Legendary extreme metal drummer Gene Hoglan, whose iconic performances appear on the classic Death albums Individual Thought Patterns (1993) and Symbolic (1995), has spoken candidly about his complicated feelings toward the 2016 Chuck Schuldiner documentary Death By Metal in a new interview with the IMPACT Metal Channel.
Asked for his opinion of the film, in which he was prominently featured, Hoglan responded (transcribed by Blabbermouth): “There was a [2025 eight-part docuseries] on the American sort of cable network Hulu — it’s an American streaming service, Hulu — that’s called ‘Into The Void[: Life, Death & Heavy Metal]’, that I thought did a really good documentary on Chuck that’s a decent one.”
“I never had a good taste in my mouth about the [‘Death By Metal’] Chuck documentary because one of the people who was very prominently displayed in the documentary, and also very — I’ll say flat out — unfortunately mistakenly displayed throughout the eras of Death, in the mid-2000s and things like that, where that person came to all of us the morning of our filming. We filmed that thing in Toronto, ‘cause that’s where the company was based that was filming it, playing a show in Toronto, and I was told, ‘Hey, throw Chuck under the bus,’ essentially. Like, ‘Tell all the dirt stories and all the… Just don’t hold back.’ And I’m, like, ‘Why would anybody do that? Why would anybody request that?’ Maybe they wanted some controversy in the film, but I tell you, I’m… Controversy and me, I have no desire to get involved in any form of controversy or try to tell some dirt or anything like that, ‘cause I have none. So that’s why I have my versions of the way I saw things, and I’m always able to find a way to express what I feel. But if it means mudslinging, as it is called, I had no desire to do that. So that’s why when I’m doing my interview, those words are just echoing in my head from three hours earlier. ‘Yeah, throw Chuck under the bus.’ I’m just, like, ‘Why would you, of all people, be telling me that? … I don’t trust you, I don’t like you, I don’t think you should even be involved in this project ever.’ And now that it’s a few years later, it’s being established that people are realizing, ‘You’re right. That person should have never been involved in this thing.’ So, that’s the way I see it.”
Hoglan added: “I have no desire to try to create some controversy. The music… Is not death metal controversial enough? The music will speak for itself. I don’t need to be trying to add to its narrative, either good or bad. It’s like I can report the facts as I see them, and so that’s what I chose to do in that movie. But if people like the movie, great. I know the people involved in making the movie; they wanted to make a movie about Chuck. Kickass. Good job. It was some of the behind-the-scenes just whisperings in ears that were unappreciated by me. So that’s why my whole interview in that, I’m just, like, ‘Screw you, dude.’ That kind of thing. So there you go.”
Death By Metal received a DVD release in July 2018 via MVD Visual. It was written and directed by Canadian filmmaker Felipe Belalcazar, who told Decibel magazine at the time of the documentary’s release: “I identified with him. As a freelancer, you might identify with being close to work and being passionate about what you do. He seemed like someone who was passionate about his work. Another thing I wanted to show in this movie: Chuck was a regular dude… Chuck was also an amazing family man — that came up in so many interviews.”
Belalcazar described the scope of the documentary: “[Death By Metal] is an official documentary approved by the family. I did more than 22 interviews; not even all of them can be in the documentary. I’m told we did the first interview on film with his mom. She told us everything — from the first day he got a guitar to when he passed away. It was one of the hardest interviews I’ve ever done. We interviewed his nephew, his sister, Chris Reifert [Death, Autopsy] and two to three members from each lineup, including the Control Denied records. We also interviewed [producer] Jim Morris.”
Released in September 2025, Into The Void: Life, Death & Heavy Metal — the eight-part Hulu docuseries Hoglan cited favorably — explored the struggles and cultural impact of heavy metal’s most compelling artists. The series was created by Jason Eisner and Evan Husney, co-creators of the pro wrestling documentary series Dark Side Of The Ring, which became Vice TV’s most-watched series of all time.
