Left to Die: Matt Harvey expresses his respect for Chuck Schuldiner

#deathmetal #mattharvey #interview 

THAT METAL INTERVIEW presents Matt Harvey of LEFT TO DIE, GRUESOME, EXHUMED & COLD SLITHER (recorded June 2026). Matt chats about LEFT TO DIE's 1st studio album, 'Initium Mortis' & speaks of his admiration & respect for Chuck Schuldiner. Harvey reveals how he juggles so many bands & projects on & off the road

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Transcript

SPEAKER_02 0:01

Hey, what's up? This is Matt Harvey from Left to Die, and you are watching that metal interview, so turn it up, dude.

unknown 3:08

That metal interview.

SPEAKER_00 3:11

Just to be clear here, is this old Mantis demo stuff? Death? Or is this it's not original, is it?

SPEAKER_02 3:20

Yeah, I mean, well, I it's I mean, it it's I guess the the short answer is that it's not an original material. Um it's all stuff that Mantis and Death recorded um during their demo era when Rick was in the band the first time. Um so on one hand, you know, it's uh, you know, for Rick, I suppose it's original material. Uh in that he was there, you know, in the in the early mid 80s when they were writing this stuff. Um, you know, him and and Chuck, obviously, and Cam. Um and you know, Terry didn't enter the the picture until he and Rick started playing with Massacre and then subsequently a death. But um Okay. So it's it for me it's you know very it's all still death, Mantis stuff.

SPEAKER_00 4:10

Yeah, Mantis, which is uh the project before death, yeah, yeah, yeah. Uh how about the the title, Matt? What's going on with the title? What uh who decided on that?

SPEAKER_02 4:20

Um Terry came up with the title. Um basically just means you know the beginning of death, you know, because it is the material that uh formed the seed that would become death. Um you know, uh they were they were going through various lineups, you know, up from the mantis stuff to Screen Bloody Gore and and you know the the songs from the Mantis days like Evil Dead and even Legion of Doom got recorded for Screen Bloody Gore. Um didn't get used, but it got recorded um by Chris and Chuck. So, you know, really what what the songs on on the record comprise is the beginning of death, not just you know, the band, but also um kind of being there at the inception of of the genre, you know, alongside obviously Hellhammer and Possessed and and you know a few others. So it it made sense and it sounded, you know, it's Latin, so it sounds serious and momentous.

SPEAKER_00 5:15

Right? It is, that's what it is, yeah, yeah. Let the words there. Uh does it bother you when people compare you to Chuck, or is that like a is that a compliment?

SPEAKER_02 5:26

I mean, you know, ultimately, uh, you know, Chuck's shoes are impossible to fill. Um, you know, uh he's uh w uh one of my biggest influences, you know, certainly getting into this kind of music, you know, when I was getting into it uh in the the the late 80s, 88, 89, you know, when I was first hearing Scream Bloody Gore and Leprosy and stuff. Um and, you know, I kind of feel like my job is to enable Terry and Rick to play these songs that they're associated with, you know. Um we started doing Leprosy, which obviously both of them were on, and now with the uh the early stuff, you know, that's all stuff that that Rick worked on back in the day. So I mean my job is to sort of be as close to Chuck as possible. So in a way, hopefully people don't really notice that that I'm there, you know. Um they hear the songs and they they just sort of, you know, um roll with it. So I mean it's inevitable that I'm gonna be compared to to Chuck, and it's inevitable that, you know, I I'm not going to live up to that standard because I don't, you know, that's not a thing. Um and especially, you know, once anybody um, you know, one of my favorite quotes about a dead musician is is what Lemmy said about Randy Rhodes. He said, you know, Randy was a great guitar player, and of course, you know, after he died, he got even better. Um so once someone is is gone, you know, that legacy attains, you know, a mythic kind of status that you know you're never gonna measure up to. And I I've you know, I'm not I'm not trying to measure up to it. I'm just trying to enable these guys to play the songs in in a way that that the fans hopefully did, because I'm a fan, you know, that's why I'm coming at it.

SPEAKER_00 7:14

As far as yourself, I mean, I play guitar. That doesn't mean I can play death stuff, you know. I I can't. But much less the the leads, you know, those chuck leads. I mean, what are the chances of of another human besides Chuck being able to play that kind of stuff and sing kind of like that, or and or play those leads. I mean, what do you think there's a little some extra there?

SPEAKER_02 7:41

I mean, I'm sure, you know, that like not only, you know, there's Max Phelps, uh, you know, who is the singer for Death Death All, he's uh amazing. I mean, he plays, he can play rings around me on my best day, you know. And he's a lovely guy. I love Max. Um, and I think what they're doing with Death All is great. Um, you know, and I'm sure, you know, there's lots of people out there on YouTube or whatever who have studied this stuff extensively. Um, you know, for me it's just I guess when I when I was a uh a kid and I first started playing guitar, you know, I started with with Metallica, as one did if you started playing guitar in 1988. I was kind of uh there was a few, there was a few sort of avenues to go down, and that was one of the biggest, and that that's where I started, and then from there uh moved to to Celtic Frost, and then from there the next thing that kind of I latched onto was the death stuff. And that was you know informative for me as a guitar player, and also kind of not just learning the songs and and you know kind of getting um a feel for the the patterns and stuff that Chuck uses and the kind of tonality has a very distinct kind of sense of melody that's there from you know the very beginning until the very end, as much as everything sort of around it changes. Um he has this sort of you know, I always call it the the John Carpenter Halloween drift thing that he kind of does, and he was doing that in the beginning and he was doing that at the end. But so that was one of the first kind of things that I learned, you know. This is when I've been playing guitar for, you know, a year or something. And it was the first sort of idea that I had that you know that I was entering a separate subgenre of metal. So I think, you know, my ideas about what makes a death metal riff different than a thrash metal riff, they're all sort of tied up in that difference between, you know, the the Metallica Exodus thing um and then something crossed at the bridge, and then you know, death with sort of, oh, this is a new thing now. So I think his style is something that's so deeply ingrained in me that um, you know, it's maybe a little bit easier for me to to jump into that kind of role, even though I I'm not as technically proficient, certainly, as Chuck, you know, eventually got. Um But I I I kind of um you know I I feel like I have a decent understanding of of his approach, I guess. And that's where it's to my advantage, you know, doing gruesome and and other things. And then the vocal timbre, that's just luck, because I mean ultimately, you know, your your throat is the instrument there. And so for whatever reason my vocal range is you know not too far off from his.

SPEAKER_00 10:31

Sounds very similar. Yeah, that's awesome. Awesome for for a new generation of kids that uh younger than us, of course, that never got to see Chuck reaction, you know, or death in action. So you guys are providing uh you guys in DTA are providing uh that for the fans, so thank you guys, you know.

SPEAKER_02 10:49

I mean, it's you know, it it's something that I guess I I take for granted because you know, um you know, I started seeing Death Live um in 1990, you know, the spiritual healing tour. And uh I saw them on the last tour in in uh 98, you know, with ham with Hammerfall for Son of Perseverance. So, you know, um I I I you know I it wasn't really until much later and seeing being part of the first Death to All tour and seeing that there was this whole generation of of people that got into metal that that never had that opportunity and really seeing how much that meant to them. Like I, you know, that that was very eye-opening to me. And to to be able to provide that for somebody or you know, uh uh or be a part of that, I mean, it's very, you know, it's very humbling as a fan. I mean, you couldn't really hope for anything like that, you know. Obviously, I would much rather Chuck was still here doing it, but you know, the fact that I I've contributed to it in some small way, I mean that's I mean that's beyond the wildest dreams that I would ever have had as a fan, you know, it's it's crazy.

SPEAKER_00 11:54

It's awesome. It's uh I listened to that new Left to Die and it's I get chills, you know. It's just awesome. Thank you. Incredible, man. Incredible. For sure, for sure. There was a comment somebody uh left on your one of the left to die uh videos uh says sounds like an alternate universe where death kept going with spiritual healing.

SPEAKER_02 12:17

Well it's funny because I mean all the all the songs that we did for the record were all written, you know, between what eighty three and eighty-five, I think. Um you know, so it's well before, you know, the even the sophistication of of spiritual or whatever. Um you know, but it it I think maybe the solos maybe are a little bit more spiritual healing inflected, because that was kind of like that was like my Bible when I was, you know, 14, 15, and just sort of on the cusp of becoming an okay guitar player, you know. Um what Chuck and James did, I thought was was really great. And you know, James brought that to to obituary as well. Um that has, you know, the riffing style is maybe a little bit more similar to some of the stuff that the the it's on the earlier depth stuff. And you know, when I was listening to the the original songs, I mean most of this stuff, most of the tunes on this record, you know, were never recorded on anything more sophisticated than a boombox. And you know, it's these guys were you know kids who were 15, 16, 17 doing this stuff. So I was listening to the solos and I was like, A, I can't really make heads or tails out of them, and B, it's mostly just you know what you do when you're 15 in the 80s, which is you just pick as fast as you can and you kind of just move your fingers around. So I just thought, well, you know, I'm just gonna play whatever solos, you know, I feel like fit for the music and you know, because like I said, my sensibility comes from listening to to Chuck and James, you know, in 1990. That was a huge thing. And I mean, obviously Rick is a big influence on my playing as well. But if I'm in a band with Rick, there's no need. I don't need to do any dive bombs. I mean, we got the cover, you know.

SPEAKER_00 13:58

How is it, Jamie, with these guys with uh August is a beast, of course. But Terry and you know, uh Rick are they were there with uh you know, they're they shared the stage with uh the legend himself, you know.

SPEAKER_02 14:11

Yeah, I mean to me they're they're also legends, you know. I mean, it's um, you know, obviously Chuck is kind of at the center of the story and rightfully so, but I mean he was never in a vacuum, you know. Uh it was first there was Rick and Cam, and then you know, later there was Chris Ryford, and then you know, Bill and Terry and James and Paul and Sean and so on and so forth, you know, and and you can see him grow as he works with all these people, you know, like they're all sort of part of his journey and part of the the band's journey. So um, you know, to me, Rick and Terry are are are legends. But I mean they're also at this point, they're just my buddies, you know. Um, so it's one of those things where, you know, you can't think about it as a fan too much. You can you especially you can't think about it at all like when you're doing the gig or whatever, because these guys are only human, and you know, whatever. I'll I'll hit a sour note, Rick will hit a sour note, Terry will, you know, come in at the wrong part. They're we're we're just people playing music. And, you know, you and it also it's gotta be fun, you know. I don't want to I don't want to sit there think like, oh god, I have to live up to this and that. I mean, because then you know that's how you freeze. So on one hand, it's just like, hey, these guys are my friends, and we have a good time playing together, and we all like the music, and it's and it's great. Um, and I love hearing what they do on the songs, and it's you know, the fact that they trust me to do it is killer. And on the other hand, it's kind of like holy shit, like I just made a record with you know the guys from Leprosy and From Beyond, you know. I feel like if I could call myself when I was like 14, like, bro, check it out, man. Uh, you know, I would I would shit my pants, you know, with the thought of that. So it's it's huge, but it's also, you know, it's also just making music with your buds and having a good time playing songs that you care about, you know?

SPEAKER_00 15:56

Yeah, here's a weird question, uh, Matt. I mean, I'm not sure if you're spiritual or not. Uh hand is spiritual healing, right? Uh right? When you guys are jamming live uh uh death material, do you believe uh the chunk is present there somehow, or do you feel anything?

SPEAKER_02 16:13

Or or I mean I don't really think of it in in those kind of direct terms. I mean, and and you know, I I do think that you know there's energy can either be created or destroyed, right? So there's some kind of continuation. Um and it's also weird because on one hand, you know, I feel like Chuck's legacy would continue without us, um, regardless. Um, I don't know that, you know, uh it needs, you know, anybody really, uh, or especially me. I feel like it's bigger than that. But to be part of, you know, you do feel like you're sort of part of something bigger. And, you know, it's uh this continuation of this thing that means so much to so many people. Um, you know, even though it's still ultimately underground metal, it's you know, Iron Maiden or whatever. Um, but that that is kind of powerful, and you, you know, the best gigs are the ones where you can hear good on stage, you know, it's like any gig, you can hear good on stage, your your guitar is in tune, you're you're feeling good, your your voice feels good. And then at some point, you know, by like song three, the music is just happening, and then you get to the end, you're like, holy shit, it's pulled a plug already, like fuck wow, that was that was great. Like that just happened, you know. Um so whenever you can kind of get in that sort of zone and allow the whole thing to just, you know, occur and you're just sort of the the conduit for it, that that's a very powerful thing, you know. I think it's hard to imagine, you know, Chuck because he died so young, you know, and and you know, certainly just reading his lyrics, you know, there there is a vindictive streak that he has, you know, as much as he's a very sensitive guy and you know had a lot of deep thoughts and was really trying to understand himself and and how things work, yeah, you know, there is a vindictive streak in his lyrics. So, you know, I don't know that he ever lived long enough to get to the point where he would be like, oh, that's really cool that these guys, you know, will go on playing my stuff because he was, you know, he kept it very guarded and he felt, you know, very competitive in his life. But I mean he also fucking died in his early 30s, so you know who know who knows where he would be at, you know, if he had lived even to be my age, you know, so it's crazy. Uh so in in one way, you know, I do think there's a continuation of something bigger than than any one of us, hopefully happening when we play live. But you know, I I don't really want to put anything that specific on it, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 18:44

Speaking of yourself, Matt, uh, did you just do an exhumed and uh gruesome European tour? Yeah, right. How do you do that? I mean, isn't that a extra work?

SPEAKER_02 18:57

It was a very it was a very tiring tour. Um it was one of those things that we had talked about doing before the pandemic, actually. And we that's when we did the exhumed gruesome split. And anyway, it sort of came back up again because you know exams had a had a record out at the beginning of the year, and we were looking to get back to Europe and kind of figuring out a package that would work and would be, you know, um relatively seamless and yada yada yada. And our agent suggested it, and I was like, well, I don't think I could really do more than you know two and a half weeks or something. He's like, okay, yeah, we can make that work. And then he was like, well, we have these other offers, and then pretty soon it was like a fucking month, and I was like, holy shit, what am I getting myself into? Um but it ended up, you know, now that it's over, uh, I can say that it ended up going pretty well. And you know, really my voice was the main thing that I was sort of worried about, you know. Um and we tried to plan the tour where we have, you know, one day off a week at least to just sort of decompress. Um and, you know, so so yeah, it was it was surprisingly survivable. And um, you know, I I felt really grateful to to all the guys uh and Robin um you know, in in the bands out there with me for sort of trusting me to to pull this off, you know. So um obviously you can't be by partying super hard or whatever when you get to play for uh two hours a night, you know, six, seven nights in a row. But it was it was cool.

SPEAKER_00 20:27

Yeah. As far as your your band, uh we know we got exhumed, gruesome, the left and die, and among other projects, right? Do you have like one studio for all these uh recordings or you w how how does that work?

SPEAKER_02 20:40

Well, we have our own studio that we built um, I don't know, I guess seven, six, seven years ago now here, um, here in San Luis Obispo, California. Um, and so that really makes things easier. Um it's also very convenient that Gus has, you know, basically a a functional recording studio in Fort Lauderdale, um, and then Sebastian and Exoom has a recording studio in Baltimore. And, you know, so we all at this point, we're you know, we're we're able to really kind of take a lot of control over, you know, uh when and how we make these records, you know. Um handing them off to somebody else to mix them is also very important because then you get you know some objectivity and you you you get someone else's perspective and and everything else, but at the same time we have a lot of control over how much time we have and and when we can do it, you know. It's not like we have to go and book studio time and figure it out and pay somebody to sit there while we're doing these guitar takes and stuff. Um so that allows us just uh a a lot of freedom. And you know, it's also stuff that you couldn't have done, you know, 25 years ago because the technology wasn't there. So um we're just trying to take advantage of of that and you know it enables us to to do more work that that we care about, and you know it's

SPEAKER_00 22:02

Before did you go? Give us your biggest and worst gig.

SPEAKER_02 22:09

I think my my all-time worst gig, um exam played a show sometime I think in 1994. And we played this out-of-town show um in Sacramento, and um it was just us and the and the local band, and literally two people paid to get in, and they were our old drummer's boss and and his girlfriend. And um because I was like, you know, 94, I guess it would have been 18 at the time, um, I forgot like an instrument cable or something, so I had to borrow a cable from the other band. And as we're playing our set to nobody, um, you know, we get four songs in or whatever, and the the guy comes up and he's like, hey man, like I'm gonna get out of here. It's kind of a cable back. I was like, well, that's the end of the show. Okay. And it was just like the most, oh boy, that was a long drive home. Um so yeah, that that was probably the worst gig I ever played. Um best gigs, uh, I mean, the the there's a bunch of of highlights, and I guess since we're talking about left to die, I'll do the best left to die gig. Um we did the first left to die tour, um, and we it was very punk, you know. We didn't have a record label, we didn't have a manager, we didn't have anything, you know. We just I just called up um our booking agent with Exhum, and I was like, do you think you could sell this? And he was like, sure. Yeah, we ended up in Chicago at one of my favorite clubs, uh place called Reggie's, and it was a sold-out show. And it just was one of those nights like I was talking about earlier where we just got on stage and it was like one, two, three, four. And then you turn around and I was like, Wow, I guess that was a whole set. Like, holy shit, that just, you know, it just sort of occurred. Um, and I was able to enjoy it, you know, without thinking about, oh, I'm playing this and I'm doing that or whatever. I was just like letting the whole thing happen, and it was just a really, really, it was this great show. It was a sold-out gig. People were losing their minds, we were losing our minds. You know, I was seeing friends of mine like fucking careening off the stage here and here and there. And we got done, and like Scott from Cyanide, who's a very jaded old, you know, death metal old man guy, came out to me and he was like, Man, I really like the set. That was like really fucking cool. And I was like, wow, okay. You know, it's one thing to be like, oh, I never seen death before, and that was really great. But it's like when you get a guy who's you know closer to Terry's age and very currently like a lot of new stuff. And he was like, Yeah, that was kick ass. It's like, wow, okay, that was kick ass, man. Um, so yeah, that was that's probably my favorite Last of the Die show. Although there's been a lot of pretty fun good ones. But that one was like, this works, this is a thing. Like, holy shit, you know, that was a great feeling.

SPEAKER_00 24:53

Wow, nice. So uh initial mortis, July 17th. Uh people watching and listening get a hold of it somehow. So thank you, Matt. Thank you for your time, and we'll see you in Texas sometime. Hell yeah, man. Cheers, bud. Thanks. And there you had Mr. Matt Harvey, the multi-talented guitar player, awesome vocalist, if you ask me. This guy has many, many projects and bands. Not sure how he juggles all these bands. So, anyways, some of the bands that he has are left to die. Gruesome. Listen to that. Awesome band. Exhumed cold slither. Now, let me tell you something about cold slither. I am an 80s fanatic, uh, big fan of G.I. Joe Transformers, the original generation one, of course, and Cold Slither is based on the original 80s cartoon, G.I. Joe cartoon. These guys dress the parts on stage, they dress like the characters of G.I. Joe. So check that out. Cold Slither. Awesome stuff. Album by the title of Cold Slither, which dropped in 2025. Don't forget to pre-order. Download Initiate Mortis, dropping July 17th, with Death members Terry Butler and Rick Ross, the beast himself on the drums, Mr. Gus Rios, and the one and only Matt Harvey fronting the band. Great, great match. If you're looking for somebody to sound like the legendary Chuck Scholdner, so congrats, Matt, on your awesome, awesome career. I got to see them live with Exhumed in San Antonio, Texas, uh last year, 2025, opening for Cavalera. I got to meet Matt and Ross Sewage. Anyways, as far as the podcast, don't forget to subscribe, share, download, blah, blah, blah. Follow us on social media. Don't forget to keep it mental.