Only Human break the system on new single ‘Techno Fascist’

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

Today, ONLY HUMAN are releasing the third and final advanced single from Planned Obsolescence. “Techno Fascist” confronts the forces corrupting our society with the band’s cutting-edge fusion of prog, classic rock and modern metal.

“At the core of ‘Techno Fascist’ is a confrontation with the privatized technocratic establishments of today”, Only Human vocalist Patrick Grønbæch Christensen says. “The song questions the acceptance of disruptive technology as an inevitability while also asserting that we all have a choice in whether we want to risk losing our humanity to a soulless system that guides our every move”.

Concept albums are standard entries in metal’s vaunted archives. But few bands are hardwired around a core idea.  “We like a lot of bands that just play rock music”, Christensen explains, ”but we wanted ONLY HUMAN to be about something”.

Planned Obsolescence reckons with technology’s increasingly hostile takeover. “Tech companies often design their products to have an expiration date, so that we’re forced to replace them with the newest model”, Christensen explains. Like a virus, “Techno Fascist” goes undetected at first. Electronics glisten like a dream of utopia before the song comes crashing down amidst a turbulent stream of low-tuned chugs.

“The album is supposed to wake people up to all the ways technocracy is encroaching on society”, Christensen says. “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 arrive with a bleak vision for our future. While ushered in by an enchanting keyboard, “Techno Fascist” culminates with a breakdown that’s truly crushing. “Cut from the cord, you’re obsolete”, Christensen warns with fearsome growls. But while Planned Obsolescence is fueled by existential dread, the band’s inventive approach proves there’s still hope. By toggling between headbanging riffs,  an eye-opening solo, soothing cleans and prog’s synthetic folds, they repeatedly find new ways to break the system.

“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”.

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