Chuck Schuldiner, the frontman of death metal outfit Death, started Control Denied in 1996. With Steve Digiorgio on bass, Shannon Hamm on guitar, Richard Christy on Drums, and Tim Aymar on vocals, the band released its one and only studio album, The Fragile Art of Existence in 1999, and the critically acclaimed work is remastered and beautifully repackaged for 2018. Lauded as a seminal record that pushed the "sound of traditional metal step into a new century," the Fragile… boasts a cast of world-class musicians, it's a timeless release that "coalesced under the watchful eye of one of the genre's master craftsmen." It's been noted that Schuldiner wanted to take death metal into a more melodic direction, and songs like "Expect The Unexpected" and "Consumed" certainly are in line with his intentions. Further, the operatic, powerful singing pairs very well w/ the production style, check out "When The Link Becomes Missing" and "What If…?"

• limited edition reissue
• remastered
• oxblood vinyl
• music label: Relapse Records 1999 / 2018

reviewed by rei kwondo 06/18