I first learned of camaraderie among death metal fans at a local metal record store. I am not sure if (both events happened while wearing death metal shirts) some kid plastering himself on the window of the pharmacy yelling "Cannibal Corpse rocks!" or another kid at the mall screaming "Fucking Dying Fetus man!" counts as camaraderie. This was at the time when Human Remains released their Using Sickness as a Hero EP on Relapse. Being a novice death metal fan at the time, I used liner notes of popular bands to do research on other bands. While scouring the used section, I came across the previously mentioned disc and while holding it, two random metal guys said, "Dude, you have to get that." They also recommended Mayhem’s De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas. So, now that I look back, I would like to thank these two guys, especially for their Human Remains suggestion.

Now, for all you lucky bastards, Relapse released all of their material on two discs, so you don’t have to scour the 7" bin at the record store for their old stuff. Human Remains is regarded by many as being influential in some capacity, however, I have never really heard of another band that sounds quite the same. Former members of Human Remains found themselves in such bands as Discordance Axis, Burnt by the Sun, Black Army Jacket, East/West Blast Test, Hope Collapse, and Phantomsmasher. Actually, most of these bands feature drummer Dave Witte. However, it is testament to the fact that Human Remains had a myriad of influences and it can be heard in the music from classic death metal, to noise, to straightforward hardcore structures. In terms of this collection, I would advise listening to Disc 2 first, then tracks 1-3 and 11-14 on the fist disc. Finally, I would give their final disc (tracks 4-10 on the first disc) a listen. The purpose of this would be to get a real sense of the band’s progression as a musical force.

Human Remains is a difficult band to truly describe except for the vocals. They remind me of Luc Lemay’s vocals on Erosion of Sanity. They are extremely throaty and shouted. I actually find them quite good and a welcomed change from the usual nonsense. Their 1990 demo contains tracks that are not Human Remains like, so to speak. These tracks have that Atheist-style thrashiness with a prominent thundering bass line and sound much like a demo from 1990 would sound like with all the usual influences such as Atheist, Death, Autopsy, and Cynic. However, there are moments of heavy grind and blasting that would become the forte of Human Remains. From this point on (in keeping with the way these discs should be listened to) we can hear the progression of the band. Most noticeable is the incorporation of more abstract whammy bar and knob turning madness and harmonics, more discernable notes which reflects an increase of skill over time, and more stop and go, speed combined with slower heavier parts. Overall, Human Remains is a technical outfit with odd song structures, a thick sound, and a quirkiness that has never been mimicked. Dave Witte is a monster on the drums and is able to perform coherent drum lines in the midst of madness.

My personal favorites are the Relapse EP which shows the band at its best, and the Metal Blade demo (they didn’t sign these guys? I guess they needed money for the groundbreaking Sacred Reich disc at the time) for its muddy sound. The other tracks, not counting the 1990 demo, have a similar recording sound and are also very good and sound much like the latest Human Remains.

After writing this review, I have realized that it may be true that Human Remains has had a large influence on many bands, but not directly. It is that idea of controlled chaos and creating a wall of sound that few bands have been able to do. Human Remains also mastered the idea of changing tempos on a dime, from blistering, noisy grind parts, to slower, groovier parts, leaving the listener with a barefoot kick to the crotch. This is an excellent collection of the band’s material and a worthy purchase, especially since you get all of the band’s releases. One of the few bands that experimented with the death metal sound without becoming overly technical, soft, or categorized as jazz/progressive/funk/ambient/easy listening death metal or whatever other type of bullshit name you can place in front of the term "death metal."

Written By: Double Ds