Mantas and Death co-founder Rick Rozz spent the early ’80s laying the groundwork for death metal while ripping furious riffs into a boombox with bandmate and future guitar icon Chuck Schuldiner.
To somewhat soften the blow of their piercingly lo-fi recordings, the Floridian teens’ shrewd production trick was to throw a towel over the microphone of their portable stereo.
Cassettes containing untamed buzzbombs like Archangel and Slaughterhouse were traded around the underground, though the fidelity could leave you scratching your head over what was actually coming out of the speakers.
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“We were in his bedroom with a dual cassette player, just two kids writing riffs back and forth,” Rozz recalls fondly of their demonstrably raging origins. They’d flesh out those primordial monstrosities with drummer Kam Lee.
Mantas became Death in 1984, and Schuldiner would eventually lead the group through a series of revered studio albums that continually redefined the grotesque and progressive parameters of the genre – Rozz would perform on 1988 landmark Leprosy. Those earliest demos remain relatively obscure, even to die-hard fans. That changes this year through the release of Left to Die’s Initium Mortis.
The newer project was founded as a touring tribute to Death. Steered by Exhumed guitarist-vocalist Matt Harvey – also of Gruesome, a group writing original material with an explicit Death aesthetic – Left to Die’s lineup also features Rozz, drummer Gus Rios and Obituary bassist Terry Butler (who’d played on Death’s third album, 1990’s Spiritual Healing). Harvey rallied the troops to finally give the deep cuts a hi-fi upgrade.
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“I realize not everyone likes listening to boombox recordings of teenagers,” Harvey says. “I find it really charming, because there’s nothing in the way of the enthusiasm. There’s no studio trickery, compressors or reverb. It’s just kids going as sick as they can with all this energy.”
Though he’s a devout student of Death, Harvey avoided recreating Rozz and Schuldiner’s early tone exactly. “Once you start getting the microscope out, you’re gonna suck the life out of it,” he says, reiterating that what was most important was maintaining the ferocious spirit of the demos.
This meant one-and-done takes and limited punch-ins. Rozz flew in dangerously trem-quaked solo undulations with his Floyd Rose-mounted Ibanez Iceman; Harvey handled rhythms and the solos with a Schuldiner-styled melodic technicality.
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Bringing these songs back to life through Left to Die is a boon for Death fanatics, Harvey included. Schuldiner passed away in 2001 following a battle with brain cancer, and the music he made with his bandmates remains revered by metalheads worldwide.
“I don’t want anyone to think that I’m trying to step in and be the new Chuck,” Harvey says. “From the beginning, my whole mission with Left to Die was to allow these songs to be played the best way that we can, for the people.”
“I forgot about a lot of those tunes,” Rozz confesses, adding of Initium Mortis, “I’m proud to be a part of it and put my little whammy shenanigans in.”
