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Meshuggah - crazy deconstruction of metal
Meshuggah anno 2022; Bild: Meshugga /Offizielles Pressebild
Hardly any other band in the recent history of Heavy Metal has caused as many big waves and driven critics and music fans alike into ecstasy as the Swedish band Meshuggah. The name originates from Hebrew and Yiddish, "meshuggene" and translates into "crazy". Few other bands have a more apt name than the crazies from Umeå. Ever since 1987 the hard-core trio of Fredrik Thordendal, Jens Kidman, Tomas Haake, who would recruit apt members over time, have made it their task to deconstruct and dissect the genre itself. This mission didn´t fail, their polyrhythmic attacks have created a completely new subgenre of heavy metal, namely “Djent”, spawning dozens of emerging bands in the process.
Djent briefly and concisely explained
This style refers to the tremendously hard hitting of the chords, which in turn lowers them down, embezzled by a polymetric groove, so that a cacophony of sound is created. In music theory, these conflicts of emphasis and rhythms are referred to as a syncopation. In most cases, Djent guitars are equipped with additional strings to generate more vibrations, typically 7 to 8-string models. Meshuggah are considered pioneers of this genre, especially guitarist Thordendal, who first used this play style.
In an interview, Mårten Hagström, the band's second guitarist, ironically apologized for creating a new genre churning out myriad of inspiring young bands, most of whom cannot compete with the pioneers, offering little room for innovation and just recycling old ideas. The true kings of this particular style, although they do not like to be referred to as such, are Meshuggah, who now have a discography of 9 studio albums and haven´t lost none of their aggressive and psychotic force.
Meshuggah - Reef Spheres
Over the years, the musicians around Frederik Thordendal have evolved into an institution within the Heavy Metal cosmos, almost like a well-oiled cog of a colossal machine. Meshuggah have long since gained cult status in the Hard´n´Heavy world and are revered by plenty of people worldwide. Is the hype surrounding Meshuggah justified in any way? The short and concise answer to this question is a resolute yes! No other Scandinavian metal band has experienced an evolution quite like Meshuggah and gone from a technically tinged thrash metal to become the creators of a new, exciting subgenre.
The term 'new' is relative, since the five-member band technically took over the predetermined construct of traditional heavy metal, which has already been created by others, only with the difference that Meshuggah push the familiar groove to its extreme conclusion. Thus, a spacious heaviness is created, which alongside a meditative monotony triggers a trance-like effect that can take the listener's breath away.
Crazy vision of the future
Coupled with these spheres of huge riffs are the rough, angry, and robotic vocals of Jens Kidman, which can be heard very lucidly due to the flawless production. The lyrics of Meshuggah coexist in a dissonant symbiosis with the music; The intricate timing makes them seem chopped up and dehumanized, while the music´s pull does the rest. Uncharacteristically, the lyrics do not come from the pen of mouthpiece Kidman, but from the exceptional drummer Tomas Haake, whose play must be seen to believe it. The lyrics seem cynical and anti-human at first glance, but they fit seamlessly into the overall audiovisual concept, which has been refined ever since the late 1980s.
Meshuggah's narratives often show the perspective of a man who has fallen into madness and growing beyond human in a dismal future landscape by mutating into a technologically enhanced superbeing. These disturbing images, which play out in front of the inner eye when listening to the music of Meshuggah, underline the approach that the lyrics are creative warnings about our technical progress as a species and our handling of that technology.
Meshuggah - The Masters of Djent
Meshuggah are considered to be pioneers in the extreme metal circus since their debut "Contradictions Collapse" in 1991. On the album they still clearly move within the Thrash Metal spectrum, however, the early seeds of their progressive nature are already present on this album, such as kinetic tempo changes and polyrhythms. In 1995, the band's second album "Destroy, Erase, Improve" was released, which would define their further career. The Thrash Metal elements were vastly scaled down, leaving behind a distorted but fascinating residual component that seemed alien and futuristic. Songs such as the iconic opener "Future Breed Machine" and "Soul Burn" catapulted Meshuggah into unheard reef spheres and to the limits of human capabilities, which is further proven with every other album by the Swedes.
"Chaosphere“, another groundbreaking album and the last full length by Meshuggah in the 90s was followed in 1998, which completely overthrew the traditional riff structure and turned their Metal into an ambient - like genre, only with the inherent force of metal pulsating beneath.
High Concept Metal
Transformative and progressive are only two adjectives that describe Umeå`s Meshuggah and which, with regards to their discography, are more than indicative of their career. In 2002, after "Chaosphere" had broken the collective minds of the Metal community for the third time in a row, "Nothing" followed, which is in no way inferior in quality of its predecessor. Since their third work, Meshuggah have been aiming to create dystopian conceptual albums about collective dehumanization through technology.
This goal was more than fulfilled with their magnum opus from 2005, "Catch Thirty-Three". The synoptic riffs here are pushed to their peak, so that they create a psychological effect on the listener, and layer by layer this massive album peels through the synapses. Thirteen songs on 47 minutes of running length result in a homogeneous whole, which was rarely heard on record, because the songs are seamlessly flowing into one another, so that the transitions are barely noticeable and Meshuggah´s album can unfold its entire power in a gigantic song.
Decades of madness
Topping your own masterpiece is a task no less than that of mythological Sisyphus. In 2008, the successor "ObZen" was released, which has the biggest hit in the band's repertoire, "Bleed", that has achieved cult status upon release. It also features other high-quality songs like the title track, "Electric Red" and "Dancers to a Discordant System". On this album, Meshuggah abandoned the concept formula and let individual songs speak for themselves again.
This was followed by "Koloss" in 2012 and "The Violent Sleep Of Reason" in 2016, which once again represent excellent additions to the band's catalogue. They also play riffs that appear elastic and are driven deep into the psyche with the help of the underlying heaviness to become unforgettable. In addition, the live shows of Meshuggah are events that are unparalleled: Burning questions about individual members' technical skills are answered in a nanosecond and often leave open jaws behind. Additionally, the intricate laser shows, which are now part of any live show, wrap the band in their own silhouettes, which works in a hauntingly atmospheric way.
Meshuggah strikes back
For a long time, it´s been quiet around Meshuggah, but in April 2022 the crazed Swedes returned with their ninth studio album "Immutable". Muting is not an option; anger is still clearly present. There´s no room for big surprises for anyone who knows Meshuggah. That's exactly what's being delivered on the latest album, classic Meshuggah chug fests, with songs like "They Move Below" and "Army of The Preposterous" as clear highlights of the album. The men around Frederik Thordendal prove once again that they are rightly sitting on top of the throne of the Djent movement and will not be dethroned in the foreseeable future. They created the initial sound of the genre and know how it hurts the most, even more than 30 years later. A truly crazy band, as the name suggests.
mukken.com – Sheer madness for music fans!
If reading this article on Meshuggah has left you wanting more posts about genre-pushing bands, you can find dozens of examples of recommended music in our blog's Features section. Among other things, about the style-combining "Zeal and Ardor" from Switzerland or "Turnstile" from Baltimore, which redefines US hardcore in a dreamy and anthemic way. Other areas of the big world of music are of course also represented on mukken.com, just have a look, the selection is large. Here on mukken.com, new content from the world of music is viewed and made understandable every day – because music brings people together.
Originally published on February 2, 2023, updated on March 4, 2023
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