Schuldiner and Lee played with Scott Carlson and Matt Olivo, bassist and guitarist respectively, of the band Genocide (later to be renamed Repulsion) for a short time.

[4] Schuldiner moved to the San Francisco Bay Area and recruited former Dirty Rotten Imbeciles drummer Eric Brecht,[8] then recorded the Back from the Dead demo.

After a tour of Mexico featuring guitarist Paul Masvidal (later to re-emerge in the Death lineup), a replacement was found in James Murphy, with whom the third album Spiritual Healing was recorded in Tampa in the summer of 1989.

Andrews and Butler continued with the tour of Europe as 'Death' to fulfill the band's contractual obligations, and recruited roadies Walter Trachsler and Louie Carrisalez to replace Schuldiner on guitar and vocals, respectively.

In 1991, Death released Human, which is considered a more technical and progressive album than their previous works, incorporating complex rhythms, riffs and song structures.

[14] Human was Death's best-selling album yet, receiving many accolades and some MTV play for the group's first video, directed by David Bellino, for the track "Lack of Comprehension".

Due to obligations with his primary band Sadus, Di Giorgio departed after the recording of Human and new bassist Scott Carino[15] did Death's extensive world tour, from October 1991 until March 1992, in addition to appearing in the music video for "Lack of Comprehension".

"[20] As Schuldiner finished Control Denied's debut album, he was diagnosed with brain cancer, forcing the band to scrap plans for a U.S. and Canadian tour.

Mired in legal problems involving its Dutch label, the musicians and Schuldiner's sister Beth, the former of whom have publicly stated their desire to complete the album, and former manager Eric Greif representing the Estate.

In October 2009, Greif litigated against Hammerheart, representing Schuldiner's estate, and all matters were settled by December, theoretically allowing for the Control Denied album to be completed by the other musicians.

Gene Hoglan from Dark Angel and Andy LaRocque from King Diamond had already made a name for themselves, with LaRocque continuing to work with King Diamond while Hoglan has done stints with a wide variety of bands including Strapping Young Lad, Old Man's Child, Opeth, Zimmers Hole, Unearth, Pitch Black Forecast, Dethklok, Fear Factory, and most recently, Testament.

Paul Masvidal found success with Cynic alongside fellow Death member Sean Reinert, who continue to release albums and tour in the present.

Richard Christy went on to gigs with Acheron and Iced Earth before joining The Howard Stern Show, though he has recently resurfaced on the metal scene with Charred Walls of the Damned and guesting on a Crotchduster album.

Murphy was also stricken with a noncancerous brain tumor, for which he received treatment, and, along with Deron Miller of CKY, attempted to organize a Death tribute album.

[21] On May 12, 2010, it was announced that Perseverance Holdings Ltd. had partnered with Relapse Records to re-master and re-issue the Death and Control Denied releases, as well as his earlier work in Mantas.

[23] The Human album has been remixed, with Schuldiner's intellectual property lawyer Eric Greif stating that Sony had lost the tapes of the original mixes,[24] and was reissued in 2-CD and 3-CD formats as well as a digital release.

[25] The former Death members slated to participate were drummers Gene Hoglan and Sean Reinert, bassists Steve Di Giorgio and Scott Clendenin, guitarists Paul Masvidal, Shannon Hamm and Bobby Koelble.

[31] Phelps, Di Giorgio, Koelble and Hoglan will take part in a North American tour in the spring of 2023 under the name Death To All (DTA) to commemorate the 30th anniversary of Individual Thought Patterns.

According to Malcolm Dome of Metal Hammer, Death "took the thrash template and intensified it, adding guttural vocals, a style that few outside the tape trading network would have been familiar with.

[44] Regarding percussion styles, Gene Hoglan is recognised as a percussionist using double kick drum equipment and one of a crop who "set new standards in speed and endurance".

[45] During an interview he described Sean Reinert's drumming on Human as "godly", and praised it as "the fastest double bassing around at the time" and "a template which we tried to match on Individual Thought Patterns".

I’d just reached a time in my life as a person and as a musician when I felt angry enough to write about it.”[14] Kam Lee designed Death's original logo before he was removed from the band.

He was also influenced by numerous bands such as Black Sabbath, Kiss, Van Halen, Saxon, Iron Maiden, Rush, Raven, Mercyful Fate, Venom, Hellhammer, Celtic Frost, Savatage, Slayer, Metallica, Anthrax, Exciter, Manowar, Judas Priest, Nasty Savage, Possessed and Sacrifice.

As inspirations to the technical/progressive direction of Death's last four studio albums, the band also cited Queensrÿche, Dream Theater, Carcass, Coroner, Watchtower and Psychotic Waltz.

[3] Dom Lawson of Metal Hammer wrote, "few could dispute that Chuck Schuldiner and Death towered over the entire scene for the entirety of their all-too-brief existence.

"[54] Eli Enis at Revolver wrote, "With each album, from 1987 debut Scream Bloody Gore to their 1998 swansong The Sound of Perseverance, Schuldiner and Co. delivered songs that not only defined the genre, but helped push it into its most progressive and exciting realms.

"[55] Blabbermouth wrote "each of Death's seven studio albums can be seen as both a fully-realized milestone in metal history, and a transition point leading into a future few could envision at the time.

[59][60] Many bands cited Death as a influence such as Obituary,[61] Hail of Bullets, Meshuggah, Baroness,[44] Cormorant, Fear Factory, Revocation, Exhumed, Obscura, Cynic,[62] Opeth,[63] the Dillinger Escape Plan,[64][65] Suicide Silence,[66] Mastodon, Gojira and System of a Down.

[67] Kelly Schaefer of Atheist stated that Schuldiner's spirit of competition inspired the band to pursue innovation in the death metal genre themselves.

[69] Herman Li and all the members of DragonForce have expressed their appreciation for Death, and covered "Evil Dead" on their album "Reaching Into Infinity", saying they consider the band "legendary".