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Transhuman | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | April 11, 2011 | |||
Recorded | August–December 2010 | |||
Genre | Technical thrash metal, progressive metal, progressive death metal | |||
Label | Metal Blade | |||
Producer | The Trauma Team | |||
Believer chronology | ||||
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Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
About.com | [1] |
Blistering | [2] |
Cross Rhythms | [3] |
Decibel | 2/10 [4] |
Lords of Metal | 92/100 [5] |
Metal.de | 9/10 [6] |
Metal Hammer Germany | 4/7 [7] |
The Phantom Tollbooth | [8] |
Powermetal.de | 8.50/10 [9] |
SputnikMusic | [10] |
Transhuman is the fifth studio album by American technical thrash metal band Believer, released on April 11, 2011 on Metal Blade Records.
A concept album, the band stated that the lyrics deal with transhumanism, "The study of the ramifications, promises, and potential dangers of technologies that will enable us to overcome fundamental human limitations, and the related study of the ethical matters involved in developing and using such technologies." The band stated that the source of inspiration was Dr. Ginger Campbell’s Brain Science Podcast, which explores recent discoveries in neuroscience, as well as Dr. Thomas Metzinger’s scientific research and philosophical study of consciousness and the self. [10]
Musically, the band stated that they "focused more on the overall musicality which included more instrumental layers than we used before." [11] Sputnik Music noted that the band dropped most of the aggressive thrash metal elements in favor of more melodic, modern, mid-tempo and mechanical style. [10] About.com reviewer wrote that the album's genre is difficult to pigeon hole, featuring elements of industrial, psychedelic and soundtrack music among technical metal. [12]
Believer
Additional musicians
Production
Design
Death metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. It typically employs heavily distorted and low-tuned guitars, played with techniques such as palm muting and tremolo picking; deep growling vocals; aggressive, powerful drumming, featuring double kick and blast beat techniques; minor keys or atonality; abrupt tempo, key, and time signature changes; and chromatic chord progressions. The lyrical themes of death metal may include slasher film-style violence, political conflict, religion, nature, philosophy, true crime and science fiction.
Speed metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music that originated in the late 1970s from new wave of British heavy metal (NWOBHM) roots. It is described by AllMusic as "extremely fast, abrasive, and technically demanding" music.
Progressive metal is a broad fusion music genre melding heavy metal and progressive rock, combining the loud "aggression" and amplified guitar-driven sound of the former with the more experimental, cerebral or "pseudo-classical" compositions of the latter.
Thrash metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music characterized by its overall aggression and often fast tempo. The songs usually use fast percussive beats and low-register guitar riffs, overlaid with shredding-style lead guitar work. The lyrical subject matter often includes criticism of The Establishment, opposition to armed conflicts, and at times shares a disdain for the Christian religion with that of black metal. The language is typically direct and denunciatory, an approach borrowed from hardcore punk.
Power metal is a subgenre of heavy metal combining characteristics of traditional heavy metal with speed metal, often within a symphonic context. Generally, power metal is characterized by a faster, lighter, and more uplifting sound, in contrast with the heaviness and dissonance prevalent in, for example, extreme metal. Power metal bands usually have anthem-like songs with fantasy-based subject matter and strong choruses, thus creating a theatrical, dramatic and emotionally "powerful" sound.
Cryptopsy is a Canadian technical death metal band from Montreal, formed in 1988.
Schizophrenia is the second studio album by Brazilian thrash metal band Sepultura, released on October 30, 1987 by Cogumelo Records. It is the first album for the band with Andreas Kisser. The album's sound leans more towards the death/thrash metal genre than the previous album Morbid Visions, which is stylistically closer to black metal. All songs were recorded during August 1987, except for the bonus track "Troops of Doom" which was recorded during August 26–27, 1990.
A number of heavy metal genres have developed since the emergence of heavy metal during the late 1960s and early 1970s. At times, heavy metal genres may overlap or are difficult to distinguish, but they can be identified by a number of traits. They may differ in terms of instrumentation, tempo, song structure, vocal style, lyrics, guitar playing style, drumming style, and so on.
Alice in Hell is the debut studio album by Canadian thrash metal band Annihilator, released on April 17, 1989 through Roadrunner Records. This was the only Annihilator album for ten years to feature Randy Rampage on vocals, until he returned for their seventh studio album Criteria for a Black Widow (1999).
Believer is an American technical thrash metal band from the late 1980s and early 1990s, that plays a hybrid of thrash and progressive metal. Believer is known for its innovative use of symphonic elements in thrash metal, featuring some of the earliest examples of symphonic metal. Their lyrics deal with topics of philosophy, theology and social issues.
Cause for Conflict is the seventh studio album by German thrash metal band Kreator released on 1 August, 1995.
Grin is the fifth studio album by the Swiss thrash metal band Coroner, released in 1993. It was the band's final album before their fourteen-year break up from 1996 to 2010, and to date, other than several new tracks on the 1995 compilation album Coroner, Grin remains the most recent studio album by the band. It is also the last Coroner album to feature drummer Marky Edelmann, who left the band in 2014.
Blessing in Disguise is the third studio album by American heavy metal band Metal Church, released on February 7, 1989.
The Blueprint Dives is the fourth studio release by the Norwegian Christian metal band Extol. Recorded at the end of 2004 at Top Room Studios and produced by Børge Finstad and Extol, Blueprint was released on 21 February 2005 on Century Media. The album met with a widely positive reception and received a Spellemannprisen nomination. On this album, Ole Børud and Christer Espevoll left Extol, and the band was joined by the members of the rock band Ganglión, Tor Magne S. Glidje and Ole Halvard Sveen.
Gabriel is the fourth full-length album by the American technical thrash metal band Believer, released on March 17, 2009 on Cesspool Recordings, an imprint of Metal Blade Records. A comeback album, it is the band's first new release since 1993. The album was met with mostly positive reviews.
No More Color is Swiss thrash metal band Coroner's third album, released in 1989.
Cyanotic is a Chicago-based industrial rock collective fronted by Sean Payne that formed in 2002 and released its first full-length album in 2005. Cyanotic is known for its genre-blending work, which fuses traditional industrial beats and vocals with drum n bass, sampling and heavy metal to create a hard, aggressive sound. The band's lyrics contain many tongue-in-cheek references to transhumanism.
Prisoners is the third studio album by Canadian metal band the Agonist. It was released on June 4 in Europe and June 5, 2012 in North America via Century Media records and was produced by the band's longtime producer Christian Donaldson. "Ideomotor" has been confirmed as the first single. The album sold 1,400 copies in the United States in the first week of its release and debuted at No. 19 on the Top New Artist Albums (Heatseekers) chart. This is the last album with original singer Alissa White-Gluz before she joined Arch Enemy in 2014.
Extol is the fifth full-length studio album by the Norwegian Christian progressive death metal band Extol, released in 2013. It was described by music critics as a mixture of death and progressive metal, with some melodic elements. Reviews of the album were very positive, and the album managed to chart on the Billboard Top Christian Albums chart.
Omen is the fourth studio album by the Norwegian Christian extreme metal band Antestor, released by Bombworks Records on November 16, 2012. Recording began in 2011, and was mostly conducted at the home of vocalist Ronny Hansen. The album cover is a painting by Polish artist Zdzisław Beksiński, and depicts a deformed, many-fingered humanoid creature playing a trumpet. Antestor met with critical praise for its musicianship and the progressive sound on the recording. Critics described the sound as primarily black metal, though the band prefers the more general term "extreme metal" to describe the sound on Omen.