Control Denied

Control Denied was a band formed by death metal musician and Death founder Chuck Schuldiner to create progressive heavy metal. The band started in 1996 as Schuldiner wanted to procure a more melodic style than was possible with Death. The project was interrupted by Death's release The Sound of Perseverance in 1998, but finally the debut album The Fragile Art of Existence was released in 1999. A second album, tentatively titled When Man and Machine Collide, was partly recorded, but the death of Schuldiner in 2001 put the recordings on hold. Remaining band members have expressed a wish to complete and release the material.However, there existed a longstanding legal dispute over the rights of the material with Karmageddon Media, further postponing the completion and release of the album. Part of these incomplete recordings were released without authorization in the Zero Tolerance two-part bootlegs of Chuck's B-sides and unreleased tracks. However, Schuldiner estate lawyer Eric Greif settled all matters with the label by December 2009, allowing for the possibility of completing the album. On December 4, 2010 vocalist Tim Aymar released a statement saying that plans are being made to record and release the album, stating that Jim Morris of Morrisound Studios (with whom Chuck Schuldiner recorded several albums during his career) had been in contact with Greif to begin planning and booking studio time to record the remaining parts of When Man and Machine Collide. 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. As of January 2014, Greif has stated that there has been little progress towards the completion of the album other than an exploratory meeting between producer Jim Morris and guitarist Shannon Hamm. Greif stated that the album would never be completed.The Fragile Art of Existence was reissued in October 2010 by Relapse Records in a 2-disc standard format, with one hour of bonus material, and a 3-disc deluxe version, with two hours of bonus material.