Metal Reviews

You're welcome to comment on:


Click here to see the review.

Hell yes. Despite the cover art, this is probably the most "safe" album they've done, it retreads much old ground and doesn't cover much new. But what the hey, I still haven't gotten over the moment I fell in love with them last summer, so my critic's hat is off ATM.

Riff at the end of the title track = PURE SLAY. Very straightforward and non-technical by Meshuggah standards (as is much of the rest of the album), but simply crushing just the same.

Haven't listened to it enough yet but what I've heard was good.

Heard Combustion -- thought it sounded like a wicked motherfucker. Besides that, your excellent review has persuaded me further to buy the album.

Stubborn few? Future of metal? Come on, Zad; let's not get silly now.

Yeah. Cause everyone knows Kittie is the real future of metal.

This is Meshuggah's best so far. I loved Everything they have ever released except Nothing...This is the best yet....BLEED is the greatest metal song ever.

Shocking reply from you. You'll know, of course, that I've never declared Kittie the future of metal. Now quit replying to me.

Seriously, Ken, he's got a point. Meshuggah are Extreme Metal, what's the heaviest thing you listen to, Moonspell? Have you even listened to obZen? Any of it?

I believe that Meshuggah will still be there in ten year's time, just as good, just as groundbreaking... if you can't see what they've done for Metal in their career, it's not my problem.

Oh, and you can't expect to make comments - in a review thread, natch - that are so critical of a huge band like the 'shuggah and not expect to get called on it.

This does not relate at all to his reply in my opinion. I didn't see anything critical about Meshuggah in his reply. I think that his comments were not directed towards the band and their work but rather towards the review.
"Stuborn few" There are certainly more than a few people who don't listen nor like Meshuggah and not necessarily due to stuborness.
As for the future of metal, I just think it's a little too far-fetched declaring a single metal band (extreme metal as you so well put it) as the upholder, crusader and savior of the future of all things metal.

I'm defending it - it's written about the band. My point was that if those that don't like Meshuggah despite all the great things they've done hear obZen, they should like it. It's written from a fan's point of view, I don't have to be perfectly neutral about it!

And where did I say all that? I said the band were 1. miles above the competitive technical bands, 2. pointing the way to the stars, ie are very future-minded and indicative of a possible future path for metal, and 3. the future of metal as we know it rests in the band's hands, ie whatever they do next will influence much of the coming generation of metal bands. You have to read between the lines a little, obviously I'm not saying Dio's going to drop everything and start introducing polyrhythms into his work!

before people start yelling and kickin up a fuss at my reply, yes i did listen to all the tracks on the myspace and yes i did give them a fair go.

i really feel like i'm taking crazy pills (gotta love that zoolander quote) when it comes to all this Meshuggah praising and adoring, i hate to say it like a 14 year old kid, but they really do suck ass. i'm sorry, but some off beat drumming, longer passages and some spooky keyboard effects does NOT equal technical brilliance or "quantum physics of metal" as one person said. i gave them a go with "chaosphere" whenever that was released and decided to steer clear.
gave them another go with "I" as people kept goin on about them and decided to steer clear. gave them one more go with "obZen" and seriously, this is taking the piss. i know i havnt heard every album in its entirety but i cannot hear one ounce of change from the early days to now *expects tons of backlash from that comment)*

Did anyone notice that "bleed" contains the same incredibly dull riff through out the entire album? this is not technical brilliance, this is nu metal with a few twists and turns to keep the prog heads happy. chugging downtuned riffs, exactly the same vocal melodies (a guy shouting) and some quirky drumming:how on God's green earth is this technical brilliance? i just don't get it...

if you want experimental, technical and heavy as hell then try pagan metallers Moonsorrow, 15 minute songs with more twists than a pretzel? yes please!
God help us if Meshuggah are the saviors of metal, but last time i checked metal does not need saving, especially not from a band like this.

Hm, Meshuggah's best to date? Maybe, but I still like Catch Thirtythree and chaosphere better. But this is by all means great.

Nu Metal?! No. That you can't see the man's drumming brilliance (it's more than just 'off-beat', ffs, he's playing two different things at once!) is odd, but I'll give you the b of the d: I and Chaosphere are not good albums to start with. Actually, obZen's their most immediate album, so if you can't get into that, there's little hope.

Bleed's riff is not dull. It crushes. And it's not the number of riffs, but the way the band uses it, twisting, bending, curving... opinion, perhaps, but Meshuggah do more with one riff than other bands do with ten, twenty... I think you should really actually try listening to Nu Metal if you think Meshuggah sounds like Limp Bizkit or whatever, as you're clearly going on cliches...

Moonsorrow! Yes, but they're a completely different sort of band. And I DID NOT SAY MESHUGGAH WERE THE SAVIOURS OF METAL. I said, they represent the future of metal. There's a huge different.

Bah, I'm repeating myself...

Made a Meshuggah thread at the crypt. Wondering how they will be responding to it.

Moonsorrow isn't experimental or technical. Nu metal? WOW. Whatever. I say you just don't like the band, it's a love or hate thing i think, but seriously you should have made your comment a little shorter.

actually try listening to Nu Metal? get off your pedestal mate...i started off listening to metal with Korn, Slipknot, Soulfly (no i never listened to Limp Bizkit) and it's my opinion that the riffs Meshuggah use could easily come off any of the mentioned Nu metal bands.

It's only that the drumming (yes i realise it's good but not something i'm gonna wank over) the longer passages they use, ie.not conforming to typical verse, chorus structures and as i said the "spooky keys" they use are all smokescreens to cover up that this is very basic music, very minimalist, so if this is what people call technical then i guess the dictionary must be re-written.

believe me, i've tried soooo many times to listen to these guys, so i know exactly what i'm missing out on and i couldn't give two shits. as you said, there is no hope for me liking this band because they simply fail to write music that i dig.
"the twisting, bending, curving of riffs" is just a load of shit, that's more a better description of good up-and-comers Protest The Hero, from one reviewer to another, i think we shall never agree on this subject.

This CD is heavy enough, and "on the fringe" enough to keep me listening but I can only listen for short periods of time. There's just something about Meshuggah that when I listen to them in long doses it becomes the perfect recipe for a migraine.

I have to agree with the post above mine. The riffs are very reminiscent of the Korn/Slipknot era.

I'm sorry, but downtuned riffs aren't nu-metal riffs. They might sound more like them than, say, Maiden riffs, but you know there's a big difference.

i was disappointed with this album. they seem to have regressed from I and Catch33 in favour of just sounding like stuff they've already done before... that's not a really bad thing but meshuggah albums that aren't just one long song tend to lose my attention after 2-3 tracks

i still have a lot of respect for them though because they have one of the most distinctive sounds in metal... just look at how obvious it is when a band is influenced by them