Review Summary: Meshuggah continues from their one song e.p I, and expands it to a 48 minute album. But does the formula work? Read on.
Imagine, if you will, a cold, emotionless machine. One whose only purpose is to move forward, in a straight line, destroying whatever that gets in its way. Imagine it coming, no, STOMPING towards you, breathing out smoke into the sky, while you stand still, rooted to the spot, as if hypnotised by the machine. Now, imagine it doing that in 4/4, 14/8 and 23/16. That, my friend, is Meshuggah.
Meshuggah, hailing from Umeå, Sweden, burst into the metal scene in 1987 with their brand of dissonant, harsh, polymetric post-thrash. Their sound revolves around odd time signatured and dissonant riffs, polymetric drums where every limb of the drummer is doing it's own thing, and the harsh vocals of Jens. Catch 33, released in 2005, is their 5th studio album so far.
Meshuggah is:
Jens Kidman-lead vocals
Fredrik Thordendal-lead guitar
Tomas Haake-drums
Mårten Hagström-rhythm guitar
Dick Lovgren-bass guitar
I first heard Meshuggah back in late 2005, when I clicked the GoogleVideo link to their video for New Millennium Cyanide Christ. Back then, I just started to getting into heavy metal, and even though I liked the heavier stuff already (if you call In Flames heavy :p), I still find it a very strange experience, as I look at a bunch of guys head-banging, air-guitaring/drumming, while a bald guy screams into a red pen and head-banging so hard I'm still surprised that his sun glasses didn't just fly off somewhere safer. It was not love at first sight, I can tell you that, but I definitely didn't dislike it. I became intrigued, and decided into looking more into this band called Meshuggah. In the end, like all succesfull relationships, it slowly blossoms, growing bigger with every passing day, until one day it just clicks, and you're 'doing' it right there and then on the carpet.
So, onto the album! When Meshuggah released I (which I now have the pleasure of listening to), an e.p containing a 20 minute song, they decided to experiment with this single song idea again, only this time their going to expand it into a 48 minute album. Oh, don't let the tracklist (which shows 13 song titles) fool you. For example, the first 3 'songs' shows absolutely no reason why it shouldn't just be one song. The band just seperated it so that you can get to some parts much easier.
But, since it's just one 48 minute song, does that mean that it's repetitive? While some critics may agree to that aspect, I find it rather harsh. Sure, some parts are repititive, but it's repetitive in a hypnotic way. Not in the "when i count to 3 you will fall asleep way", it's more like in a "you are under my power" way. Meshuggah also decided to try out different styles on this album, so all those expecting it to be another Destroy, Erase, Improve should just keep listening to Destroy, Erase, Improve, or just be more open-minded. Gone are the strangely time-signatured, dissonant chugga chugga riffs, replaced by groovier riffs that still remained strangely time-signatured and dissonant in their own way. A much larger focus on groove is not the only change. Tomas Haake, though he is still a legend in my eyes, is replaced with a drum machine created by Haake himself, creating a colder and more mechanical feel to the album, even though the original purpose for the replacement is because Meshuggah is pressed for time and Haake wouldn't be able to make the deadline. The rhythm guitar is pushed to the background, creating a cold and intense atmosphere with spaced-out tremelo picking. The bass, strangely, don't make its precense felt too much here, instead following the lead guitar pattern and adding a heavier sound to the already heavy sound. Jens Kidman's vocal are waaaay harsher than past albums, sounding more and more like a troll who had woken up at the wrong side of the bed, while throwing in a few spoken words as well. The album also features some long jazz-inspired ambience parts (seeing Mind's Mirrors or the end part of In Death/is Death), which slowly lulls you into its grasp.
Reading my review, it may sound like this is a massive change by Meshuggah. Did they abandon their roots? Did they come back with something entirely from the left-field? Well, I'll be happy to report, no and no. Meshuggah still sounds like the soulless machine they are, that pulverises you slowly with every song, forcing you into submission. Catch 33 does all that, they just do it with more groove, and hypnotises you while you're slowly being pulverise.
Though I find this album to be highly enjoyable, I gotta admit that this is not for everyone, at least not the first listen. To people who:
A)Don't enjoy this groovier side of Meshuggah and prefer them when they're thrashier.
or
B)Just new to Meshuggah
Trust me, persist with it. Though it might not be an easy listen, it's not meant to be an easy listen, it will slowly but surely grow on you, because, in the end, like all successful relationships, it slowly blossoms, growing bigger with every passing day, until one day it just clicks, and you're 'doing' it right there and then on the carpet.
Recommended tracks:
It's just one song, so listen to it all! Though if you want a sample of the song, listen to In Death/is Death.
i wanted it though.
