Metal Bulletin Zine: in memory of Control Denied singer Tim Aymar (1963-2023)

Tim Aymar: September 4, 1963 – February 14, 2023

Like many metal fans, I first heard Tim Aymar through The Fragile Art of Existence (1999), the debut album by Control Denied. The band was led by Chuck Schuldiner, the mastermind behind Death. Years before Control Denied, Chuck had become frustrated by the musical limitations attached to his name and previous work; he wanted to move on and do something different.

Chuck had reached a point where he felt Death's instrumental tracks were excellent, but when only the vocals remained, he would famously say, "Alright, let's go ruin it." By that, he meant he felt the growling and screaming took away from the melodic complexity of the music.

Enter Tim Aymar.

Tim was the solution to Chuck’s problem: he wanted a real, professional, serious singer to complement his compositions. The result was Control Denied. With Tim on board, Chuck felt there was no longer a weak link; every component was finally top-notch.

Admittedly, I only discovered Tim through Control Denied and his later work with the great band Pharaoh, but there was much more to him than those two projects. Tim Aymar was a legend in the Pennsylvania underground, known for his incredible vocals in bands like 313 and Triple X. According to Metal Archives, Tim’s extensive career included work with: Control Denied, 313, Pharaoh, Xthirt13n, Psycho Scream, Angband, Helios, Vicious Cycle, Act of God, Aladdinsane, Axis, Aymargeddon, Dr. No, Jet Screamer, Overlord, ReCoiL, Running with Scissors, and Triple X.

In my opinion, the 1999 Control Denied album, The Fragile Art of Existence, remains an excellent illustration of progressive technical metal. Sadly, the project effectively ended on December 13, 2001, with Chuck’s passing. Following his time in Control Denied, Tim focused on the Pennsylvania power metal band Pharaoh. Joining them in the late '90s, Tim recorded five albums and one EP with the group. I consider Pharaoh a top-tier band and highly recommend them to any fan who enjoys a mix of traditional, power, and progressive heavy metal.

One last word about the Control Denied album: be aware that it is not a typical heavy metal album because it is something new. The album is a solution to the problem of generic, low-skill cookie-monster growling that plagues extreme metal. Be aware that some people do not think the music and the vocals are a good fit. They think that because they really want Chuck to be screaming along to the music, but that was Chuck's whole point: he felt that growling would ruin the music.

He had been growling for two decades and did not want to scream about zombies and gore any longer; he wasn't an immature, 12-year-old Venom-crazy fan anymore. The album doesn't sound like typical heavy metal nor typical extreme metal because Chuck was hearing something else in his head—a new music. Tim was not some second-tier bar vocalist; he was Chuck's choice to bring to life the singing that he was hearing in his head. To this day, the album does sound different. However, it's all on purpose.

Below you will find the Blabbermouth article about Tim.

CONTROL DENIED And PHARAOH Vocalist TIM AYMAR Dead At 59 February 15, 2023

CONTROL DENIED and PHARAOH vocalist Tim Aymar has died at the age of 59.

Tim's passing was confirmed by his PHARAOH bandmates in a social media post. They wrote: "We are very sorry to share the awful news of the passing of PHARAOH's one and only singer, Tim Aymar.

"Tim has meant so much to so many people, whose hearts are suddenly flooded with sadness but also memories of his life and music. We look forward to sharing some of our own memories when the right time has come. Until then, we are joined in sorrow and gratitude with all of Tim's family, friends, fans, and fellow musicians."

Aymar is perhaps best known as the vocalist for Chuck Schuldiner's CONTROL DENIED project, which released one album, "The Fragile Art Of Existence", in 1999. Tim also sang for 313, TRIPLE X, PSYCHO SCREAM and the aforementioned PHARAOH, which formed in 1997 in Pennsylvania.

TRIPLE X won the In Pittsburgh Music Awards for "Best Metal Band" in 1990, and was the first regional band to be awarded a national sponsorship, from Anheuser-Busch/Budweiser Anheuser-Busch. Tim was also voted "Vocalist Of The Year" in readers polls of many of the Pittsburgh tri-state area's rock and entertainment publications.

In a 2021 interview with TrueMetal, Tim stated about how he landed the CONTROL DENIED gig: "It was actually Jim Dofka who hooked me and Chuck up. Chuck asked to 'borrow' me for CONTROL DENIED and Jim knew it would boost my career, so he was all for it. Chuck called me, and we hit it off. He invited me to his place in Florida to record three songs as an audition. Obviously, it went well."

Regarding his memories of the making of "The Fragile Art Of Existence", Tim said: "We all had a great time working with [producer] Jim Morris and each other. Then Chuck told me he was having severe headaches and couldn't sleep because of it. He was also experiencing partial paralysis in his left hand which scared the dickens out of him. I recommended a chiropractor since I have neck and back injuries that were being treated by one. As it turned out, well, we know the end of that story."

Schuldiner passed away on December 13, 2001 after a battle with pontine glioma, a rare type of brain tumor. He was 34 years old.

CONTROL DENIED - Expect The Unexpected (Official Remastered Audio)