Human (Death album)

''Human'' is the fourth studio album by American death metal band Death, released on October 22, 1991, by Relativity Records. The album marked the beginning of a major stylistic change for Death, being more technically complex and progressive than the band's previous efforts. The lyrics are more introspective when compared to the gore-based lyrics of ''Scream Bloody Gore'' and ''Leprosy'' or the social commentary on ''Spiritual Healing''. This new style would continue to evolve on all following Death albums. This is the only album to feature Cynic members Paul Masvidal on guitars and Sean Reinert on drums, both only 20 at that time, and the first to feature bassist Steve DiGiorgio.

Bass player Steve DiGiorgio left after the recording of this 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 DiGiorgio.

In 2011, Relapse Records and Perseverance Holdings Ltd. re-issued the album to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the original release. This edition was remixed by Jim Morris of Morrisound Recording Studios, includes bonus tracks, 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.

''Human'' was released to critical acclaim from music publications and is seen as a pivotal release in the development of the technical death metal subgenre and on extreme metal in general. In 2017, ''Rolling Stone'' magazine placed the album as the 70th greatest metal album of all time.

Reception

''Human'' is a highly influential extreme metal album, according to Jeff Wagner in his 2010 text on progressive metal, '' Mean Deviation''. It is Death's best-selling album, having sold 100,000 copies in the United States by 1995. It was ranked number 82 on the October 2006 issue of ''Guitar World'' magazine's list of the greatest 100 guitar albums of all time. A music video was made for the song "Lack of Comprehension", which received airplay on MTV.

As of 2008, ''Human'' had sold over 600,000 copies worldwide, with the U.S. Soundscan listed as 100,000 units.

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 – vocals, guitars
* Paul Masvidal – guitars
* Steve Di Giorgio – bass
* Sean Reinert – drums

Additional musicians
* Scott Carino – additional bass (on "Cosmic Sea")
* Bill Andrews – drums (August 1990 rehearsal)
* Terry Butler – bass (August 1990 rehearsal)

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

*"God of Thunder" was originally only on the Japanese version of the album but was later included on the 2011 Relapse reissue.
* The track, "Cosmic Sea", is featured in the computer game Damage Incorporated.
* The band paid homage in the liner notes to Atheist bassist Roger Patterson, who was killed in an auto accident in February 1991.
*The band's logo presents a change: compared to the three predecessors, it loses the drops of blood that flow downwards and the spider's web on the "D".

Sales

Charts

Album

''Billboard'' (North America)

References

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1991 albums
Death (metal band) albums
Relativity Records albums
Relapse Records albums
Albums produced by Scott Burns (record producer)
Albums recorded at Morrisound Recording