Always found Meshuggah to be a bit boring but this single is solid !

My excitement levels for this were immeasurable, as this is my favorite band, and what I heard from the teaser (mainly the bass tone) raised my expectations up to a stupid amount. So I'm not exactly going to be uncritical.

This song took me about 7 listens to really start feeling it. Initially what annoyed me was that the song is fairly monotonous, in that there are no parts devoid of drumming, no quieter parts and no tempo alterations.
But now I've actually started to like this a lot. I would describe my fondness for this by reference to their older work. The apparent monotony reminds me of Catch 33, where I think the first six songs are basically variations of two different riffs, and the progressions are slow. This is similar. The bass tone, surprisingly, isn't as meaty as in the teaser, by the way. But anyway, what I also liked about this is that once I got the hang of the rhythm, I started seeing this song as a sort of modern New Millenium Cyanide Christ; it's quite groovy.

And the song structure is more complex than it seemed at first, too.

Do we really need another Meshuggah album guys? Yes, yes we do.

Same old

The first song released is solid, and yes, it's more complex than it seems on first listen.

The artwork for the album seems like it's a response to the cover of Destroy Erase Improve. Similar imagery, but this is a figure that cannot be destroyed or erased, who persists as he is whatever else is happening around him. Seems like that fits where the band is right now. They are what they are. Thank goodness what they are is interesting and complex.

I'm gonna need a "getting into Meshuggah" if anyone feels inspired.

I always liked them in small dosage but never quite got into it.

I get a strong death metal vibe from this track.

Meshuggah have always sounded very monotonous to my ears. The vocals sound slightly off-key, and the songs feel like they have no beginning or end. This new song is no exception. I'd be interested in the fans opinion though.

If you do not get Meshuggah vibes you will never understand their music. Messhuggah means a lot to me. Live performance is their strongest link. A guy like me will never understand bands like Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth and other same similar boring bands. If you like mainstream crap you are not true yourself. Thank you.

Written by tedster on 29.01.2022 at 12:30

The vocals sound slightly off-key, and the songs feel like they have no beginning or end.

Yes. That is by design. Mainstream metal has the melody in the vocals. Extreme metal often takes the vocals and strips the melody out entirely with growls, giving the melody, if any to the guitars, but the vocals and guitars are still working together. In a Meshuggah song, the vocals are part of the rhythm section - one of the most important elements of the rhythm - and don't give a fuck about melody.

If you listen closely to a typical Meshuggah song, Haake's high hat is keeping the beat (4/4). But the song is broken up in units defined by the rhythm of the lyrics (which go against the flow of the 4/4) and the rest of the band is following the rhythm of the lyrics. It's why they can sound chaotic, but controlled at the same time.

FUCK

A solid song, heavy and some quality complex riffing, but nothing too memorable.