Death - Suicide Machine

Riff mark: 1:26

There were flints sparking in a small handful of bands and years leading to this record (namely Atheist, maybe Sadus), but the explosion of ember from the furnace of determined creation that is Human was, and remains, one of the most important works of progressive, technical death and a blueprint for aspiring metal musicians not wanting to suck. Sculptor Schuldiner, per usual, precision-picks his session roster:  journeyman fretless magician Steve DiGiorgio and two younger, secret-faced guys in guitarist Paul Masvidal and drummer Sean Reinert (of later ilk Cynic). Human is philosophically and technically played like god from above, flattened of emotion, without bias, and wholly aware of the clay from which it must shape (fitting, given its half-formed “in-his-image” album cover). Every note and beat is played with perfect, stunning staccato, made even more impressive given its slight on-spot, jazz-like tendencies, found swimming in tracks such as instrumental Cosmic Sea. All is remarkable, but Reinert (my 2^nd favorite drummer EVER) is playing for the titans of power and mathematics, working speed, proficiency, improvisation, and power without weakness, really becoming the vocal of Human. A staggering transition from any Death album before it, made almost entirely in part by the hired hands involved. A likely candidate for best death metal album of its decade. Mandatory follow-up: Cynic – Focus (1994)