Human

To put it simply, Death's "Human" is a classic album. Of course, this is some 15 years after the album came out and the band's leader, Chuck Schuldiner, passed away, which could but add some emotions linked to this album. However, even when this came out, it is hard to see how it would not be hailed as revolutionary among the metal community.

Many things contribute to this album's greatness. Firstly, it is more mature than most of its contemporaries. While some were singing about guts and gore, these guys had deeper lyrics about emotions and pain present throughout the album. Is it due to maturity? Maybe, but then again, most of the members were barely on the plus side of 20. Another factor is the masterful musicianship. In an era of shred guitar dominance, Death not only matches, but at points exceeds the standard of the time.

The vocals and guitar provided by Chuck Shuldiner are absolutely brilliant! Of course, he has the death metal vocals (cookie monster vocals, if you will), but somehow he communicates more feeling and emotion than you would find in 'classic singers' - not to mention his guitar work, which is absolutely top notch and pushes the boundaries of guitar work within its genre.

Backing Chuck on guitar is Paul Masvidal with his sometimes lead but mostly rhythm work. Being that there are two guitarists in the band, they mold and form the tones and sounds to create a wall of sonic suffocation which you cannot escape.

The rhythm section of Sean Reinert on drums and Steve Digiorgio provides one of the best rhythm backbones featured on any album. Sean Reinert's drumming is absolutely incredible, a drumming junkie's wet dream. On the other hand, Steve Digiorgio's bass work feels more atmospheric and is there more to complete the sound.

At this point, I would normally tell you which tracks are key; however, on an album such as "Human", there is no reason why you shouldn’t listen to each track. If you don't listen all the way, you're cheating yourself. The worst part of this album is that it is only 35 minutes long.

Overall, Death’s "Human" is absolutely stellar. It cannot be reinforced enough on how good this album is, and not only by its contents but what it did to the music around it and the genre.