Review Summary: Metallica with polyrhythms...?
Ok, so maybe that's oversimplifying things.
Meshuggah's debut demo/EP is, without a doubt, still
Meshuggah through and through. This is the true foundation for everything they ever did after this point: this is their beginning. The quirky leads, the robotic feel, and the unusual polyrhythms are all here, making this unmistakeably
Meshuggah. This 1989 demo's 3 tracks even feature some of the band's signature jazzy instrumental breaks that would define later albums such as
Destroy Erase Improve (opener
Cavernous Mastication has a prime example), with jazzy guitar solos to boot. In typical
Meshuggah fashion each track changes time signatures more times than the average listener can count, and intricate palm-muted chug patterns can be found throuhgout the album's 20-minute duration, notably in
Sovereigns Morbitity, which has an almost
Bleed-like rhythm.
While this is undoubtedly a
Meshuggah album it is still a very prototypical
Meshuggah, containing only the groundwork for what the Swedish metal legends would create in the two decades to follow. Signature elements of their sound are certainly present, but
Psykisk Testbild is the most derivative effort in the band's extensive discography. Imagine, if you will, their debut full-length
Contradictions Collapse, but even more stripped down. Instead of the intricate mind games of
Catch 33, the utter chaos of the fittingly named
Chaosphere, or the jazz-influenced proggy thrash of
Destroy Erase Improve Meshuggah, on their very first recording, opted for a comparatively stripped-down thrash approach. Thrash juggernauts Metallica are
Testbild's most obvious influence, in everything from riff structure to vocals to guitar tone. Kidman's vocals are, instead of the ugly (in the best way possible), monotone bark that would begin to rear its hateful head on 1994's landmark EP
None, best described as a tone-deaf James Hetfield. They work in the context of the demo but that's about it.
It may be a complex record in its own right, but when put up against every other one of Meshuggah's efforts (including even the stylistically similar
Contradictions Collapse) it is simplistic and, to be honest, quite weak. It's well executed and it is a wonderful listen just for its value as a window into how far
Meshuggah have come since their inception but it still remains comparatively subpar and derivative. This was the Meshuggah of the late 80's, and the Meshuggah of 1989 is merely a simplistic and more down-to-earth version of the band that would nottruly begin to become who they were meant to be for another half a decade.
Testbild is highly recommended for diehard fans and discography nuts and pretty much anyone else looking for something different than what they're used to from
Meshuggah but in the end nearly everything else the band has done is much more worthy of your attention than their first. That being said, it is still an integral part of the
Meshuggah catalog for the simple reason that it
is their first, and for that it deserves respect.
