Human (Death album)

After the release of Spiritual Healing, band members Bill Andrews and Terry Butler embarked on a tour of Europe without frontman Chuck Schuldiner, who refused to go on tour due to what he perceived as poor organization. Their decision to tour without him would result in legal action brought by Schuldiner, and Schuldiner's decision to switch to using guest musicians on future releases. According to Guitar World, "Chuck had never needed an excuse to fight for his music. Now handed one, he responded with devastating force. Human, his followup to Spiritual Healing, was a calculated retaliation to his former bandmates, who claimed he was washed up; to the media, which painted him as a narcissistic monster; and to anyone deluded enough to believe his detractors. 'This is much more than a record to me,' he told Metal Hammer’s Robert Heeg in the December 1991 issue. 'It is a statement. It’s revenge.'" Bassist Steve Di Giorgio left after the recording of the album (though he would later return to record Individual Thought Patterns). He was replaced by Scott Carino, who toured with the band in 1991 and 1992. Carino also recorded additional bass overdub on "Cosmic Sea" after a couple of issues were discovered during the mixing stage. The rest of the song (including the bass solo) was recorded by Di Giorgio. The album was recorded at Morrisound Recording in Tampa, Florida and was produced by Scott Burns. == Music and lyrics ==

Human marked the beginning of a major stylistic change for Death, being more technically complex and progressive than the band's previous efforts. The sound has been categorized as technical death metal and progressive metal. Shaun Lindsley of Metal Hammer said Human was an "exponential leap forward in innovation" for the band. Chris Krovatin of Kerrang! assessed, "On the one hand, the album sees Death, arguably the genre's birth mother, exploring progressive sonic ground and lyrical themes that were completely new for them, much less any other artist within this branch of music. On the other hand, naming your album Human – after the ultimate symbol of frailty in death metal, whose destruction, demise, and sheer repulsiveness are the subject of most great death metal songs – has a reductive brilliance to it." Described as a "swirling, progressive shred-fest," Some of the textures on the album have been described as "spacy." Masvidal explained: "Although we all brought our backgrounds to the equation, none of us really knew what we were doing. We simply did what came naturally in the context of Chuck's songs and that's why it worked. Our detachment about the process eliminated preciousness and pretense. It wasn't that we didn't take the music seriously, because we did, but there was a playful psychology along the way." Additionally, the album contains melodic guitar riffs that are reminiscent of the New wave of British heavy metal, and have drawn comparisons to Iron Maiden. Marcus Jervis of About.com assessed, "Although firmly rooted in death metal, by this stage of its career, Death had little in common with the gore drenched grind of Cannibal Corpse or the satanic blast beats of Deicide, instead choosing to explore increasingly progressive avenues, expanding the boundaries of what was considered possible in death metal." The track "Cosmic Sea" is an instrumental that emphasizes Di Giorgio's heavy metal bass playing. Schuldiner's lyrics on the album explore themes such as existentialism, abuse of power, and betrayal. ==Reception and legacy==

Human was released to critical acclaim, and has since been commended as a "masterpiece" in death metal. Additionally, it is considered to be a highly influential release in the development of the technical death metal subgenre, and on extreme metal in general. In 2017, Rolling Stone named the album the 70th greatest metal album of all time. In 2012, Noisecreep said Human was "a watershed metal album, and the most progressive death metal album ever released up to th[at] point." Gregg Pratt of Exclaim! said "the one-two opening punch of "Flattening of Emotions" and "Suicide Machine" is easily one of the best double-hitter openings of a death metal album [in 1991], and the competition was stiff." and was authorized by Schuldiner intellectual property lawyer Eric Greif. The reissue of Human was remixed, as Sony had lost the master tapes of Scott Burns' original mixes. In 2025, Joe DiVita of Loudwire named Human as the best death metal release of 1991, calling it "a rare glimpse at death metal perfection." Loudwire considers it to be among the most essential metal releases of the 1990s for vinyl collectors. ==Track listing==

All songs written by Chuck Schuldiner except where noted. ==Personnel==

All information is taken from the CD liner notes of the original 1991 release and the 2011 reissue. ;Death • Chuck Schuldiner – guitars, vocals • Sean Reinert – drums • Steve Di Giorgio – bass • Paul Masvidal – guitars ;Additional personnel • Scott Carino – additional bass (on "Cosmic Sea") • Bill Andrews – drums (August 1990 rehearsal) • Terry Butler – bass (August 1990 rehearsal) ;Solos • Flattening Of Emotions: 1st Schuldiner, 2nd Masvidal • Suicide Machine: Schuldiner • Together As One: Schuldiner • Secret Face: Schuldiner • Lack Of Comprehension: Schuldiner • See Through Dreams: Schuldiner • Cosmic Sea: 1st Schuldiner, 2nd Masvidal; trade offs: Schuldiner, Masvidal • Vacant Planets: 1st Masvidal, 2nd Schuldiner ;Production • Chuck Schuldiner – production • Scott Burns – producer, engineer, mixing • Michael Fuller – mastering (original release) • Jim Morris – remixing (2011 reissue) • Alan Douches – mastering (2011 reissue) • René Miville – artwork • Tim Hubbard – photography • David Bett – art direction • Jacob Speis – layout ==Notes==