The album was recorded between August and December 2008 in Chesterfield and London, with the band co-producing alongside Laruso guitarist Carl Bown.

Unlike their first two studio releases, Daniel Conway did not contribute to the album's artwork, instead the band approached Ryohei Hase who digitally painted the cover art.

They confirmed that after completing their tour with Brigade, they would begin writing during the summer and would be posting updates for fans with video diaries from the studio.

The band's vocalist, guitarist and songwriter Charlie Simpson confirmed tentative working titles as "War Machine", "English Way" and "Mercury Summer".

[16] In a live web chat with fans on the official Fightstar forum on 9 April 2009, the band confirmed that the next single is expected to be "Never Change".

One of the new songs could be a cover version of Jordin Sparks' "Battlefield", which the band performed informally earlier in the year in the BBC Radio 1 Live Lounge.

[25] The album was met with positive critical response upon its release, with many reviews praising the band for experimenting with the orchestration elements and ultimately, expanding their sound as a whole.

They break from their own norm with several orchestral elements to make the album sound more full and let the music hit even harder; they're pushing their creative boundaries and it works for the most part".

He also stated the album would have huge reply value and summarised his review by adding; "With Fightstar having released this LP themselves and the aforementioned orchestra appearing on almost every track, it's a 50-minute statement of intent, a dozen songs in which the four-piece declare 'this is the band we've always wanted to be'.

From the opening, orchestral burst of 'Calling on All Stations', the Death Cab-meets-Cure emotional theatrics of 'Give Me the Sky' and the mournful movie script ending of 'Follow Me into the Darkness', immersing yourself in the bipolar world of Be Human is an exhilarating, sometimes heartstopping journey to revisit for years to come".

[30] Victoria Durham of Rock Sound stated, "By now, we know that Fightstar are capable of great things and they're back in business, with nothing less than Hollywood movie scores in their sights".

Awarding the album 8/10, she made comparisons with Biffy Clyro and Silverchair whilst complimenting the broad range found among the songs; "If 'Chemical Blood' and 'Damocles' are the pummelling rock epics, then 'Tonight We Burn' and 'Give Me The Sky' are the experimental, pop-fuelled gems.

[32] Matt Mason of Q magazine, while awarding the album an "excellent" four star review, wrote, "be human reveals itself to be a more complex – and captivating – creature.