[3] He had already started working on Control Denied riffs by the time Death was touring in Japan for the album Symbolic,[6] which took place in September 1995.

[6] Psycho Scream guitarist Jim Dofka had sent Schuldiner demo material and was interested in joining Control Denied alongside his bandmate, singer Tim Aymar.

[12] After a brief audition, and demo, (which included the tracks What If, Believe and and Cut Down),[13] Aymar was chosen as the new singer, while Rob Halford of Judas Priest was also in the running.

[21] Schuldiner completed writing the last song for the second Control Denied album in March of 2000[22] and signed with Hammerheart Records in December of 2000.

[26] However, there existed a longstanding legal dispute over the rights of the material with Hammerheart Records[note 1], further postponing the completion and release of the album.

[35] Schuldiner estate lawyer[36] and Death manager Eric Greif settled all matters with the label by 2009, allowing for the possibility of completing the album.

[38] Plans were cut short by a break-in at Morrisound in the spring of 2011 that saw much of their equipment stolen, pushing back the completion of the album.

[41] The progressive metal band Black Water Sunset released a tribute album featuring re-recorded versions of the four leaked tracks in May of 2024, marking what would have been Schuldiner's birthday.