HAMMERFALL's JOACIM CANS talks about what CHUCK SCHULDINER was like
CHUCK SCHULDINER was “living proof that you shouldn't judge people by what other people say”
18-11-2024
In a new interview with Jaimunji, vocalist Joacim Cans of Swedish metallers HAMMERFALL reflected on his band’s 1998 U.S. tour as the support act for the pioneering American death metal band DEATH. He said: “Touring with (DEATH mastermind) Chuck Schuldiner, it was just a great honor to get to know him before it was too late. We became really good friends. And I remember when we recorded the (2000 HAMMERFALL album) ‘Renegade’ album in Nashville, that was the last time I talked to him. This was in 2000 — was it 2000 or 2001? I can’t really remember, but just a couple of months before he passed. And he called and just wanted to check up on us and see how things were. And then we lost him way too soon — way too soon.
“I think Chuck was a living proof that you shouldn’t judge people by what other people say,” Joacim continued. “And I got so many comments, like, ‘Oh, you’re going on tour with DEATH. Oh my God, be careful. Chuck is such a bad person’ or blah, blah, blah, blah. And he was the nicest person. I mean, we had so much fun, so much respect from him.
“I remember the first day of the tour — they were the headliners,” Cans added. “We were, support, special guest, call it whatever you want. And I was a little afraid at first, like, ‘We’re traditional heavy metal band and you’re death metal.’ ‘Doesn’t matter. Doesn’t matter. We all play metal. We’re all in this together.’ Like, ‘Okay. Okay. So, okay. We can do this tour.’ First day, Springfield, Virginia, before the show, we said, like, ‘Hey, are we playing 40 minutes, 45?’ And Chuck looked at me, like, ‘You can play as long as you like.’ We’re doing this tour together.’ I said, ‘No, no, no, no. We can’t play. You’re the headliner. Can we play 50 minutes?’ ‘Play an hour, play an hour and a half. It doesn’t matter.’ He was such a cool guy.
“We formed this band together called THE WAFFLE HEADS, based out of merchandise from Waffle House, the chain of restaurants, Waffle House,” Cans said. “So we got aprons, we got hats. And we actually did a show in Atlanta on the last show day under the name of THE WAFFLE HEADS.”
Schuldiner died on December 13, 2001 after a battle with pontine glioma, a rare type of brain tumor. He was only 34 years old.
In recent years, DEATH‘s storied catalog has undergone a meticulous reissue campaign via Relapse Records.
HAMMERFALL‘s latest album, “Avenge The Fallen”, was released in August via Nuclear Blast Records.
Watch “Freedom” from the new album below.
Also watch the previously released “The End Justifies” and ´Hail To The King´ below.
About the album:
“This is our 13th album”, Joacim Cans says with pride. “How do you still stay relevant after 13 albums? It’s very much like the opening line to the song ´Avenge The Fallen´: “What is the worst, be the one who died, or be the one who survived.”
Think about it, because it is a tough question”.
He continues, “Do we want to be a band who releases new music just for the sole reason of getting out on the road again or do we want to keep pushing and challenging ourselves? In times where people have less and less attention span, we still think in the form of full length albums. A few good songs don’t make a strong album. A strong album comes from an album full a great songs and that’s what we’re delivering with Avenge The Fallen.”
Pre-order / Pre-save the album AT HIS LOCATION.
Avenge The Fallen comes in following formats:
– CD Jewel Case
– CD Digipack w/signed poster
– 1 LP Gatefold Gold Vinyl
– 1 LP Gatefold Purple Vinyl
– 1LP Gatefold, Splatter Vinyl (Sweden Rock Exclusive)
19.04. MX Mexico City – Sala Urbana20.04. CO Bogota – Auditorio Mayor Cun23.04. CL Santiago – Teleton25.04. BA Brasilia – Toinha27.04. BA Sao Paulo – Summer Breeze30.04. USA Harrisburg – Midtown Arts Center01.05. USA Montclair – The Wellmont Theater02.05. USA Albany – Empire Underground03.05. USA Columbus – The Bluestone04.05. USA St. Louis – Delmar Hall06.05. USA Fort Worth – Tannahill’s Tavern & Music Hall07.05. USA San Antonio – Vibes Event Center09.05. USA Albuquerque – El Rey Theater10.05. USA Tuscon – Encore11.05. USA Anaheim – City National Grove of Anaheim12.05. USA Las Vegas – House of Blues14.05. USA Denver – Summit16.05 USA St. Paul – Myth Live17.05. USA Milwaukee – Milwaukee Metal Fest18.05. USA Cleveland – House of Blues19.05. USA Flint – The Machine Shop20.05. USA Mc Kees Rocks – Roxian Theatre21.05. USA Richmond – The National23.05. USA Cincinnati – Bogart´s24.05. USA Atlanta – The Masquerade (Heaven)25.05. USA St Peterburg – Jannus Live05.-08.06. SE Norje – Sweden Rock Festival06.06. NO Trondheim – Trondheim Rocks14.06. ES Zamora – Z-fest20.06. DK Copenhagen – Copenhell27.06. SL Snina – Rock Pod Kamenon
03.-06.07. DE Ballenstedt – Rock Hartz
12.07. BG Midalidare Estate, Chirpan – Midalidare Rock
10.08. FI Helsinki – Hellsinki Metal Fest
04.10. DE Hamburg – Barclays Arena
05.10. NL Amsterdam – AFAS Live
Line-up:
Joacim Cans – vocals
Oscar Dronjak – guitar
Fredrik Larsson – bass
Pontus Norgen – guitar
David Wallin – drums
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