Man, where do you even start with Death? These dudes basically invented the whole death metal thing back in Florida in the 80s. Chuck Schuldiner was one of those guys who just couldn’t sit still musically, always pushing boundaries, always wanting to get more technical and complex. By the time Human rolled around in 1991, he’d already put out some brutal classics, but this is where things got really interesting.
Human is Death’s fourth album and it’s got this crazy good lineup, Chuck brought in Paul Masvidal and Sean Reinert from Cynic on guitars and drums, plus Steve Di Giorgio on bass. These guys were all jazz-fusion influenced technical monsters, so you know this wasn’t gonna be your typical death metal slugfest. The album clocks in at just 34 minutes, making it Death’s shortest record, but don’t let that fool you, they packed more ideas into those 8 tracks than most bands manage in a career.
The opening track “Flattening of Emotions” hits you with this sinister guitar work that weaves right into Reinert’s galloping drums, it’s been called one of the top metal intros ever. Then you get “Suicide Machine” which is just relentless, with Di Giorgio’s bass somehow managing to keep up with all the guitar chaos. But the real standout has to be “Lack of Comprehension”, starts with this dreamy acoustic intro before launching into one of the most powerful Death riffs ever written. The instrumental “Cosmic Sea” is completely nuts too, throwing atmospheric keyboards and weird otherworldly sounds at you while still maintaining that brutal heaviness.
Look, if you’re curious about death metal but think it’s all just noise and blast beats, Human is your gateway drug. It’s technical as hell but still totally listenable, with actual memorable songs that stick in your head. Chuck was evolving the genre in real time here, proving death metal could be sophisticated without losing its teeth. This album basically showed everyone that extreme music could be intellectual and brutal at the same time.