DEATH protagonist Chuck Schuldiner put his main act on ice generating a new project CONTROL DENIED very much in the power metal mould. Originally Schuldiner was to work with the original WINTER'S BANE vocalist but he was to be lured away for a more permanent liaison with WICKED WAYS. CONTROL DENIED was now down to Schuldiner, bassist Brian Benson and drummer Chris Williams.

Although CONTROL DENIED recorded an album's worth of material and received offers from various labels Williams upped and left forcing Schuldiner into a rethink. The outcome was somewhat inevitable and DEATH announced their reformation in October with a line up of Schuldiner, Hamm, drummer Richard Christy and a returning Steve DiGeorgio on bass, the latter still retaining his fulltime participation in SADUS.

DEATH duly returned to the scene by signing to the aggressive Nuclear Blast label for 1998's 'Sound Of Perseverance', an album which saw a further progression towards straight heavy metal. Schuldiner was aided in this effort by Hamm, Christy and bassist Scott Clendenin. The album included a stab at JUDAS PRIEST's 'Painkiller'.

The CONTROL DENIED album finally found a release in 1999. However, shortly after it would be learned that Schuldiner was battling cancer. After a lengthy struggle, aided by fund raising efforts by fellow Metal bands and colleagues, Chuck Schuldiner passed away on the 13th December 2001.

The remaining members of CONTROL DENIED vowed to carry on, projecting a 2002 album release 'When Machine And Man Collide' as a tribute to Schuldiner.

2000 found Christy back on the drumstool aiding fellow Deathsters INCANTATION for their live commitments following this with a stint with ICED EARTH. Christy also runs a side project band BURNING INSIDE with BLACK WITCHERY guitarist Steve Childers and ACHERON's Michael Estes.

Word arrived during the summer of 2002 that the CONTROL DENIED album that had been shelved mid way through recording due to Chuck Schuldiner's death was still on the cards for a future release. Reportedly the tracks had been laid down to the point of finalised drums and guide guitar parts from Schuldiner with Shannon Hamm, Steve DiGeorgio and Tim Aymar yet to add their contributions.

Unfortunately for fans the album appeared to be the subject of a legal wrangle throughout much of 2003 but in November Holland's Karmageddon Media label announced plans to release the unfinished sophomore album under the title 'Zero Tolerance' from CONTROL DENIED despite the objections of Chuck's mother Jane Schuldiner. Indeed, the latter posted a press report stating that if the album saw release she would make the entire record available for free download.