There are many bands and a lot of musicians that have left their mark in Metal music. But there are not many who have defined and influenced Metal so much like DEATH and its brilliant founder Chuck Schuldiner! LEFT TO DIE is a tribute band dedicated to DEATH and to the legacy of Chuck. On the occasion of their upcoming concert in Thessaloniki on August 31st 2024, we had the pleasure to talk with two musicians that took part in the first albums of DEATH and are now members of LEFT TO DIE. Terry Butler and Rick Rozz give us a lot of information about their band…
– Hello Terry and Rick. Welcome to our web magazine. Thank you very much for your time. It’s a true honor!
Terry Butler: Thank you, it’s our pleasure.
Rick Rozz: Thank you very much for having us. It’s a pleasure and an honor.
– You will visit Thessaloniki at the end of August for a live show with LEFT TO DIE only one year and a half after your last shows in Greece. So, are Greek metalheads so devoted to DEATH legacy and DEATH music? What were the reactions from the fans during your last show in Thessaloniki?
Terry Butler: When we played there last time, it was amazing. Amazing crowd, participation, very passionate. Yeah, they love DEATH, they love DEATH music, probably because it is great music and, you know, it’s a legacy band, it’s a band that pretty much kick-started this whole genre. So, I think people love hearing DEATH, for sure. Yeah, I’m sure of that.
Rick Rozz: Oh, it was unbelievable. And I had never been to your country before that. That was my first time. And it was unbelievable. The promoter as well, a very, very nice gentleman. He gave us a tour of the country. The crowd was unbelievable. The food was really good. His mother cooked us a home-cooked meal at their restaurant. No, it was unbelievable, unbelievable. We were very well treated. And the reception from the crowd is amazing. I’m a 57-year-old man. These songs are 36 years old and we’re doing a tribute to Chuck and people are really, really wanting to hear it. And yeah, it was really, really cool, man. Nothing but positive vibes.
– It seems not only in Greece. I saw that your tour is quite extensive this August. Actually, I will see you at the Rockstadt Extreme Festival next Saturday.
Terry Butler: Yes, that’s cool. That’s the first show of our tour. We’re trying to hit some countries we didn’t when we came through a year and a half ago, and trying to spread the music around.
Rick Rozz: Very cool. Thanks for reminding me how soon it is. I need to practice (laughing).
– I’m curious, what are the reactions you get from younger guys, guys that were not even born during the 80s or the 90s that DEATH were active?
Terry Butler: Actually, it’s an incredible reaction. We get a lot of young fans at the shows, I think because when they’re getting into metal, death metal, they read and they hear about that DEATH is one of the first bands to start death metal, so they want to know about it. And then when they listen to it, they’re hooked. They’re like, yeah, this is great music, I want to listen to it. So, yeah, it’s awesome. We get a lot of people that are our age, also people at their middle 30s, and then we get the 15 year olds. So, it’s pretty cool, actually. Yeah, that’s amazing.
Rick Rozz: The ones that have come up to me and some of the younger bands that played with us at some of the shows, like really young bands, like guys in their late teens, early 20s, it seemed very positive and it seemed like they were being honest. You can be honest with me. If you don’t like it, you don’t like it. If you like it, you like it. And your opinion is your opinion. But it seemed like they were very honest and it was a very positive response. Very, very positive. And I do the same for them. I respect everybody. I try to be cool. I mean, if you’re cool with me, I’m cool with you. If you’re not cool, then I’ll try to avoid you? But I’m not trying to cause any trouble. But to answer your question, the younger musicians that are in bands and younger fans have come up to me and talked to me. No matter if they have heard DEATH before, they could have heard DEATH on their last record. When I was younger, and I would find out about a band from their last album, I realized later that they had like seven other albums, you know, before that. So then you go back in the cataloge, if you’re a music fan, and then you find certain things that you like and other you don’t. So, it was a very positive reaction from the younger musicians and fans of DEATH. Perfect.
– How did you come up with the idea to create LEFT TO DIE as a tribute band to DEATH?
Terry Butler: Well, about three years ago, we did a show here in Tampa, and we did the whole “Spiritual Healing” album. It was me, James Murphy, Matt and Gus, and we did two nights in a row in Tampa, and it was amazing. It was sold out. And just a few months later, out of that whole thing, I think Rick posted a question online, who would like to see the DEATH lineup or “Leprosy” album played in its entirety. And we got a great response, overwhelming response. So, we just started talking amongst each other. And we’re like, hey, what if we just did a thing called LEFT TO DIE, did like the first two albums and some demo stuff and see how that goes. And the response was amazing. So, we’re like, well, let’s take it on the road. Let’s see if people want to hear it. And yeah, people are coming out to see it. So, it’s fun. And we’re just going to ride it out until it lasts.
Rick Rozz : Well, Terry, Gus and Matt did a tribute to the “Spiritual Healing” record with James Murphy in Tampa. I think they did two shows. And I think that was kind of like a little spark, because I hadn’t talked to Terry in a long time. He’s been busy. But it was really cool to reach back out to him. So, that that basically gave me the idea. I wonder if anybody would like to hear “Leprosy”. So I reached out to Gus Rios, the drummer from GRUESOME and now we have LEFT TO DIE. And then I thought about asking Matt and then get in touch with Butler and see if this would be a good idea. You know, if everybody would be on board to do this. And I said, if not, that’s cool. I totally understand. But everybody was cool with it. It was that simple. It was literally a phone call. Everybody reached out to everybody. And then we talked and within less than a month, we had a tour booked. I think it was crazy. It was for a couple of months, but it scared me. I was like, oh, my God, I got to learn all those songs. But it was good, man. That’s really how it happened. Terry and I, we were in Chuck’s band before “Scream Bloody Gore” tours. No disrespect for Chris Reifert, because he stayed in California. So Terry and I and Bill did that tour. So I think Terry and I have respect to the songs to play those songs along with the “Leprosy” record. But we are adding more songs to the set because you just can’t go out and do “Leprosy”. It’s only eight songs. We took some songs out and add some other songs and we’re going to flip flop songs back and forth. It’s going to be a lot of fun. We have a good team with the guys and everybody gets along really well. And we have a good team over in Europe as far as the guys that are working with us as far as front of house and tour managing and merch guys. It’s the same guys that we used last time.
– You saw that people were very interested. So it was an easy decision, I guess.
Rick Rozz: Well, yeah, it was still a risk. You don’t know what’s going to happen. You know, people are taking a risk to do that. You don’t know if there’s going to sell, if promoters are going to be able to fill a venue with people want to come and see that. But it worked out.
– Are you going to continue with the LEFT TO DIE? I mean, what’s what are the future plans for for this band?
Rick Rozz: As far as I know, apart from the European tour, there are a few other tours. I don’t want to say anything more for the time being. That’s it’s a tribute band, man. You know what I mean? It’s a tribute to DEATH. You can’t continue to do the same tribute forever. So there’s going to be a time when we will have to put it to rest. You can’t continue to do the same thing because that would not cool at all.
– Last time you played, I think “Leprosy”, but are you preparing something more for this show?
Terry Butler: Yeah, we played “Leprosy” and about five songs from
“Scream Bloody Gore” last time. This time we’re playing five different songs from “Scream Bloody Gore” basically. So, we’re mixing it up a little bit.
– Terry, you had the chance to be part of some of the greatest death metal bands in history like OBITUARY or SIX FEET UNDER. But I think that DEATH was the first band that introduced you widely to the world of metal, if I’m not mistaken.
Terry Butler: Actually, it was MASSACRE. My friend at the time, my best friend at the time, Bill Andrews, was playing drums. And him and Alan West started MASSACRE back in 84. And they put out a demo. Then Rick and Cam got involved, and we did a second demo. Then I joined the band. So, MASSACRE was my first introduction into playing death metal. And then Bill, Rick and myself went to DEATH right as “Scream Bloody Gore” was released. And so, me and Bill were there for “Scream Bloody Gore”, “Leprosy” and “Spiritual Healing”. And yeah, I have been fortunate. I’ve been in a lot of cool bands. MASSACRE, DEATH, SIC FEET UNDER, OBITUARY, INHUMAN CONDITION. It’s been fun, and I enjoy it.
-And you’re still active, right? Really active, actually.
Terry Butler: Yeah!! (laughing)
– So let’s go back to the beginning of DEATH. Rick, what’s the story behind the creation of MANTAS and then DEATH? And how did you meet with the other guys, with Chuck and Kam? I think you were one of the founding members, correct?
Rick Rozz: Yes, I met Kam in art class at Lake Brantley High School in 1983. We had already formed MANTAS, the two of us. Then I met Chuck at a backyard party in late ‘83. Something like that. And I introduced him to Kam. Chuck had a garage to jam in. I was picking him up and his drums and going over to Chuck’s garage. I don’t know the exact date when it started, but it was late 83. And yeah, that’s when MANTAS started. But MANTAS was already together. It was named before Kam and I met Chuck. And then, like I said, I met Chuck at a party because Kam and I were going to high school and we were jamming together. When I met Chuck I realized we had many common interests and influences like KISS, SLAYER or MERCYFUL FATE. A big variety of rock and metal influences. So, that is the point we decided to go together.
– Terry, do you have any interesting stories to share with us from the time you were recording “Spiritual Healing” or during your time in DEATH?
Terry Butler: I mean, it was just an amazing time because working with Scott Burns, working with Dan Johnson on “Leprosy”, having people come into the studio from other bands while we were recording, you know, it was just a great time for metal and for death metal. Morrisound Recording was an iconic studio, obviously, just being part of that whole thing was amazing. But, you know, we just kept ourselves entertained. Every day we were like laughing and just having a good time and creating some cool stuff in the studio.
– Back then, did you realize that you were creating something that huge, something that would make that kind of impression and leave that heritage to metal, or you were just having fun?
Terry Butler: It was more of the case of just us having fun and putting out some good music. I mean, we knew, even in “Leprosy”, that this is a killer record. It’s got nice structuring, nice songwriting, same with “Spiritual Healing”, but we didn’t tell ourselves, hey, you know, 30 years from now, this is going to be like some iconic stuff. No, we were just kids, writing music, having a good time in the studio.
Rick Rozz: That’s it. The second one. Having fun. Writing some music, being fortunate enough to put a record out on a record label, but there was no thoughts of like stardom or nothing like that. We were just kids and at that age you don’t think that kind of stuff. But obviously, we made enough money to go out. We still lived with our parents when we all went out on tour for the first time. So we had somewhere to come home after the tour. Another thing I want to tell you is that before “Scream Bloody Gore” me and Kam left the band and Chuck went on his way. Actually I only wrote a couple o songs for that album. When Chuck came back to town and I ran into a guy that told me that Chuck was back in town, I went to his house uninvited, knocked on his door and told his I had something to discuss with him. I actually told him that I wanted to put the band back together and that Terry and Bill would be willing to do that. But I never told Kam and I left him hanging. I have apologized to him for that over a dozen times and I want to tell this to everybody reading this interview. We were back in DEATH and Kam never got a call to join. After that, we did the “Scream Bloody Gore” tour in a van. Terry did the 80% of the driving and I did the rest. It was really great. We were 20-21 years old so you can understand that it was awesome. Everybody has their quirks and everybody has their own personalities but it was cool, you know what I mean? Yeah. So my point is I was only in the band for only a few years. But it was cool, and then they went on to do their own thing. Bill and Terry continued with Chuck but Chuck decided to change things later. Sometimes you want to try something different with a different singer, or guitarist of drummer. You are allowed to do that. As for now, this is very flattering for me. I am 57 years olf and I am able to do this for a little while. Play the songs as a tribute to DEATH for people that are enjoying it. It’s cool and blessing.
– Rick, how do you feel now that you were part of this legacy? I mean, DEATH is maybe the biggest band in death metal.
Rick Rozz: It’s very flattering. It’s an honor and a pleasure to do this. It’s an honor and a pleasure that people are coming out to see it. I have no problem meeting all these people. I’m not hiding. I’m not charging them to come and meet me. If Chuck was alive, none of this would be happening. LEFT TO DIE wouldn’t be happening. If Chuck was alive, no way. The only reason why it’s happening is because it’s a tribute to him. But like I said, that can only go on for so long, you know, not going to be blunt to the point, I’m not going to milk the tit of DEATH forever. You can only do so much.I think Terry and I have the right to do a tribute. And let alone Gus and Matt are doing an unbelievable job. I’m the weakest link. You know, I’m the lazy guitar player. So but but it’s going to be cool, man.
– Let’s talk about Chuck. We all know that he is considered to be one of the greatest figures in metal the last 40 years. But how was he in his everyday life? How was working with him during all this time?
Terry Butler: Well, he was human like all of us, so he did have his faults, like all of us do. But I got along with him great. He had a great mind for metal. He knew he was very focused on what he wanted. He took pride in his lyrics just as much as he did his songwriting. And, you know his passion was just there. He practiced a lot every day, just trying to come up with songs and music and getting inspired by anything like normal real life. But he was a bit of a diva. And I say that in the kindest way. He was very passionate for his band. Like if he thought someone was doing the band wrong, he was like a bulldog on them. But in general, I got along with him great. I had no problems. We created some cool music and we had some great times. And unfortunately, you know, his passing left a void, because we all try to imagine what would he have created since then musically? It’d be cool to hear, you know. And I mean, we had a very common type of music we liked.
Rick Rozz: Well, you got to think we were kids, you know, when we first started hanging out, we were 16 and we all dropped out of high school. And I didn’t hang out with him every day. I hung out with him a lot. I was a cigarette smoker at the time. He didn’t smoke cigarettes. He smoked a little bit of weed. I didn’t smoke any weed. We had an occasional beer here and there. That’s about it. Yeah, I’m not going to go deep into Chuck, man. I don’t because I’m a far from a perfect human being. Chuck and I were totally two different worlds of people. But other than that, man, I have nothing but positive things to say about him and his family. They allowed me in their home. I sat down at their table and had dinner with the entire family. Chuck, mom and dad, sister and his little brother Chris when he was a little junior in diapers. Yeah, so I’m just gonna leave it at that, man. He was a really good friend. He allowed me in his band and allowed Terry and Bill to come in and we did some cool stuff. You know, we did the “Screen Bloody Gore” tour and we did the “Leprosy” record together. And then Terry and Bill went on to do this “Spiritual healing” record together. So yeah, as a human being, he was a really cool laid back giving guy.
– Terry, the fact that, as you said, he was like a bulldog with his band the reason that he actually was the only stable member of DEATH?
Terry Butler: Kind of. I mean, Bill and I were there for three albums, probably the longest besides maybe, Giorgio playing on several different albums. But we were actually fully part of the band and writing and creating music. Bill and I and James were there. At times, it didn’t serve him well to be that angry and to be that emotional about things. He would come to quick decisions irrationally sometimes just because he didn’t think about what was going on. But in his mind, he was thinking it was the best for the band. And maybe it wasn’t the best for the band at the time. But hey, he was the leader of the band at that point. So, you know, you kind of have to go with the flow on that one. But there were times when he probably should have sat back and thought about something before he did it. Like I said, he’s human and he has emotions. And yeah, a lot of great artists have a weird side and they’re kind of a bit crazy, a good kind of crazy at the time. But I’ll just kind of throw him in that category.
– When you’re so passionate about something, sometimes you cannot think straight.
Terry Butler: Exactly.
– Is there, maybe, a key element that made DEATH so influential and still so many people like their music?
Terry Butler: I caught wind of what was going on with the MANTAS demo back in ‘84. And it was just very raw and heavy and just brutal. And that continued with the DEATH demos.And I just noticed that it was something a bit different, especially with Chuck’s voice and the songwriting. He was coming up with some really cool riffs and it was heavy and aggressive. And, at the time it was he who was totally into gore and everything that would attract a younger guy, a 14 year-old or 15 year-old to aggressive music. Zombies and blood and guts and heavy music. What’s better than tha?. Later, the songwriting got even better.And, released “Leprosy”, which I think is one of the greatest death metal albums, it just was like a perfect punch in the face, a mix of melody and harmony. Melody and heaviness. And then when “Spiritual Healing” came out, it just got even a little bit more melodic, slightly more progressive. If you analyze the songs, the structuring, the writing, the music, everything has a purpose. Every riff is there. There’s not like a filler riff and then on top of that, you have some really cool guitar work, some really cool leads going on from all the different albums, and it’s still relevant today.
Rick Rozz: I don’t know, because the style of DEATH changed over the years. You know what I mean? There’s a brutal side of DEATH. And then there’s a not really so brutal side of DEATH, which is fine since it was his band and could do whatever he wanted. “Scream Bloody Gore” and “Leprocy” were pretty brutal albums. “Spiritual Healing” has a little brutality but you could hear the change coming. I am not gonna say anything bad about those records. It is just a transition. And Chuck made that choice. He hired the musicians to do those albums with him. I wasn’t hired but I was still his friend. I was fired because I was a lazy guitar player. I really didn’t care about solos. I could have been a rhythm guitar player. I have been fine with that. This is the reason DEATH was Chuck’s project. I mean, he changed. He was changing the musicians depending on the music he wanted to play. And the personality of each musician was important. Just look at the guitar players on each album. The list is amazing. He never wanted to be a singer. I didn’t know that at the beginning. I learned that later on. I think he got his DEATH metal vocal influence from Kam. Because Kam wrote and sang 80% -85% of the MANTAS songs. He also played drums. We never had a bass player either. And we played on salad bars and suck places. So,after the first 2-3 DEATH albums Chuck went on his own little journey. What he had in mind for DEATH.
– Last question guys! What are your plans for LEFT TO DIE and for you personally?
Terry Butler: With LEFT TO DIE, we’re going to try and bring this project to places around the world that for one DEATH has never been and maybe that we haven’t been to yet like Australia, Canada, South America. So there are still places where we can bring this to. I’m not saying we’re going to be doing this 15 years from now, but we’re just going to do this until we either collectively say, okay, we’re done or no one comes to the shows anymore. Personally, I’m very busy with OBITUARY. We’re fixed to do a U.S. tour in September. Also, we’re coming to Europe. That U.S. tour is going to be with SEPULTURA. Also, the European tour is going to be with SEPULTURA. And then next year, we’re already lining up shows for Europe and festival dates. So, I am very busy with OBITUARY. With my other band, INHUMAN CONDITION, I try and squeeze that in when I can. It’s getting more popular and we just are in the stages now of writing a third album to be released sometime next year, early next year. So, yeah, it’s busy, you know, and on top of that, you got to juggle home life, do things at home at the same time. Your brain gets a little scrambled at times. But hey, you know, things could be worse. (laughing)
Rick Rozz: I have a few songs for just a recording project called SHINEBOX. It’s going to be a female fronted band, just a recording project, no live shows. It’s gonna be like a punk hardcore metal crossover kind of thing. That’s it. No live performances for me.
– Thank you guys for your time again. It was a real pleasure!
Terry Butler: You’re welcome.
Rick Rozz: Thank you for taking an interest in LEFT TO DIE!
Interview: Kostas Boudoukos
Design & Editing: Kostas Boudoukos
Cover Artwork: Alexandros Soultatos
Date: July 24th, 2024
External Link: LEFT TO DIE – Facebook Page
Copyright © 2024 by THEGALLERY.GR
