HUMAN

Having released three full length albums, Death, led by the songwriter/guitarist/vocalist Chuck Schuldiner, took a different way of making music, and this choice would later highly change the identity of the genre. This album and what would follow it are often described as Technical Death Metal but personally I believe that Progressive Speed/Extreme Metal would be a more precise definition, if one needs to be given at all costs.

So, what has changed since the previous Spiritual Healing? The music became both more melodic and technical, the musicians participating here were more technically proficient than the ones who had previously played together with Chuck Schuldiner. Moreover, most importantly, a different approach to the composing process has been used and, this time, nobody was afraid to make unusual decisions. As a result, the musicians opened a new lane for future pioneers of the genre.

The album itself has merely two faults. Firstly, the production could have been better. I wouldn't mention this if I could hear Steve DiGiorgio's bass work better. It's a pity that a bassist such as him, who manages to create extraordinary sounds with his fretless in every group he guests, can't be heard properly on this record. Although on one hand, you can hear the great bass solo performed on Cosmic Sea, some short bass parts in other songs of the album, the guitars are put higher into the mix than the bass which is a problem, I'm afraid. Secondly, the album is just criminally short! However, I'm not sure what I would have preferred - shorter songs or repetitive long tracks, which is considered the standard among many of today's Progressive Metal groups. It does its best to sound interesting without repeating the same riffs over and over or getting lost in its own composition, and that's good enough.

The songs, however, are quite similiar to each other, in a positive way. The guitar work is the most excellent among compared to its predecessors, drumming is really good, although I prefer the drumming of Gene Hoglan(Individual Thought Patterns, Symbolic) and Richard Christy(The Sound Of Perseverance). The riffs are diverse all the way and well composed. The tracks worth pointing out are the instrumental Cosmic Sea with soloing of different instruments, including keyboards, Lack Of Comprehension with its intro and the last track Vacant Planets, in which, in my opinion, things get really hot.

It is impossible to say how such a record was made, although one can guess that the presence of two members of Cynic, who would later release the amazing Focus and disband, however, the most important is that this album had place in Progressive Music and changed its history. Knowing its significance, this album is a must-have in anyone's collection. It doesn't matter if you like Progressive Metal or not, this is a masterpiece of Prog and a landmark of the 90's Progmetal.

Highly recommended!

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