Trying to pick out just the one album that this, more than influential band has released to be deemed a metal masterpiece is almost impossible. With a discography as widely different, offering all different façades, from the stripped down blast beat approach to the final progressive metal masterpiece… However there has always been one seminal album that began the birth of something greater than most of the metal world had witnessed. When Paul Masvidal, Sean Reinert, Steve DiGiorgio and of course Chuck Schuldiner went into the studio and what would come out would be Human.
After having written three albums already Death were on their fourth instalment and seemingly had the perfect line up. Its no secret that Schuldiner was the real genius behind all of Death and after each album, would essentially assemble another “team” to record the next step in his genius career. Although some may think that dissolving each formation of the band was egocentric-al and self centred, Schuldiner was doing it so that he would be able to use as much from different people to create different perspectives. On Human however it seemed to be the perfect line up, marking a huge stylistic change going from the fast paced, thrashy style to a more technical death metal style. With tracks like “Flattening of Emotions” and “Secret Face” anyone could hear that Death had begun to evolve into something that none of the metal world had heard before.
Moving away from the straight forward 4/4 style to more abstract and off kilter riffs and less easy to follow patterns, it also saw the beginning of the shaping of Death‘s signature sound. With more intricate solo’s and lead lines, even an instrumental track “Cosmic Sea” and the anthemic “Lack Of Comprehension“. With Paul Masvidal giving Schuldiner a serious run for his money before, as we now know he formed Cynic, with other bandmate Reinert .But it wasn’t only Death’s musicianship that had begun evolving, gone were the lyrics of blood soaked gore and in came more introspective lyrics, smarter turn of phrase, showing the beginning of their now legendary progression until final album The Sound Of Perseverance.
Human is quintessentially what Death encapsulates and that is why I have chosen it. There are elements from throughout their discography with the battering of “Suicide Machine” veering more towards Leprosy era, with subtle melodies heard on Spiritual Healing creeping in and hints of following album Individual Thought Patters, the beginning of the journey to their final hour. The mystery behind birthing a movement of fairly technical music, yet making it all the while accessible, memorable and interesting. As pioneers of the genre there was really no one else quite like Death and there will never be, sadly Schuldiner died of cancer in 2001 but his memory shall always live on. Blast Human as loud as you can in honour of not only metal, but music itself’s most forward thinking men. Phenomenal.
