Album Review: Tales of Mike – Human

Band: Tales of Mike
Title: Human
Label: Fetzner Death Records
Release date: October 31st, 2025
Country: Germany
Format reviewed: High-Quality Digital Recording

Album Review: Tales of Mike – Human via Fetzner Death Records by Sílvia

Tales of Mike released their debut full-length album, “Human”, on October 31st; lyrically it’s a set of stories, each with its own personality, talking about topics such as the inexorable passing of time, false friendships, the greed for money and some personal struggles. Musically, the songs have a very intense sound, being different from each other, at times with some complex structures and always with excellent composition.

That being said, let me delve a bit more into “Human” and its entrails…

The artist originally behind Tales of Mike is Mike Heß (it’s read Hess), a German musician who started playing music as a tribute to his brother Markus, who passed away some years ago. Creating music was a way to channel the grief and the feeling of loss that Mike felt, and as a result his songs are more than just melodies and harsh or raspy vocals, but a journey through emotions.

Lyrics are written by Mike’s daughter Shannon, and there are two other musicians aboard: Gonzalo Civita, delivering an impressive vocal repertoire, and Henrik Schaller doing the guitar solos. The stunning cover art made by Joss Miranda, and the label Fetzner Death Records releasing this album, it seems like these are perfect pieces that complete the puzzle.

The album opens with “Nomen est Omen”, the voicecut by Bernhard ”Doomchild” Tischler, from Seeds of Doom radio, that was used to introduce the song “RIP (Landscape of Sorrow)” when it was first broadcast. Such an appropriate way to start the album.

The following 7 songs are varied in lyric themes and intensity. “Nevermore” talks about self-improvement, even if those around you try to bring you down, and showing the world your strength, who you are and what you are capable of. With heavy drums, low tuned guitars and vocals that go from slightly harsh to deep growls, even a few clean screams. The pace is dynamic, the bass has a strong pulse, and the main guitar melody is catchy. There’s a fantastic guitar solo, Henrik is a skilled shredder and he does a great work in this album.

“Money Tree” is a critique of the consumer society in which we live, using fast drums pace and repetitive chords, leading into a cheerful guitar solo. The following “Human Masquerade” has an epic style, it’s powerful, with kind of a victorious feeling, and the lyrics are an accurate description of how humans can be hypocrites and false. The initial riff is repeated a lot all through the song and can be stuck in my head for hours. And the vocals, well… Gonzalo goes from raspy voice to screams and to growls in a moment, it’s a really impressive performance.

With “Ancient Mirror”, the pace changes completely. This is a slower song, it’s built on a dark atmosphere and vocals are mostly deep growls. Henrik’ solo seems to emerge from a rip in the foggy ambience, as if escaping from the thick haze that surrounds everything. “Hourglass” has the return of fast drums to emphasize the relentless passing of time and the inevitable end, death. It sounds like a frantic race to nowhere.

The end of the album is near and there are still two gems to go. “Abandoned” is somber, a song full of sorrow. After a heartbreaking intro, drums play with intensity focusing on toms while guitars play a sad tune. Again the slow pace is set, the guitar melodies seem to crawl and drag you to desperation, and the bass resonates deeply, creating a layer of dark emotion. The duality between clean vocals and growls almost hurts, as do the lyrics. The guitar solo is like a bright beam of light piercing the darkness. And “Swan Song”, the closing theme, runs fast, led by powerful drums, and gives a bit of hope to the listener: it’s the end of the journey but we made it, so in the end maybe not all is lost…

An album whose music is playing with the dark side of feelings, with a brilliant guitar solo in each song and a varied vocal work, what more do you want? I find this album is very well crafted and the music is soaked in emotion, this always gains my attention. 9/10

*In case you want to have more information about Mike and his musical project, you can read HERE the interview I made with Mike and Shannon a short time ago.

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9/10 Epic Storm
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