Pic by Micke Sandström
Jens Kidman - Vocals
Mårten Hagström - Guitars
Dick Lövgren - Bass
Fredrik Thordendal - Guitars
Tomas Haake - Drums
Meshuggah are one of the few bands that make me consider Sweden as the "Land of Metal" in the stead of Finland. The Finnish might be born with metal in their blood and it seems that 4 out of every 5 new bands in Finland are playing metal, but when the Swedes play metal, they do it like no other band. And really, there is not a single band in the world that would come close to being as awesome as these silly Swedes.
And not to mention the dozens and dozens of bands that have named Meshuggah as their influence. These Swedes are also the true progenitors of this sub-genre of metal known as "djent" - a brand of metal involving very downtuned guitars playing odd, angular riffs (this description sounds meshuggah-y, no?)
Having discovered Meshuggah back in 2005, during the aftermath of just-released Catch Thirtythree, I really did not see the point in their music. What I had heard, Meshuggah was the most awesome death metal band ever. But to me, they had just all these weird, off-beat rhythms and a vocalist whose voice made even my throat hurt. This band sounded like a rabid orangutang that was trying to play metal. During an earthquake. In a hurricane.
But then it hit me. A major portion of this band's appeal lies in the hands of their drummer, Tomas Haake. Literally. While his kick drums follow the strange, angular, off-beat rhythms that the guitars chunk away, his hands keep a constant 4/4 beat with the cymbals and the snare drum. So practically, the band just plays in a simple 4/4 time with seemingly irrational and random syncopation that actually follows often complex polymeters. And on top of delivering these amazing rhythms, Haake also writes the majority of their lyrics and is responsible of their artwork and design, thus being probably the biggest driving force behind the band.
In addition to their highly complex rhythmics, they are very known for their incredibly low-tuned instruments. Originally they played thrash metal not unlike early Metallica, but quickly their sound started to change with 7-stringed guitars that could reach pretty low notes. These guitars were in turn down-tuned, to reach notes even lower and lower.
During their 2002 release, Nothing, the band had gained then-experimental 8-string guitars that could reach notes so low that they were previously reserved for basses only. Alas, these guitars proved to be faulty; they could not stay in tune at all. However, the band got quickly their hands on 8-string Ibanez guitars that seemed to work like a charm - this being deduced from the fact that the band re-recorded Nothing in 2006 with these new guitars, and they have played with them since.
But bar the few early, thrashy records, Meshuggah's timeline can't be really divided into "eras", but instead to different albums. Their earlier records have been full of somehow complex, yet often pretty straightforward songs, up until Destroy Erase Improve (1995), in which they began to really emphasize the complex rhythms. Chaosphere (1998) was again more straightforward, but faster and more aggressive, whereas Nothing (2002) was slower, groovier and thicker. I (2004) and Catch Thirtythree (2005) were long, sprawling records that consisted of single, continuous pieces that were divided into several movements.
Their most acclaimed album to date, obZen (2008), was a fusion of their more straightforward and aggressive stuff and their slower, more complex and groovier stuff, delivered in a perfect and balanced marriage of their best sides. It has both those raw, angry, thrashy songs, and those thick and groovy tracks with ever-so-odd rhythms and polymeters.
Regarding the evolution of the band, which has remained constantly evolving and always interesting, I'm starting to get a little bit impatient on their new album, scheduled to be released in early 2012...
And not to mention the dozens and dozens of bands that have named Meshuggah as their influence. These Swedes are also the true progenitors of this sub-genre of metal known as "djent" - a brand of metal involving very downtuned guitars playing odd, angular riffs (this description sounds meshuggah-y, no?)
Having discovered Meshuggah back in 2005, during the aftermath of just-released Catch Thirtythree, I really did not see the point in their music. What I had heard, Meshuggah was the most awesome death metal band ever. But to me, they had just all these weird, off-beat rhythms and a vocalist whose voice made even my throat hurt. This band sounded like a rabid orangutang that was trying to play metal. During an earthquake. In a hurricane.
But then it hit me. A major portion of this band's appeal lies in the hands of their drummer, Tomas Haake. Literally. While his kick drums follow the strange, angular, off-beat rhythms that the guitars chunk away, his hands keep a constant 4/4 beat with the cymbals and the snare drum. So practically, the band just plays in a simple 4/4 time with seemingly irrational and random syncopation that actually follows often complex polymeters. And on top of delivering these amazing rhythms, Haake also writes the majority of their lyrics and is responsible of their artwork and design, thus being probably the biggest driving force behind the band.
In addition to their highly complex rhythmics, they are very known for their incredibly low-tuned instruments. Originally they played thrash metal not unlike early Metallica, but quickly their sound started to change with 7-stringed guitars that could reach pretty low notes. These guitars were in turn down-tuned, to reach notes even lower and lower.
During their 2002 release, Nothing, the band had gained then-experimental 8-string guitars that could reach notes so low that they were previously reserved for basses only. Alas, these guitars proved to be faulty; they could not stay in tune at all. However, the band got quickly their hands on 8-string Ibanez guitars that seemed to work like a charm - this being deduced from the fact that the band re-recorded Nothing in 2006 with these new guitars, and they have played with them since.
But bar the few early, thrashy records, Meshuggah's timeline can't be really divided into "eras", but instead to different albums. Their earlier records have been full of somehow complex, yet often pretty straightforward songs, up until Destroy Erase Improve (1995), in which they began to really emphasize the complex rhythms. Chaosphere (1998) was again more straightforward, but faster and more aggressive, whereas Nothing (2002) was slower, groovier and thicker. I (2004) and Catch Thirtythree (2005) were long, sprawling records that consisted of single, continuous pieces that were divided into several movements.
Their most acclaimed album to date, obZen (2008), was a fusion of their more straightforward and aggressive stuff and their slower, more complex and groovier stuff, delivered in a perfect and balanced marriage of their best sides. It has both those raw, angry, thrashy songs, and those thick and groovy tracks with ever-so-odd rhythms and polymeters.
Regarding the evolution of the band, which has remained constantly evolving and always interesting, I'm starting to get a little bit impatient on their new album, scheduled to be released in early 2012...
***
My top-10 list of songs that are worth checking out:
Bleed
Combustion
Dancers to a Discordant System
Dehumanization
Future Breed Machine
I
Neurotica
New Millennium Cyanide Christ
Rational Gaze
The Mouth Licking What You've Bled
***
Reviewed albums:
Catch Thirtythree (2005) - 72/100
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