Death's 1991 album Human is a landmark in the death metal genre. Human saw Chuck Schuldiner recruit Cynic members Paul Masvidal on guitar and Sean Reinert on drums, as well as bassist Steve DiGiorgio, and go in a wildly progressive direction that stood in stark contrast to Death's previous material. Daron Malakian of System Of A Down and Scars On Broadway fame recently spoke to Revolver about the now-33-year-old record, saying the band "took Slayer and made it heavier
"The Death Human album is very special because it was one of the first that really mixed this technical musicianship with the aggression," wrote Malakian. "I had never heard anything like this before. Before that album, Death was more of a straightforward death-metal band. But with that album they transitioned into something a little more progressive… These guys took Slayer and made it heavier. It was so fresh and brand new."
Fresh and new? Hell yeah. A little more progressive? Bit of an understatement, but yeah for sure. Taking Slayer and making it heavier? I guess? Human certainly seemed to follow in the progressive footsteps of fellow Floridians Atheist, who had been getting weird with their music since Piece Of Time in 1989; less so trying to make Slayer heavier.
Either way, Human is still a perfect record and you should listen to it right now.
