Human (Death album)
| Human | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by Death | ||||
| Released | October 22, 1991 | |||
| Genre | Technical death metal, progressive metal | |||
| Length | 38:21 (2011 re-issue) | |||
| Label | Relativity, Relapse Records | |||
| Producer | Scott Burns, Chuck Schuldiner | |||
| Death chronology | ||||
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Human is the fourth album by death metal band Death, released in 1991. The album marked the beginning of a major stylistic change for Death and the playing on the album is more technically complex and progressive than Death'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.
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 Skott Carino, who toured with the band in 1991 and 1992. Carino also recorded a few seconds of bass on "Cosmic Sea", and the rest of the song (including the bass solo) was recorded by DiGiorgio. The album also features guitarist Paul Masvidal and drummer Sean Reinert, both of the bands Æon Spoke and fellow technical death metal pioneers Cynic.
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,[1] and was authorized by Schuldiner intellectual property lawyer Eric Greif.[2] Greif stated that it was necessary to remix the album since "unbelievably Sony lost the original tape of the album mixes and any attempt to remaster from a CD would be a ripoff".
Reception
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| About.com |   [3] |
| Allmusic |  [4] |
| Exclaim! | favourable[5] |
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.[6] 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, and a music video was made for the song "Lack of Comprehension", which received airplay on MTV.[citation needed]
As of 2008, Human had sold over 600,000 copies worldwide, with the U.S. Soundscan listed as 100,000 units.[1]
Track listing
All songs written by Chuck Schuldiner except where noted.
| No. | Title | Length | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Flattening of Emotions" | 4:28 | |
| 2. | "Suicide Machine" | 4:23 | |
| 3. | "Together as One" | 4:10 | |
| 4. | "Secret Face" | 4:39 | |
| 5. | "Lack of Comprehension" | 3:43 | |
| 6. | "See Through Dreams" | 4:39 | |
| 7. | "Cosmic Sea" (Instrumental) | 4:27 | |
| 8. | "Vacant Planets" | 3:52 | |
| 9. | "God of Thunder" (Paul Stanley) (Kiss cover, originally a Japan-only bonus track,[7] but included on the Relapse remixed reissue, June 2011) | 4:00 | |
Total length: |
38:21 | ||
| 2011 reissued Relapse Records version (bonus disc 1) | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Length | ||||||||
| 1. | "Flattening of Emotions" (basic instrumental studio tracks) | 4:54 | ||||||||
| 2. | "Suicide Machine" (basic instrumental studio tracks) | 4:30 | ||||||||
| 3. | "Together as One" (basic instrumental studio tracks) | 4:15 | ||||||||
| 4. | "Secret Face" (basic instrumental studio tracks) | 2:02 | ||||||||
| 5. | "Secret Face - Part 2" (basic instrumental studio tracks) | 2:44 | ||||||||
| 6. | "Lack of Comprehension" (basic instrumental studio tracks) | 3:46 | ||||||||
| 7. | "Felt Good" (studio snippet) | 0:14 | ||||||||
| 8. | "See Through Dreams" (basic instrumental studio tracks) | 1:37 | ||||||||
| 9. | "See Through Dreams - Part 2" (basic instrumental studio tracks) | 3:03 | ||||||||
| 10. | "Vacant Planets" (basic instrumental studio tracks) | 3:59 | ||||||||
| 11. | "Cosmic Sea" (basic instrumental studio tracks) | 2:13 | ||||||||
| 12. | "Cosmic Sea - Part 2" (basic instrumental studio tracks) | 2:03 | ||||||||
| 13. | "God of Thunder" (basic instrumental studio tracks) | 4:05 | ||||||||
| 14. | "Flattening of Emotions" ("Human" demos) | 4:26 | ||||||||
| 15. | "Lack of Comprehension" ("Human" demos) | 3:48 | ||||||||
| 16. | "Suicide Machine" ("Human" demos) | 4:31 | ||||||||
| 17. | "Together as One" ("Human" demos) | 4:10 | ||||||||
| 18. | "See Through Dreams" ("Human" demos) | 4:08 | ||||||||
| 19. | "Secret Face" ("Human" demos) | 4:48 | ||||||||
| 20. | "Vacant Planets" ("Human" demos) | 3:59 | ||||||||
Total length: |
71:15[8] | |||||||||
| 2011 reissued Relapse Records version (bonus disc 2) | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Length | ||||||||
| 1. | "See Through Dreams" (w/ Paul and Sean, Rehearsal January, 1991) | 4:32 | ||||||||
| 2. | "See Through Dreams" (take 2, w/ Paul and Sean, Rehearsal January, 1991) | 4:34 | ||||||||
| 3. | "Secret Face" (w/o Paul - 1/2 song, rehearsal January, 1991) | 2:52 | ||||||||
| 4. | "Secret Face" (take 2, w/o Paul, rehearsal January, 1991) | 6:32 | ||||||||
| 5. | "Secret Face" (riffs rehearsal January, 1991) | 3:47 | ||||||||
| 6. | "Flattening of Emotions" (riffs rehearsal January, 1991) | 3:15 | ||||||||
| 7. | "Lack of Comprehension" (riffs rehearsal January, 1991) | 2:43 | ||||||||
| 8. | "Lack of Comprehension" (take 2, riffs rehearsal January, 1991) | 2:42 | ||||||||
| 9. | "Cosmic Sea" (riffs w/ drum machine, rehearsal January, 1991) | 2:52 | ||||||||
| 10. | "See Through Dreams" (rehearsal August, 1990) | 4:25 | ||||||||
| 11. | "Suicide Machine" (rehearsal August, 1990) | 4:42 | ||||||||
| 12. | "Together as One" (rehearsal August, 1990) | 4:27 | ||||||||
| 13. | "Suicide Machine" (drum & bass tracks) | 4:25 | ||||||||
| 14. | "Together as One" (drum & bass tracks) | 4:05 | ||||||||
| 15. | "Secret Face" (drum & bass tracks) | 4:37 | ||||||||
| 16. | "Lack of Comprehension" (drum & bass tracks) | 3:38 | ||||||||
| 17. | "Vacant Planets" (drum & bass tracks) | 3:53 | ||||||||
Total length: |
68:09 | |||||||||
Appearances in media
- The track, "Cosmic Sea", is featured in the computer game Damage Incorporated.[9]
Certifications
| Region | Certification | Sales/shipments |
|---|---|---|
| United States (RIAA)[10] | 100,000^ | |
| Worldwide sales: | 600,000 | |
| ^shipments figures based on certification alone | ||
Charts
Album
Billboard (North America)
| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | Heatseekers |
Personnel
- Death
- Chuck Schuldiner – guitar, vocals, producer
- Paul Masvidal – guitar
- Steve DiGiorgio – bass guitar
- Sean Reinert – drums, percussion
- Production
- David Bett – art direction
- Tim Hubbard – photography
- Tracy Cruz – label coordination
- Scott Burns – producer, engineer, mixing
- Mike Fuller – mastering
- Eric Greif – management
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 News. Blabbermouth.net. Retrieved February 3, 2011.
- ↑ News. EmptyWords.org. Retrieved February 2, 2011.
- ↑ Jervis, Marcus. "Death - Human Review". About.com. Retrieved December 3, 2012.
- ↑ Huey, Steve. "Human - Death". Allmusic. Retrieved October 13, 2011.
- ↑ Pratt, Greg (June 20, 2011). "Death - Human". Exclaim!. Retrieved December 3, 2012.
- ↑ Larkin, C. The Guinness Encyclopedia of Popular Music, 1995, p. 1108
- ↑ "Traditional Symbol For Superior Music". Emptywords.org. February 22, 2003. Retrieved October 13, 2011.
- ↑ "Amazon.com: Human:Death: MP3 Downloads". Amazon. Retrieved November 14, 2012.
- ↑ "Damage Incorporated: Richard Rouse Under the Hot Lamps". Paranoidproductions.com. Retrieved October 13, 2011.
- ↑ "American album certifications – Death – Human". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH
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