Once Human

Studies show that spending time in an isolation tank can be beneficial in boosting a person’s creativity and focus while also relieving tension and stress. It’s as if Once Human spent the last 5 years lying in wait inside an isolation tank, regenerating, and honing in on their focus before unleashing their most creative and cohesive offering to date with their third album, Scar Weaver. Vocalist Lauren Hart visually illustrates this comparison perfectly on the cover of the new album with her determined yet calm expression. She appears as a strong, hardened force ready to incinerate the unsuspecting listeners with her calculated musical assault. This is a spot-on representation for the founding member, and portrayal for the rest of the band, because this is their strongest and most confident performance to date collectively.

The LA-based quintet, (rounded out by co-founding member, and familiar name amongst die-hard metalheads, Logan Mader, chief song writer Max Karon, bassist and producer Damien Rainaud, and drummer Dillon Trollope) have been continuing to up the ante on their musical outputs regularly since the debut of 2015’s, This Life I Remember. They have consistently stayed true to their core of churning out solid, head-banging grooves with each release, but Scar Weaver proves that Once Human are capable of being able to step outside the proverbial box without compromising their groove-laden aesthetic. Guitarist Max Karon’s time as a guitar tech for Fear Factory proves to inject a sense of rejuvenation for the band while simultaneously broadening and defining the sound for which Once Human were always meant to behold. His industrialized and frenetic melodic riffing was hinted at on 2017’s appropriately titled album, Evolution. However, it was capitalized on and undoubtedly cemented with Scar Weaver. Notable moments for Karon’s signature steel-cut, attitudinal riffing includes the beginning of album opener, Eidolon, the prominent riff in their first single Deadlock (which also features guest vocals from Mader’s former band mate and Machine Head main staple, Robb Flynn), and the closing passage in deep cut, Deserted. One, if not all, of these riffs are bound to illicit a brain itch or two for their ability to take up head space rent free.

The depth on Scar Weaver is not lost on any listener even as a long-time fan or newbie giving Once Human their first spin. Whether it’s Hart’s impressively soaring vocal performance laced in beauty and grit throughout (peep tracks Bottom Feeder, Erasure, Cold Arrival, and Only in Death for prime examples), or the computer-glitch esque, anxiety inducing riffs that can be found riddled through the middle chunk of the album, Scar Weaver delivers on leaving something new to be discovered with each listen. Not to mention the stellar production that is superbly crisp and clean without sounding sterilized, this record holds back zero punches and is far from being mundane and predictable. 

Once Human have seemingly found their literal and figurative groove with Scar Weaver. During a time in which bands found themselves having to sink or swim in the unchartered waters of the pandemic, Once Human swam boldly with the currents, emerging triumphantly with the end result that came to fruition in this album. Credit can also be allotted to the band fervently tightening their sound through ample amounts of touring over the years (most recently supporting Cradle of Filth this past fall). Once Human are proof positive that a band can produce significant results by simply doing the work. By persistently grinding, evolving, and raising the bar for themselves in every aspect, they are embodying the tried and true formula for continuing success. Scar Weaver is not only their most dynamic record, but it’s a declarative representation of them staking their claim as serious contenders in the metal-verse. Don’t sleep on Once Human. Just as Hart fiercely displays on the album cover, they have awakened.

By: Amber Elkins