge of reliving the beauty of performing Death songs live. This time around with Max Phelps (Cynic) on vocals, who in the eyes of many was more than a perfect suitor to honor Chuck’s vocals on stage.
( Me, as a photographer at the show , I cannot yet find the words to describe the emotion of the crowd. One thing is for sure, the show was filled with die hard fans, nothing less. The crowd surfers began raining on us, the second Death came on stage. During our first three songs, in which we are allowed to shoot up close, we had to be removed from the photo pit as the as the security guards were having a hard time keeping up with so many people at once.)
All one can see was the great mass of head banging fans, and never ending moshpits as some of the best Death songs were being performed. The set list was concrete and nothing short of amazing, that included songs from “Flattening of Emotions” to “Pull the Plug”, and “Lack of Comprehension.” At one moment before the nigh concluded there was very touching, and emotional moment for all the venue that night. As footage and photos of Chuck Shuldiner were being played everyone grew quiet and some teared up. We all understood had all been united that night to honor that man on screen, and the legacy that he had left behind. That night we had all been part of honoring his memory and the charity dedicated to him which is Sweet Relief. One can only hope there will be more chances for the Death fans to gather and honor a hero, and help a honest cause which in it of itself is what Chuck would had wanted us to do.
