''I, Human'' is the second full-length album by Singaporean

death metal Death metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. It typically employs heavily distorted and low-tuned guitars, played with techniques such as palm muting and tremolo picking; deep growling vocals; aggressive, powerful drumming, fe ...

band,

Deus Ex Machina ''Deus ex machina'' ( , ; plural: ''dei ex machina''; English "god out of the machine") is a plot device whereby a seemingly unsolvable problem in a story is suddenly and abruptly resolved by an unexpected and unlikely occurrence. Its function ...

, and the first to feature a permanent vocalist, giving it more uniformity in contrast to '' The War Inside'', which had a different singer for each track. Musically, it is an edgy mixture of

thrash metal Thrash metal (or simply thrash) is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music characterized by its overall aggression and often fast tempo.Kahn-Harris, Keith, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'', pp. 2–3, 9. Oxford: Berg, 2007, . ...

melodic death metal Melodic death metal (also referred to as melodeath) is a subgenre of death metal that employs highly melodic guitar riffs, often borrowing from traditional heavy metal (including New Wave of British Heavy Metal). The genre features the heavi ...

and

progressive metal Progressive metal (sometimes shortened to prog metal) is a broad fusion music genre melding heavy metal and progressive rock, combining the loud "aggression" and amplified guitar-driven sound of the former with the more experimental, cerebral ...

interjections, coupled with a diversified vocal approach. The lyrical content of the album deals with the future:

Cloning Cloning is the process of producing individual organisms with identical or virtually identical DNA, either by natural or artificial means. In nature, some organisms produce clones through asexual reproduction. In the field of biotechnology, c ...

. Specifically, questions regarding its use, legality, implications and the possibility of a world full of clones fighting to gain their own identity. The concept is based on

Isaac Asimov Isaac Asimov ( ; 1920 – April 6, 1992) was an American writer and professor of biochemistry at Boston University. During his lifetime, Asimov was considered one of the "Big Three" science fiction writers, along with Robert A. Heinlein and ...

's novel '' I,Robot'', but also is influenced by other science fiction works such as ''

Blade Runner ''Blade Runner'' is a 1982 science fiction film directed by Ridley Scott, and written by Hampton Fancher and David Peoples. Starring Harrison Ford, Rutger Hauer, Sean Young, and Edward James Olmos, it is an adaptation of Philip K. Dick ...

'', ''

The 6th Day ''The 6th Day'' is a 2000 American science fiction action film directed by Roger Spottiswoode and starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Tony Goldwyn, Michael Rapaport, and Robert Duvall. In the film, a family man of the future is illegally cloned by ...

'', '' A.I. Artificial Intelligence'', and ''

Warhammer 40,000 ''Warhammer 40,000'' is a miniature wargame produced by Games Workshop. It is the most popular miniature wargame in the world, and is particularly popular in the United Kingdom. The first edition of the rulebook was published in September 1987 ...

''. Each songs discusses the ethical issues pertaining to cloning, shifting from first person to second person to third person perspective. The band further divulges the mind frame of an unnamed clone character as it gradually realizes it is a clone, upon awaking from what it thought was a dream. In its desire to strive for acceptance as an equal, the band delves into its thoughts, fears and plans and invokes these emotions and transforms them into an aural assault with thought-provoking lyrics.Heavy Metal Tribune: Interview with Deus Ex Machina
. Heavy Metal Tribune (7 September 2010). Retrieved 13 May 2013.

Track listing

# M(n)emo(nic)ries – 1:58 # The Mask – 3:42 # Replicant – 5:47 # Jigsaw – 4:52 # The Human Strain – 2:45 # I – 5:19 # The Omega Directive – 3:53 # Assent / Dissent – 5:30 # Hidden Track – 3:08

Personnel

*Ryan Prashant Joseph – guitar *Shailendra Singh – drums *Mithun MK – lead vocals *Caspar Francis – bass

References

External links

Official websiteReviewReviewInterview
{{Authority control 2009 albums Deus Ex Machina (heavy metal band) albums Cyberpunk music Non-fiction Cyberpunk media