Sixth Extinction

“Sixth Extinction” is the fifth track on Evan Zegiel’s solo heavy metal album, The Human Element, and was the first single released from the album on January 25, 2024. It is a broad commentary on the impact of human activities since the Industrial Revolution. Many scientists believe that we are currently in the Earth’s sixth mass extinction period due to our influence on the global climate. According to the Encyclopedia Britannica: “There have been five unusually large extinction events in Earth’s history. Each one is known by a conspicuous decline in biodiversity that appears in the fossil record lasting up to tens of millions of years afterward. With the onset of each mass extinction event, the relatively sudden loss of vast numbers of species greatly simplified many of Earth’s biological communities or caused them to collapse. Over time, surviving species claimed ecological niches that had been occupied by other species (some of whom may have preyed upon or competed with them), and they filled new niches as ecosystems recovered and new biological communities established themselves.” This track is arguably the most difficult to perform for the solo tubist on the entire album. It utilizes the extended upper register of the horn, reaching up to the high B-flat infamous for tubists due to the original ophicleide part in Hector Berlioz’s Symphonie Fantastique. It requires very fast double-tonguing and precise valve movements in order for the licks to sound clean and match with the thrash metal inspired guitar parts. I hope you enjoy working on this piece and performing it. I hope it encourages reflection and builds awareness for your audience of the slow destruction of our home. I believe that we can turn this trend around; no, I believe we will turn it around.