Human

"Human" is, arguably, the most iconic of all Death's albums, the one most often remembered and praised by its virtues and for how influential it was. It marked a passage not entirely surprising from a more conspicuous, trademark old school death metal to a more elaborated, refined brand of extreme music, harboring elements of progressive music all the way. "Spiritual Healing" already hinted some of the content here provided, yet this album remarkably diverges from its predecessor. I am an avid defender of experimentation, leaps of faith and bold moves on music. Bands shouldn't be creatively shackled by any means. But I also advocate for cohesive change rather than abrupt, precipitate ones. Chuck will hit and miss a few more times on his road ahead, but this beginning of sorts is not short of bumps, maybe out of inexperience. Well, it couldn't be for lack of talent of any of the people involved. Chuck needs no introductions at this point, being the chairman of this ambitious outfit and, as much as the previous collaborators he worked with perfectly thrived on their ends, the guys he assembled for "Human" are just too far ahead. For the bass, he enlisted Steve Di Giorgio, at the time somewhat anonymous, and to the lead guitar and drums, respectively, Paul Masvidal and Sean Reinert, both from Cynic. For the latter two guys, the amount of contribution is not only derived from their outstanding performances, but also from the musical approach of their own band. If you listen to Cynic's 1991 demo, you'll realize how strikingly similar it is to Human. Which reminds me: let's focus a little more on the music itself.

"Flattening of Emotions", the song that starts the show, is quite exemplary of what to expect next on so, if you like or not the way thing sounds here, might as well be a warning for what you should be preparing for. It's a strong song overall, with a few bright ideas both musically and lyrically. It also stands for a fair demonstration of some well known Death archetypes and also some of the new dishes the chef was cooking. The aftertaste is a little too bittersweet in my mouth, though. I mean, there are some great riffs here, but as far as song structure goes, it's really all over the place, with no real definition or essence. There are too many passages or sections, each one with its own brand of riffs and instrumental work. The problem is many of these sections are just dull and overly forgettable, with no real purpose to be there, except to fulfill some ambition of turning the song into a progressive piece, by any means necessary. Another thing that bothers me about this layout is the fact that these sections do not link with each other organically. You're listening to some part of the track and then you're abruptly switched to another branch without a clue. While more "sophisticated" or intricate, this approach don't really click with me on this album(or most albums whatsoever). Maybe it's less noticeable to most people just because the awesome groundwork laid down by such talented musicians is a little mesmerizing. At the time, specially, because we're talking about 1991 and a still crawling genre of music, there certainly was an ever bigger impression.

The only songs where I felt gripped all the way through were "Lack of Comprehension", "Cosmic Sea and "Vacant Planets". I mean, the first half of the album isn't half bad(pun intended), but the fillers amidst the other great riffs and well executed ideas really wore me out. On the second half, with the exception of "See Through Dreams", that is plagued mainly by the same reason of the previous songs, the music is more enjoyable and really sticks out as something I can remember after listening. "Lack of Comprehension" might even be my favorite song by the band. It was also the very first proper hit of these guys, with the release of a video clip and all. The riffs, Chuck's vocals and the lyrics are the more inspired the band felt on this album. Cosmic Sea has a very space-horror vibe to it and the instruments really shine here. It was the first instrumental track by the band and a pretty good idea, since we have a stellar team aboard. There are a lot of emotional catches and the ethereal synth in the background really attunes the mood. "Vacant Planets" is a pretty strong closing track, with a better paced dynamic that reminds me of the better things from the band's past.

In fact, I had to listen to this album for many years in order to convey the opinions I now expose here. It seems a little unfair or pedantic to harshly criticize a work that, otherwise, delivers what it's meant to. But I also don't think I should encourage a platonic, far-fetched praise over a considerably flawed record. I mean, the band could do more with what they had. I don't mean to point out how someone should do their jobs, but by overlapping good music with pretentious intent of doing "progressive" music, I think Chuck really missed the point. It doesn't' help much that the production also decreased the overall "death" mood to a safer-to-approach kind of art. It's less menacing, less powerful and, as such, just loses itself in some limbo with under-cooked ideas. Also, the lyrics are good, but I think that those from Spiritual Healing were more intelligent, overall.

I have to highlight that this album is fairly enjoyable and a good piece of music, as much as it may wrongly seem that I hate it. It is just that the global evolution of this band really could have driven them on to a better direction.