No matter the day and age, progressive metal has never strayed from the cutting edge. Only Human are fresh on the scene, but the Danish band are already on the brink of a major discovery with their debut album. Planned Obsolescence warns of society’s pending collapse while pushing the genre in a truly forward-thinking direction.
Concept albums are standard issue for metal, especially in the prog space. But when the five members of Only Human first put their heads together in 2023, they decided to build the very human fabric of the band around one increasingly prescient idea. Planned Obsolescence reckons with technology’s increasingly hostile takeover. “Techno Fascist” comes crashing down amidst a turbulent downstream of low-tuned chugs. The intrusion of beats, blips and synthetic swirls into the heavy mainframe of “Breach” mirrors not only how technology has seeped into our everyday lives but also the looming threat that it poses in rendering humans obsolete.
Planned Obsolescence is full of existential dread, but that doesn’t mean the album leaves us no hope. There’s nothing broken or even outdated about Only Human. Amidst the dawn of artificial intelligence, the band’s fusion of heavy polyrhythmic grooves, anthemic hard rock and electronic soundscapes hits like a deep breath of fresh air. “Defy and learn to walk again”, commands blood-pumping lead single “Automata”.
On Planned Obsolescence, Only Human invent existential prog metal for our dystopian future.
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