Review Summary: Humanity’s Last Breath can be described as a hybrid of Vildhjarta’s atmospheric riffs, and The Acacia Strain vocals circa 2006 – which, considering that Vildhjarta is practically the lovechild of Meshuggah and Opeth, is a pretty impressive and rare
With majority of the metal scene in recent times aiming for a more vocally melodic approach, anyone who grew up on - and perhaps even out of – death metal will naturally be drawn to the self-titled, debut album by Humanity’s Last Breath; which incorporates the best of progressive tunes and all things heavy.
Standout tracks include ‘Animal’, ‘Bellua, Pt. 2’, and ‘Human Swarm’. Holding the second-highest popularity rating within it’s album on iTunes, Bellua, Pt. 2 serves as an anchoring track - providing all aspects of the album in one composition; whether it be vocalist Marcus Hultqvist’s spoken-word build ups to breakdowns, or Buster Odeholm’s ability to so effortlessly transfer from syncopated rhythms to blast-beats within short intervals of time.
However, if you were wondering which track held the highest popularity rating, it’s ‘Animal’ – and rightly so! The previously released single maintains intensity amongst the controlled ‘staggering’ across the fret-board, impressively done so by guitarist Kristoffer Nilsson. As for “tone talk” - the band’s cut-through tone is best displayed in ‘Human Swarm’ where consideration for EQ is evident. Nothing better than a technical, heavy band ramping up the mids a little more than the standard.
Put to those who haven’t heard the album yet, Humanity’s Last Breath can be described as a hybrid of Vildhjarta’s atmospheric riffs, and The Acacia Strain vocals circa 2006 – which, considering that Vildhjarta is practically the lovechild of Meshuggah and Opeth, is a pretty impressive and rare find. Although, the only negative of this is; if you play certain passages of the album to a friend, you could manage to almost convince them that it is new Vildhjarta.
Luckily for all, it’s not quite! Which is what makes this album so lovable. The drumming and vox scream (pardon the pun) “Death metal”, but the guitaring says “Nup. Djent”. Not to mention the massive brownie-points that result from additional instrumental recordings of every track, and killer cover artwork by Erik Burton Kirchner.
Considering everything previously mentioned, this album would no doubt be an exciting addition to your iTunes library and definitely worth purchasing.