DEATH

Released in 1991, "Human" marked a turning point in DEATH's career — a departure from effervescent brutality into territories later dubbed progressive death metal. Perhaps the most interesting fact about the recording is that "Human" was essentially tracked by Schuldiner alone, while his bandmates were off playing a European tour. An unprecedented case, to be sure, but... By enlisting musicians from CYNIC along with the unique SADUS bassist Steve DiGiorgio, Chuck once again proved to the esteemed public WHO truly stands behind the transcendental atmosphere of DEATH. Many consider "Human" to be the band's finest album, one that opens a brilliant trilogy (also comprising "Individual Thought Patterns" (1993) and "Symbolic" (1995)). And indeed, the pointed arches of musical monumentality soar upward like rockets, progressive stained-glass windows flicker with misty shadows, and an authentic onyx gloss gleams throughout — truly, the ability to transform music into an immortal cult is not granted to everyone. The album opens with the hard-charging, uncompromising "Flattening Of Emotions," closes with the supremely otherworldly "Vacant Planets," and between them stretches an infinity-shaped half hour, long as eternity: "Secret Place," "Lack Of Comprehension," "Cosmic Sea"... DEATH's albums have always won audiences over by offering something for everyone. The years have firmly established "Human" as a genre classic. Playing on the title, one could say it has become one of the truest embodiments of human essence (with all its dark and bright sides, its grey-turquoise facets) in modern music. An unequivocal masterpiece.