Death released Human, the landmark 1991 album widely regarded as one of technical death metal's defining records. It was Death's fourth studio album, released on October 22, 1991, through Relativity Records.
Led by guitarist and vocalist Chuck Schuldiner, Human marked a major leap in complexity from Death's earlier work. The songs use intricate riffs, shifting rhythms, demanding guitar parts, and more progressive structures, while the lyrics move toward introspective subjects rather than relying only on conventional extreme-metal imagery. The album is commonly classified as technical death metal and progressive metal.
Its influential lineup helped make the record especially important: Cynic members Paul Masvidal and Sean Reinert played guitar and drums, while Steve Di Giorgio supplied bass. That lineup is one reason listeners sometimes confuse Human with albums by Cynic, Atheist, or Gorguts, all major names in technical extreme metal. Human is nevertheless a Death album, and its influence extends well beyond the band's discography; Rolling Stone later ranked it among the greatest metal albums ever made.