Only Human push past the brink of existence on new single ‘Breach’

ONLY HUMAN are fresh to the prog space. But the Danish upstarts are already on the brink of a major discovery with their debut album. Planned Obsolescence invents an existential form of prog metal that speaks to our not-too-distant dystopia.

Now, ONLY HUMAN are releasing the second advanced single from Planned Obsolescence. “Breach” is pushed past the brink of our existence by despair, but the band’s cutting-edge fusion emerges like a beacon of hope.

“This is a brooding song”, the band’s vocalist Patrick Grønbæch Christensen says. “It’s a lament for how we’ve let cynicism take a permanent hold and lead us past the point of no return”.

Concept albums are standard entries in metal’s archives. But when the five members of ONLY HUMAN came together after connecting online and IRL over everything from The Matrix to Bring Me The Horizon, they wired the band’s framework around one prevailing idea.

“We like a lot of bands that just play rock music, but we wanted ONLY HUMAN to be about something”, says Christensen, who also produced, mixed and mastered Planned Obsolescence. “This album is supposed to wake people up to all the ways technocracy is encroaching on society. We now live in a reality where humans are products to be consumed and disposed of”.

While the first single from Planned Obsolescence cautioned against technology automating our every waking decision, “Breach” raises the alarm to a full-on blast. Scrambled electronics, dissonant guitars and pulse-pounding drums blare over the speakers, warning those asleep at the wheels of society that now is the time to hit eject. “Aimless in the midst of disaster” , Christensen screams in terror, as if preparing for the impact of our inevitable collapse.

“Self-destructive tendencies are a natural force in the world”, Christensen says, “but it’s our own choices and weaknesses that ultimately will them into existence”.

Planned Obsolescence presents a vision for the future that’s far beyond sunshine and rainbows. “Breach” ends the album not on the verge of apocalypse but spiraling into the void amidst soul-crushing riffs. Even the glowing keys appear like a comet bound for Earth. But while fueled by existential dread, ONLY HUMAN arrive as a beacon of hope. “Do you feel what I feel?”. In the age of artificial intelligence, the band’s combination of prog, djent, hard rock and electronics isn’t just meaningful but vital.

Catch ONLY HUMAN live and in the flesh during Sweden Rock Festival and Naestved Metalfest.

ONLY HUMAN Live in 2026
May 2 – Copenhagen, DK @ Rust
June 3-6 – Sölvesborg, SE @ Sweden Rock Festival
August 27-29 – Næstved, DK @ Næstved Metalfest

Despite evolving with greater speed and scope than other corners of the metal archives, progressive metal never strays from the cutting edge. ONLY HUMAN are fresh on the scene, having signed with Season of Mist at the beginning of 2026 ahead of an appearance at this year’s Sweden Rock Festival. But the Danish band are already on the brink of a major discovery with their debut album. With Planned Obsolescence, they’ve invented an existential form of prog metal that warns of our not-too-distant dystopia.

“The album is supposed to wake people up to all the ways technocracy is encroaching on society”, says vocalist Patrick Grønbæch Christensen. “Tech companies often design their products to have an expiration date, so that we’re forced to replace them with the newest model. Through our social media and the adoption of influencer culture, we now live in a reality where humans are products to be consumed and disposed of”.

ONLY HUMAN were assembled through online and IRL connections. The band started in 2022 with Christensen on both guitar and vocals and drummer Andreas Pröll. The two were soon joined by bassist Guillaume Blanjean. As their music grew in scope and became more ambitious, they decided to recruit additional guitarists. Martin Hastrup and JaCK Kijne joined in 2024, just as Planned Obsolescence was starting to take shape.

All five members of ONLY HUMAN are brought together by a vast host of shared interests. The band’s name comes from a pivotal scene in The Matrix. Other late ‘90s totems — from drum ‘n’ bass to Linkin Park and Opeth — twisted together with the modern-day influence of TesseracT, Periphery and Bring Me The Horizon to inform their collective DNA. But from the very beginning, they were determined to deviate from the norm.

“We like a lot of bands that just play rock music, but we wanted ONLY HUMAN to be about something”, Christensen says. “We’re interested in creating a musical universe that portrays a future on the brink of collapse”.

Planned Obsolescence reckons with technology’s increasingly hostile takeover. One of the first songs that ONLY HUMAN wrote together, lead single “Automata” expands from a scrolling syncopated rhythms into mainframe-shaking grooves, as the surrounding world narrows in on itself. “We’ve offloaded critical thought”, says Christensen, who also took on all phases of the production process. “We’re not really doing things because we want to do them. It’s because an algorithm has decided that’s what we should do”. Brain rot might be the silent killer for today’s digital age, but the steady intrusion of beats, blips and synthetic patches into the album’s song wiring imitates how corporate greed and invasive technologies fight to control our day-to-day existence. Like a virus, “Techno Fascist” emerges unsuspectingly before it comes crashing down amidst a turbulent stream of low-tuned chugs.

ONLY HUMAN’s vision for the future verges on apocalyptic. “Breach” closes the album by looking past the point of no return. Amidst its crushing despair, even the song’s glowing keys appear like a comet bound for Earth. But while fueled by existential dread, Planned Obsolescence isn’t void of hope. After all, there’s nothing broken, outmoded or dated about this new band. Unlike the attempts of artificial intelligence, their fusion of prog, djent, hard rock and electronic soundscapes is the product of much care and hard work. They had to tinker with several different versions before “Steep Descent” finally reached its climactic bridge. “Cast your flame beyond this bleak reality”, Christensen beckons as dizzying melodies and a stellar guitar solo propel him and his bandmates into the next stratosphere.

“When the world is going badly, the reason is because people gave up”, Christensen concludes. “Things aren’t hopeless. We can absolutely fight back. Hopefully, this album gets people to think about valuing humanity over profit”.

Lineup:
Patrick Grønbæch Christensen — Vocals
Martin Hastrup — Guitars
JaCK Kijne — Guitars
Andreas Pröll — Drums
Guillaume Blanjean — Bass