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Meshuggah - Koloss review



Reviewer:
9.6

524 users:
7.94
Band: Meshuggah
Album: Koloss
Release date: March 2012


01. I Am Colossus
02. The Demon's Name Is Surveillance
03. Do Not Look Down
04. Behind The Sun
05. The Hurt That Finds You First
06. Marrow
07. Break Those Bones Whose Sinews Gave It Motion
08. Swarm
09. Demiurge
10. The Last Vigil

The most common complaint I hear about Meshuggah, from the monotone vocals to the djent-spawning guitar crunch, is repetitiveness. It is true that a passing listen yields a surface-level of uniformity that some may find unappealing. However, there was an interview with the band stating something that has stuck with me: every instrument is treated as percussion. Considering this fact helped everything resonate on a deeper level with me. The drums, of course, are technical beyond measure with their polyrhythms and constant changes, but the guitars and the vocal cadence are given equal attention in their meticulous placement within the time signatures. Nothing is left to chance with Meshuggah.

Technical prowess aside, I would argue that Koloss is not repetitive at all. In fact, I consider this to be Meshuggah's most differentiated album since Nothing. Each track has its own unique riff structure while maintaining an overall flow throughout the album. Certain tracks like "I Am Colossus" and "Do Not Look Down" sport a slower groove while others like "Swarm," "Marrow," and "Demiurge" are faster onslaughts more akin to "Bleed" and "Combustion" from ObZen. Drumming ranges from measured, machine-like industrial beats to downright tribal onslaughts.

Even if you lack respect for the amount of work that goes into playing the deceptively simple-sounding riffs, one has to acknowledge their ability to evoke a visceral reaction. I cannot sit through this album without the impulse to move. I have tried. At best, I can keep it to a very enthusiastic bass-drum kick in my leg; but more often than not, it's a full body lurch. The aforementioned "Demiurge" has threatened many a car accident (and plenty dirty looks) with my behind-the-wheel convulsions. It seems that the band recognized the potential cardiovascular risks by including a cool down of sorts in the uncharacteristically tranquil "The Last Vigil."

I have to say, even after 12 or so years listening, and experiencing a second puberty via my introduction to "Future Breed Machine," Koloss has quickly become my favorite Meshuggah album. While Nothing and Chaosphere are still in regular rotation, there is something about the consistently testosterone-inducing intensity and shifting tectonic plates of each track that yields a stronger end result. There will never be one album that all fans agree is the best, but I can still safely say that Koloss shows no signs of these aging Swedes falling into decline.


Rating breakdown
Performance: 10
Songwriting: 10
Originality: 8
Production: 9

Written by flightoficarus | 23.04.2015




Guest review disclaimer:
This is a guest review, which means it does not necessarily represent the point of view of the MS Staff.


Comments

Comments: 8   Visited by: 137 users
23.04.2015 - 05:03
Guib
Thrash Talker
Hey great review man, though you definitely rate that album too high Don't get me wrong, it's good...
Just.. 9.6 O.O really ? Anyways, good read.
----
- Headbanging with mostly clogged arteries to that stuff -
Guib's List Of Essential Albums
- Also Thrash Paradise
Thrash Here
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23.04.2015 - 05:06
Rating: 10
flightoficarus
Stamp Tramp
Written by Guib on 23.04.2015 at 05:03

Hey great review man, though you definitely rate that album too high Don't get me wrong, it's good...
Just.. 9.6 O.O really ? Anyways, good read.


Thanks. What can I say? I love me some Koloss.
----
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23.04.2015 - 05:09
Guib
Thrash Talker
Written by flightoficarus on 23.04.2015 at 05:06

Written by Guib on 23.04.2015 at 05:03

Hey great review man, though you definitely rate that album too high Don't get me wrong, it's good...
Just.. 9.6 O.O really ? Anyways, good read.


Thanks. What can I say? I love me some Koloss.


Hahaha well to be honest, I don't blame you. It's a damn good album.
----
- Headbanging with mostly clogged arteries to that stuff -
Guib's List Of Essential Albums
- Also Thrash Paradise
Thrash Here
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23.04.2015 - 06:47
Rating: 8
Diverge

This wasn't the finest review, unfortunately. We are not interested in your physiological reactions, but a reasonable description of the band's sound and argumentation that justifies the rating you've given it. The only paragraph that would be useful to a reader would be the first one; while I'm not sure I necessarily agree with all of it (for example, I think the assertion that "every instrument is treated as percussion" seems a little too simplistic), I think you managed to capture some part of Meshuggah's essence. "Meticulous" can be a good word to describe Meshuggah, and the polyrhythms are inescapable on Meshuggah records. That's not to say you can't do better, but I do see some minor improvement here relative to some of the other things I've read from you.

The last two paragraphs are too anecdotal for my taste, while the second paragraph is painfully flawed by an assertion that went absolutely undefended, "I consider this to be Meshuggah's most differentiated album since Nothing." In fact, I actually think you're totally wrong here and that essentially every other Meshuggah album is more differentiated in terms of pacing, atmosphere and song-writing approach. So yeah, the claim you made is not obvious and something you have to defend with words. You also, in no way, defended the absurd rating you've given it, something that is of primary concern during any review.
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23.04.2015 - 11:08
Rating: 8
Diverge

Written by deadone on 23.04.2015 at 07:09

Diverge, do you slam us official reviewers when we put up such reviews?

I don't. Please feel free to look through my records and comb it until you can make a case that I attack official reviewers on a regular basis. Most of the time I give short responses indicating I've enjoyed a review or that it made me intrigued enough to check out. Also note that I have been critical, but I have also noted some progress he is making. I've slaughtered reviews that deserve to be slaughtered, and I've said some nice things to reviews that were effective and well-written. I try to pick my battles a little more carefully these days, though.

Written by deadone on 23.04.2015 at 07:09

We've done sillier stuff than this too (check out Screaming Steel US' awesome and hilarious review of latest Six Feet Under album)! Both he and Ilham do some quirky stuff when it comes to reviews. It's what makes them interesting and it's why both are my 2 favourite writers here. Even I find mine boring as they're essentially dull descriptions (I get good inspiration on the toilet or going for a walk but then forget by the time I get to a PC).

This is far from quirky, actually. This is pretty boring. At least Ilham makes a concerted effort to actually try and describe the music. Your reviews are actually far from the worst of the lot, because your descriptions actually tend to describe the music pretty well. As far as I'm aware, we mostly disagree on opinion and most of the time I get the sense you understand what the musicians are intending to evoke (unless the music goes beyond your area of expertise). Actually, I didn't really like the Six Feet Under review either, but it was far more effective than this. At least it told me that album wouldn't be my cup of tea. Screaming Steel is generally not a bad writer and his humour isn't padded on *too* heavily, but he definitely tends to inflate scores (in my opinion), which can be a little deceptive for people. That's beside the point, however.

Written by deadone on 23.04.2015 at 07:09

I think it was a well written review even if it didn't meet my own perceptions of this album.

I'm going to have to disagree with you on that one. For me, if a review fails to meet my own perceptions of the album by a considerable amount, that is a sign of a poor review. Saying that this is even remotely differentiated from track to track relative to all of the albums Meshuggah made before this one is actually absurd, and I think most of the people listening to this record are going to disagree. Saying this album is near to perfection is something that requires considerable evidence and a well argued case, none of which can be found here. Furthermore, you can basically sum up the last two paragraphs by "It's really heavy and Meshuggah haven't faded away yet." But yeah, writing less-than-perfect reviews happens a lot when you're first learning.
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23.04.2015 - 13:09
Ilham
Giant robot
Written by deadone on 23.04.2015 at 07:09

We've done sillier stuff than this too (check out Screaming Steel US' awesome and hilarious review of latest Six Feet Under album)! Both he and Ilham do some quirky stuff when it comes to reviews. It's what makes them interesting and it's why both are my 2 favourite writers here.

*Stupid smile on face*

Yeah I like HissingPaperUS' a lot too, he is my favourite active reviewer, even if I almost never listen to anything he reviews, I just read them for fun. Even when we both listened to the same thing, I usually have an opinion radically different from his. I know mine lack in technical descriptions, but that's because I know close to nothing in that area, so I make it up with atmosphere/genre/songwriting/humour talk. I do make conscious efforts to improve and I've learned tons since starting to review regularly. Yours are actually getting much better, if you don't mind me saying they were actually boring when you started posting. They are not as deconstructed as before, there is a flow and purpose, and you mention more than just the musicianship now.

I kinda agree with you, this isn't a bad review - compared to some others I've read from flight. Diverge is just really polite and doesn't critique our front page reviews (thank god, I would die of shame haha), but he likes to do that with flight .
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23.04.2015 - 16:21
Rating: 8
Diverge

Written by Ilham on 23.04.2015 at 13:09

Diverge is just really polite and doesn't critique our front page reviews (thank god, I would die of shame haha), but he likes to do that with flight .

You two are next on the chopping block. If you thought this was bad, you haven't seen what's coming for you two.
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23.04.2015 - 17:00
Ilham
Giant robot
Written by Diverge on 23.04.2015 at 16:21

You two are next on the chopping block. If you thought this was bad, you haven't seen what's coming for you two.

I have never been given a stronger incentive to write better than now. Please spare me, take deadone .
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