Chuck Schuldiner’s home-recorded cover of Madonna‘s 1998 song “Frozen” has surfaced online via the late Death mastermind’s nephew.
The metal icon’s nephew Chris Steele surprised fans on Tuesday with the post to the official Death Instagram page, sharing a picture of a burned CD-R with the text “Frozen” scrawled in Sharpie marker and a video of him listening to the disc in his vehicle.
Steele also revealed some backstory about the instrumental, writing that he remembers Chuck recording it in his bedroom with his guitar and drum machine during the early stages of his battle with cancer, which ultimately claimed the life of the pioneering death metal musician in 2001.
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Wrote Steele:
“Found this today going through some things. Chuck recorded this in the early stages of his battle with cancer, I remember it well. Chuck sitting in his bedroom with his stealth and a drum machine. I’m not sure how many people outside of the family and a few friends have heard this but it’s all yours. Chuck’s version of Madonna’s 1998 single ‘Frozen’.”
Hopefully fan interest leads to a proper CD rip and licensing for the cover, which sounds like it’s beautiful, even over a phone recording of the music playing through car speakers. Chuck’s virtuosic guitar playing is evident, as his is his gift for arranging.
In related news, an authorized biography on Schuldiner, Born Human: The Life and Music of Death’s Chuck Schuldiner, is set to be released later this month via Decibel Books, where you can pre-order the tome.
Check out Schuldiner’s cover of Madonna’s “Frozen” via the Instagram post below.
