GENE HOGLAN On DEATH TO ALL's Live Performances: 'People Say This Is A Magical Evening'

In a new interview with muSiK, hosted by the husband-and-wife duo of Jillian and Jeremy, Gene Hoglan spoke about his involvement with DEATH TO ALL (DTA) — which features former members of DEATH celebrating the life and music of Chuck Schuldiner. The current lineup of DEATH TO ALL includes Hoglan (also of DARK ANGEL and DETHKLOK) on drums, DiGiorgio (also of TESTAMENT) on bass and Bobby Koelble on guitar. Max Phelps (CYNIC),who has been touring with DEATH TO ALL, is once again handling the vocal and second-guitar duties. Hoglan was the drummer on the DEATH albums "Individual Thought Patterns" (1993) and "Symbolic" (1995),DiGiorgio was the bassist on 1991's "Human" as well as "Individual Thought Patterns", and Koelble was the guitarist on "Symbolic".

When asked what he thinks Chuck would be the most proud of when it comes to Hoglan and the other DEATH TO ALL musicians celebrating Schuldiner's music, Gene said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Well, if Chuck were still with us, there's not to say that he might not be doing DEATH himself, even though he was beginning to definitely lean away from really being the vocalist of DEATH, the vocalist of a death metal band. And he was leaning towards — while we were doing 'Symbolic', his traditional leanings were definitely getting into just the traditional metal sort of thing, which led to [the formation of his] CONTROL DENIED [project].

"All we can do is just hope that through Chuck's family, 'cause they are definitely behind us, in our court — they appreciate what we do and they appreciate our portions of DEATH's legacy as well, our contributions to it," Gene continued. "And that is very nice to know.

"Chuck, he would always just say, 'Let the metal flow.' And that's what I think he would say about this. Like, 'Hey, if you guys are taking up the torch…' And we're all pals. Each one of us had our issues with Chuck, as everybody did, but all of us, we all had our hug-it-out moments after all that. So, I feel good about this. Stevie D. does. Bobby does. Max does. Max does an incredible job of doing Chuck, because Max does all of Chuck's voices. It's very common knowledge, throughout the eras, Chuck's voice was rising, raising during each album, and Max matches every voice. And he says 'Symbolic' is a very challenging album, because it's just in this register. It's not quite as high as 'The Sound Of Perseverance', and the lower stuff is easier to do. But Max does a fantastic job of doing everything with Chuck's voice. And sothis is a great night of DEATH music. It's a great night of metal.

"We put out a really kickass vibe with this, and the term that has been getting thrown around towards us from so many people, more so than ever, is the term 'magical'," Hoglan added. "People say this is a magical evening. This transcends just a metal band just getting up there ripping through some kickass songs. There's something about this entire night that is just really resonating with people on something much higher than just, 'Yeah, I went to a kickass show.' Me, I always say, 'It's a kickass show. Come out. Don't be the one getting the call the next day, 'Man, you missed a kickass show.'' But when people do come out, it is elevating their responses even further than we could see. So there's that involved as well. So there you go."

DEATH TO ALL recently completed touring North America as part of "Symbolic Healing", a month-long celebration of two of DEATH's landmark albums: "Spiritual Healing" (1990) and "Symbolic" (1995).

DEATH TO ALL celebrated "Scream Bloody Gore" (1987) and "The Sound Of Perseverance" (1998) across North America in 2024.

Along with the dual album celebration, each night on the fall 2025 tour showcased classics from DEATH's catalog. The tour featured special guests GORGUTS and PHOBOPHILIC.

Founded in 1984 by Chuck Schuldiner under the original name of MANTAS in Altamonte Springs, Florida, DEATH was among the more widely known early pioneers of the death metal sound, along with California's POSSESSED. Inspired by NASTY SAVAGE, DEATH was among the first bands in the Florida death metal scene. In the late '80s, the band was both a part of and integral in defining the death metal scene which gained international recognition with the release of albums by a number of area acts.

DEATH TO ALL operates as a tribute band to the original DEATH, which dissolved in 2001 following Schuldiner's passing.

"Born Human: The Life And Music Of Death's Chuck Schuldiner", the fully authorized biography of the legendary DEATH frontman, has just been released via Decibel Books.

"Born Human", authored by accomplished journalist David E. Gehlke ("The Scott Burns Sessions: A Life In Death Metal 1987-1997", "Turned Inside Out: The Official Story Of Obituary"),features exclusive interviews, contributions, stunning new Ed Repka cover art and previously unreleased, hand-selected photographs from those who knew Chuck best. "Born Human" brings life to the dramatic story of the man who blazed an iconic path in metal music, laying the foundation for generations to come.

Fans can order their copy now at store.decibelmagazine.com.

Photo credit: Alex Solca (courtesy of Adrenaline PR)