Meshuggah

(1987-)

Pic by Micke Sandström

My definitive lineup:
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...

***

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

Meshuggah // Catch Thirtythree

Album: Meshuggah - Catch Thirtythree (2005)
13 tracks / 47:18
Acquired: April 2010

Vocals, guitars, bass, drum programming: Jens Kidman
Guitars, bass, drum programming: Frederik Thordendal, Mårten Hagström
Drum programming, vocals: Tomas Haake

Catch Thirtythree is pretty an experimental album even for a band as experimental as Meshuggah. For those who don't know, the Swedish oddballs of Meshuggah are distinguished from other metal bands by the deep, thick sound that comes from their incredibly low-tuned guitars and their penchant for writing songs with really off-beat rhythms that are centered around a 4/4 core beat maintained by the drum cymbals.

However, the songs themselves are usually quite normal, with intros, outros and a general length of three to seven minutes. Instead Catch Thirtythree is one, more or less seamless piece that can be regarded even as one, single song with length of more than 40 minutes. The album is divided into 13 songs, but they are not songs per se, but instead sections - thematical changes of their own - that have been titled.

Unlike in other Meshuggah releases, the drums on this album are not recorded live drums, but instead programmed ones, created with drummer Tomas Haake's drum machine, Drumkit from Hell. However, this fact does not make this album any less amazing.

The only problem the listener might face when approaching this album is the fact, that one continuous suite of crushing, polyrhythmic death metal is quite a big chunk to swallow. Honestly. We shall see how I will manage.

1. Autonomy Lost (1:40)

Opening suddenly with a slow, sludgy, and heavily syncopated groove track, "Autonomy Lost" sets the mood of what is to come. However, containing only a short bridge section in addition to its "verse" riffs, this section really doesn't progress anywhere, being mostly of this one riff.
6/10

2. Imprint of the Un-Saved (1:36)

Continuing seamlessly with the bridge section of "Autonomy Lost", Catch Thirtythree starts gaining momentum slowly and steadily. However, this section has only minimal difference with the first one, being almost a repetition of the first one with only slight variation.
6/10

3. Disenchantment (1:45)

The sludgy and groovy riff continues with ever-so-subtle variations in both the guitars and the drums. However, an abrupt stop with semi-whispered vocals bring in the first real change in the song.
7/10

4. The Paradoxical Spiral (3:13)

The riff ceases with a long guitar break that finally evolves into the traditional, angular Meshuggah riffery. Also Jens Kidman seems to have gained some fury and anger behind his voice, giving the odd rhythms and complex drums strong support.
8/10

5. Re-Inanimate (1:04)

This short section continues in the same style as "The paradoxical Spiral" but with less anger, being a more restrained movement with long, rumbling bass breaks and more quiet vocals.
7/10

6. Entrapment (2:29)

"Entrapment" introduces the fierce vocals in the vein of "The Paradoxical Spiral", but also introducing more complex and more angular riffs on which Frederik Thordendal plays a screeching, atonal guitar solo, before progressing on to a slow, repetitive sludge riff. "Entrapment" is the first section that could work even as a song on its own.
9/10

7. Mind's Mirrors (4:30)

"Mind's Mirrors" works as a bridge movement between the first and second movements of this massive song. It begins with rumbling, detuned, distorted bass that reminds me more of some massive beast than an instrument, before moving on to a spoken word section with heavily synthesized vocals.

The last part of "Mind's Mirrors" is a quiet interlude with a clean guitar playing single notes and a drony bass supporting the accompaniment, until crashing down with, heavy, discordant shift in the end.

Seeing this as an interlude, this really doesn't work as a single song on its own, being pretty drony with nothing really happening.
5/10

8. In Death - Is Life (2:02)

The latter half of the album is introduced with angrier, more intensive riffing in a higher tempo. This sounds most like the Meshuggah of the obZen era. Really intense and heavy stuff with a driving and surprisingly groovy riff.
8/10

9. In Death - Is Death (13:22)

The album progresses into the lengthiest track of the album. "In Death - Is Death" is a massive section, which begins with fits of Jens Kidman rage, really angular riffing, very abrupt stop rhythms and everything. During its course it progresses with numeral mood and style shifts, delving and evolving those odd riffs, rhythms and harmonic textures with buzzsawing guitar leads. However, it does not remain as a constant rumbler as it has a couple of short pauses, one even with very odd guitar synth -like sound - yet never leaving those odd polymeters behind until it returns to the lengthy, dark-yet-jazzy clean guitar -movement introduced in Mind's Mirrors, that grows steadily in intensity, before rumbling on to "Shed".
8/10

10. Shed (3:35)

For a short moment Meshuggah plays at full blast, before moving on to more restrained, muted riffery with raspy, croaked vocals. "Shed" is a heavy-yet-rather-quiet section when compared to the rest of the tracks, yet retains that incredible, massive and oppressive atmosphere throughout its length.
7/10

11. Personae Non Gratae (1:47)

"Personae Non Gratae" kicks in after a minimal pause that might fool some people to think the album has reached its end.

The riffs keep evolving without a notice, and suddenly you realize that once again here is a riff that sounds like all the rest of what I've heard, yet I'm sure I haven't heard it before.

However, this section does not stir any positive nor negative feelings, and remains as yet another rather faceless section of the album.
5/10

12. Dehumanization (2:57)

And suddenly the atmosphere changes yet again, and this time it feels that they have reached the level of intensity, anger and pure extreme they haven't visited yet. Really, I think that "Dehumanization" might just be the heaviest stuff they have ever composed.

The riffs and rhythms are incredibly heavy yet groovy, and they work as perfect accompaniment to the angriest growls and screams Jens Kidman has probably ever performed.

One of the sections that works on its own perfectly, though ending abruptly due to its segue to "Shed".
10/10

13. Sum (7:17)

The final section of the album is more or less a continuation of "Dehumanization" with the level of anger and intensity slightly decreased and instead replaced with more massive wall of sound and harmonic textures.

Finally the album visits the quiet dark-jazz phase for the third and final time, wrapping the massive album up.
8/10

***

Final verdict
Reviewing Catch Thirtythree like a normal album is not an easy task, due to its structure of a one seamless song that is divided into three or four separate movements (the first half, "Mind's Mirrors", the middle part and the final two songs). However, even Meshuggah themselves have said that this album should not be regarded as a traditional full-length album but instead an experiment following the 22-minute I-EP, that consisted of a one single song.

The problem is that should I have viewed and scored these sections as whole movements instead of the shorter sections divided by the band? Now it felt that some sections seemed to be too short and could have worked better if I had regarded them as a clump of sections instead of several ones. But seeing as I don't want to divide this album into my own, arbitrary movements, I'm going to score it as it is - a song of 13 sections.

As a continuous, 40-minute-plus suite of death metal, the album is pretty big a task to listen through even for a fan of Meshuggah, mostly due to the amount of repetition, but also because of the feeling of monotony that begins raising its ugly head sooner or later. The jazzy and dark interludes create much needed variation to the songs, but become rather dull when they last for too long. They work as great interludes when used inside a song, but only for a duration of a couple of bars. My interest begins to fade when these movements start to take several minutes.

The album is full of intricate, angular rhythms, odd and exciting riffs, and incredible vocal output but as a whole it is maybe too much for me. There is too little variation for an album of this length to remain interesting from the beginning to the end. Though I need to point out that the lack of live drums is not noticeable - sound-wise this album does not really differ from the other modern Meshuggah records.

Score: 72/100