Former DEATH/CYNIC Drummer Remembers Chuck Schuldiner

Chaos Music Forum recently conducted an interview with former CYNIC/DEATH and current AEON SPOKE drummer Sean Reinert. A couple of excerpts from the question-and-answer session follow:

Chaos-Forum: You appeared on DEATH's "Human" album. Why did Chuck choose you? Did you know him previously? How was it to work with Chuck and Steve DiGiorgio and Paul Masvidal?

Reinert: "Yes, DEATH's 'Human' was my first 'real' recording date.

"I think Chuck chose me because of the stuff he had heard on the CYNIC demos. We had been friends for a few years at that time. Paul and Chuck had spoken on the phone a lot and we used to make road trips up to Altamonte Springs (where Chuck lived) to watch DEATH rehearse and hang out. I remember taking a bus trip up to Gainesville with my friend Brian Bender to go see DEATH and HELLWITCH play. I was 14 and he was 15. So I had known Chuck for a few years by that time.

"Working with Steve and Paul was great fun. I had obviously been working with Paul in CYNIC so it was fun to work with him in different project.

"Steve was a really great guy, easy to work with, super-enthusiastic and a great player. He brought that 'California' vibe to the record. It was a real laid-back time for Chuck and DEATH. Chuck had already been through a slew of bad business decisions and line-up changes. He was commited to having a good time and to not stressing out over stuff."

Chaos-Forum: How did you feel when you were on stage for the first time with DEATH?

Reinert: "It was both an amazing feeling and a scary one. After all, I was just 20 years old at the time. The first shows we played were in Mexico City just before the 'Human' CD came out. I just remember going over the songs in my head in the hotel room the night before the first gig…then being overwhelmed with the crowd response. It was like a death-metal 'Beatlemania'… Kids were lined up for blocks to get autographs and to buy merchandise. The shows were really great (we played with SADUS…which was sooooo much fun!)."

Chaos-Forum: What can you tell us about Chuck Schuldiner as a human… songwriter and DEATH master?

Reinert: "Chuck, for the most part, was a really great guy. Unfortunately, he had a paranoid side to him that would ooze out occasionally. I thought it was a product of the stress of the business, but later came to recognize that he was literally sick. It eventually ended up taking his life. It's a sad story, really. I always thought Chuck was a great songwriter. He wrote some very strong material. Some of the 'catchiest' death metal material to date. I think his legacy in death metal is very secure."

Chaos-Forum: Would you be kind to inform our readers and your fans about the upcoming AEON SPOKE release? Give us also some information about the recording process of "Above the Buried Cry".

Reinert: The CD will be out in October on SPV and it is a self-titled release. We should be going over to the U.K./Germany for press and radio shows at the beginning of November. As for the recording of the CD, it was a series of recording sessions combined. I tracked drums in four different studios: Sunset Sound (Hollywood), SonikWire (Newport Beach), Regime (Hollywood) and Glenwood Place (Burbank). Pretty much everything else was tracked in our home studios. Both Paul and I have our own home studios with ProTools rigs. Then we had three-time Grammy winner Warren Riker mix the tracks. We mastered the record at Capitol Mastering with Robert Vosgien. I used to work for the mastering department there at Capitol so it was kind of like a homecoming."

Read the entire interview here