‘LEFT TO DIE’ IN BUENOS AIRES. KEEPING CHUCK’S LEGACY ALIVE

We must give all the credit to Heresy Metal Media for bringing Left to Die to Argentina. The band was formed by ex-members of Death, the iconic Death Metal band, and pioneer of the genre, and led by the late Chuck Schuldiner.

Left to Die is made by the union of 2 ex members of the first period of Death: Rick Rozz on guitar (who played in the album ‘Leprosy’) and Terry Butler on bass (who played in ‘Leprosy’ and ‘Spiritual Healing‘, and also played bass for bands like Six Feet Under, Massacre and, at present, Obituary). The other guys filling the place for vocals-guitar and drums are Matt Harvey (Exhumed, Gruesome) and Gus Rios (Gruesome).

The show took place at Uniclub on January 17th, and the local bands positioned as opening acts were ‘Bestial Perception‘ and ‘Corrossive‘.

The door opened around 19.20 and Bestial Perception started their set just minutes after.
They are a four-member band with a huge label of ‘Brutal Death Metal’ tattooed in their songs. Musical resources such as riffs with tritones were a current thing in every one of their songs, making them feel very dark and covered in an aggressive density.

Their set was:
-Ataraxy
-Corpse & Recorpse
-The Inconvenience
-Panoptik
-Regurgitating
-Monolith
-Synchrotron
-Akerbeltz

A curious thing about this band is that they compose their lyrics in total English, as well as the next band of the date: Corrossive.
They are a 5 member band with a lot of technicality in every of their songs; matching perfectly with growl vocals that oscillate between highs and lows constantly. Another common thing about them is that prog irregular pulses, and not to forget of the virtuous guitar solos.
At their set’s end, they mentioned a second album coming soon. So we’ll have to stay tuned!

Their set was:
-Corrosive Minds
-Dead Inside
-Nigromante
-Apóstata
-The Other Side

The time came for the headline band to come onstage.
Left to Die opened their set with such power, that we already knew that they were supposed to play tracks from the first 2 Death records: ‘Scream Bloody Gore’ and ‘Leprosy’. So it really was meant to be a hot and brutal night.
‘Leprosy’ was the first song. They really started at the top, with that tune being played, the table was served for mosh-pitters to do their thing.
‘Born Dead’ and ‘Forgotten Past’ were next, focusing on the ‘Leprosy’ record, as we can see, the one where Rick and Terry shared a line-up with master Chuck, back in 1988.

It was time for some older stuff, SBG tracks made their way on to the list; ‘Infernal Death’ and ‘Sacrificial’ were played. The thing about these 2 albums is that they don’t let you stop and breathe, not even a second. So if we mix tracks from both records in a setlist… it’s a goddam slaughterhouse.
The next songs were ‘Open Casket’, ‘Primitive Ways’, and ‘Choke on It’, heading again to ‘Leprosy’. The whole show was like a constant strikeback from one album to another. A perfect and well-prepared set. Fan service in its biggest form.
SBG hit back with the next 2 songs: ‘Torn to Pieces’ and ‘Regurgitated Guts‘. 

Heading to the final songs of the night, of course, the Argentinian crowd found a moment between songs to make the band smile as they sang ‘Olé Olé’ or chanted for Rick and Terry. Even a loud chant for Chuck Schuldiner with fists and horns in the air.

If there was one song that really, and I mean REALLY, couldn’t be outside the set, is, obviously, the homonymous song of the band: ‘Left to Die’, followed by ‘Zombie Ritual’ (not only a classic Death song but a classic song inside the whole genre).

After kidding about leaving the stage, they just put on back again their instruments and gave us the dream encore: ‘Pull the Plug’ followed by ‘Evil Dead’. One track of every album. Just amazing. I went outside just not knowing what record I liked most, every time a song from the opposite album appeared the set just kept getting more and more badass.

Is beautiful to see how alive is Chuck‘s legacy after all these years. We have more than one Death tribute band formed by ex members touring around the world and fans can’t help showing up. ‘Cause that legacy is far from being forgotten. In fact, it seems to keep growing every year…

Photos by Eliana Fernandez

Review by Agustin Lopez

Produced by Heresy Metal Media

Press NGD Press