The Album Reviews:

	Title: Zero Tolerance Artist: Chuck Schuldiner Label: Candlelight Records Release Date: 2/22/05	Judgment Committee Reviews	Rating
			2
			2
			3
Read the Review of Death's Live in L.A. (Death & Raw) Read the Review of Control Denied's The Fragile Art of Existence Read the Review of Death's The Sound of Perseverance Read the Review of Death's Human Read the Review of Death's Spiritual Healing Read the Review of Death's Leprosy Read the Review of Death's Scream Bloody Gore Official Web Site for this Artist Discuss on the Metal Judgment Web Board Submit/Read Reader Reviews of this Album

Abyss's Review:
There is a fine line between making sure the final statement of a deceased artist is heard and cashing in on their death. Zero Tolerance will no doubt be referred to as both, but in all honesty the question is moot. It is less important to identify what reasons went into putting this disc together than it is to figure out who will find the most use for it.

"One word review: Unfinished."

This album was born out of controversy between the family of Mr. Schuldiner and the label, and contains two discs of unreleased material, demos, and live tracks. Of most interest to the average metal fan will be the unfinished Control Denied tracks that start disc one. These show the musical mindset Mr. Schuldiner was in right up to his death, and were part of a project in which there was a great deal of fan interest. Unfortunately, they are raw edits that would probably be altered numerous times before they saw release, but they do have their value. Diehard musicians and Death/Control Denied fans will appreciate these tracks simply for nostalgic reasons. Chuck had a distinctive writing style that comes through loud and clear here, and for many out there, that will be enough.
But the simple fact is that for all the potential evidenced throughout this material, it remains unrealized. Curios like this are usually only interesting after the end product is well known, giving the listener a certain perspective on the evolution of the work. With no end result to look back from, we are only privy to raw talent and unfinished drafts. Of course, for those that are expecting that type of thing, this disc fully serves its purpose. However, as a final musical statement, it comes up short.
The remainder of the material consists of demos and live performances of Death, apparently pulled from the archives. This material is, for the most part, horribly produced and hard to listen to. And while I did listen through it and think back to a purer time in metal, I doubt I'll ever listen to it again. One word review: Unfinished.

Death's Review:
I was always a huge Death fan. As the years go by, I have begun to appreciate the early years on an even deeper level than ever before, even more so than their later, more technical counterparts. But I liked it all, and I also liked the Control Denied record (although I wasn't a huge fan of the vocalist, which is kind of surprising seeing as I generally like the power metal screams over the death metal model). Anyway, I am exactly the target audience for this post-mortem release, Zero Tolerance, quite possibly the last unreleased Schuldiner material following his passing in 2001. If I remember correctly, this release was the subject of some controversy, however, I cast all of that aside and decided to listen with open ears and great anticipation.

"All in all, I'm left with no doubt that if Schuldiner had been given time to finish the record, the results would have been killer."

The first of the two discs begins with a thirty-minute jam session from one of the final rehearsals of what was intended to be the never-finished second Control Denied record. Beware: the recording quality is low, as this is nothing more than a sixteen track true rehearsal tape. There are no vocals. The riffs and technical and catchy, the guitar playing is intricate. All in all, I'm left with no doubt that if Schuldiner had been given time to finish the record, the results would have been killer. However, this is for the diehards, and the curiosity factor only. I can't imagine anyone actually logging many hours listening to this rehearsal tape - the songs are unfinished and the recording quality is not up to the standards of most listeners.
The balance of this set is made up of some early Death demos that also suffer from poor recording quality (exacerbated by their age, no doubt). It's cool to hear the early genesis of death metal on tape (it is now clear to me that Possessed and Death were the "missing link" between thrash and death metal). But again, you're not gonna spend a lot of time listening to this. Keeping with the low-sound-quality vibe, the set finishes off with some live tracks from the 1990-ish Spiritual Healing tour. For me, this is the real highlight. Sure, the sound is not great, but the pure joy of singing along with metal classics like "Pull the Plug," "Spiritual Healing" and "Zombie Ritual" cause me to realize how truly underrated those first three albums are.
Chuck Schuldiner is an undeniable legend of metal, and this material deserves to be out there amongst the metal public. But once you satiate your curiosity, if you're like me, you'll just want to go find your tattered copy of Leprosy or Scream Bloody Gore and crank that loudly instead.

Hel's Review:
I am extremely conflicted about this release. On the one hand, nothing sounds better than the idea of unreleased material from one of the greatest metal artists to have ever lived. On the other hand, upon listening to this double disc set, I cannot help but feel like Chuck wouldn't have wanted to go out like this.

"There are reasons why this is an important release, and it definitely deserves attention."

The unfinished Control Denied tracks are just that - unfinished, and obviously so. I'm willing to bet that portions of this session would never have seen the light of day under other circumstances. I know that when I'm writing, I just jot down whatever comes to mind, and later entire paragraphs get the delete button. I can only imagine that some of what has been captured here was Chuck basically thinking with his fingers, and this clearly wasn't ever intended for release. And I'm not saying what is here is bad. It is just, very obviously, rough tracks.
The remainder of the set is comprised of demo and live tracks, all of which are very rough and of varying quality, all of it bad. It is certainly fun to listen to all sorts of old and obscure material, but the sound quality is difficult to bear. Heartbreaking on the one had, somewhat comforting on the other, this is clearly a set for diehard fans only. There are reasons why this is an important release, and it definitely deserves attention. I just wish the music we were granted posthumously was of the same quality he worked so hard to provide us with during his life.

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