Album art by: Guillaume Blanjean
Style: Progressive metal, djent, metalcore (mixed vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Tesseract, Textures, The Contortionist
Country: Denmark
Release date: 27 March 2026
In The Techno-Optimist Manifesto, the venture capitalist Marc Andreessen outlines his pro-AI stance, his total opposition to any regulation on Silicon Valley’s operations, and at one point remarks: ‘We believe any deceleration of AI will cost lives. Deaths that were preventable by the AI that was prevented from existing is a form of murder.’ Elsewhere he has rejected the utility of introspection, donated $2.5 billion to the 2024 Trump campaign1, and is a key investor in AI military hardware companies which are being developed and utilised in current conflicts2, as well as companies conducting human trials in third world countries in order to circumvent regulatory oversight3. Even fellow billionaire supervillain Peter Thiel, in his series of lectures about the antichrist (who he thinks might be Greta Thunberg), name-checked Andreessen as a possible antichrist figure, although ultimately reasoned he didn’t fit the profile ‘because, you know, the antichrist is popular.’ Andreessen, perhaps more than any other figure, exemplifies the intersection between reactionary politics, ideological fervour, and a quasi-religious faith4 in AI, all rooted in a desire to control and subjugate.
Standing up to our current AI-based malaise is Danish progressive metal outfit Only Human. Their debut album Planned Obsolescence—named for the practice of industries intentionally designing products in a way that decreases their lifespan, forcing consumers to replace them more frequently5—combines progressive metalcore and djent influences with a strong undercurrent of synth, while railing against the grim future portended by a system of thought that threatens to make humanity itself obsolete. Vocalist Patrick Grønbæch Christensen bears comparison with the likes of Daniel Tompkins (Tesseract) and Michael Lessard (The Contortionist), but retains a little more of that classic metalcore whine, while the rhythm section sits somewhere on the Tesseract to Textures spectrum, combining pacey riffage with a cinematic weave of layers.
Planned Obsolescence excels in its sense of contrast, unafraid of more restrained and melodic pieces (“The Sun and the Moon”, “Aspire”) that even stray into The Contortionist-style ballad territory (“Death Cult”) utilising moody piano, cinematic ambience, and soft synth textures. Naturally, when Only Human descend steeply into outright metal, the breakneck riffs, strafing drum work, and vocal brinkmanship hit all the harder. Christensen’s fry screams always threaten to break over into growls but often hold back. Guitar solos veer between climactic melodising (“Aspire”) and chaotic shred (“Drift”). Keys, too, are utilised to great effect throughout, from the tasteful piano work on “The Sun and the Moon” to the Diego Tejeida (Temic, ex-Haken) inspired dubstep swells on “Breach”. Album highlight “Steep Descent” builds slowly but inexorably to a galloping riff accompanied by synth arpeggios firing like neuronic impulses, some melodic shredding, and a lovely little backing vocal run from Christensen. On occasion, the band employ vocoder, which neatly evokes the tech-based themes.
Lyrically and thematically, Only Human explore a directory load of technological themes; overreliance on technology (“Aspire”), and the melding of human mind with machine intelligence (“Breach”). “Drift”, which refers to the tendency of mistakes in AI models to compound, knowingly touches on the existential fears regarding the advent of Large Language Models and the inevitable flaws in their design: ‘you’ll live with my mistakes, you’ll wear my pretty face.’ While “Steep Descent”—the title of which references gradient descent algorithms designed to minimise error rates in machine learning—imagines the burning hatred of a sentient machine. Unflashy in their writing, further contemplation reveals more considered depths to Planned Obsolence’s lyrics.
Nevertheless, there are moments when Only Human draw too deeply from the well of their influences; a riff here smacking a little too hard of Concealing Fate, a vocal run there leaning a little too hard into Lessard. The conceptual focus of Planned Obsolescence keeps the band tight, however, and one can hear that the band are already starting to cement their own voice. The production job by Christensen, meanwhile, excels where a lot of self-produced projects falter. While the drums can be a little loud in the mix, everything else is strong, particularly the layering of ambiences and the prominence of the bass.
Grounded in an uncomfortably familiar sense of techno-pessimism, Only Human have crafted a powerful and thoughtful condemnation of a likely direction for our world, bolstered by seismic riffs and an irrepressible sense of melody. Given time, Only Human have potential to become a big hitter in the scene. And time may not be what we have much of if the likes of Andreessen get their way. Order a vinyl before the AI economic bubble bursts6!
Recommended tracks: Steep Descent, Techno Fascist, Breach
You may also like: Monosphere, Soulsplitter, Ions
Final verdict: 7.5/10
Related links: Bandcamp | Facebook | Instagram
Label: Season of Mist
Only Human is:
– Patrick Grønbæch Christensen (vocals)
– Martin Hastrup (guitars)
– Jack Kijne (guitars)
– Andreas Pröll (drums)
– Guillaume Blanjean (bass)
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