Yeah this is good. Nice return to form for them. No more boring heavy and chugging riffs here. That bass in MonstroCity is just outstanding really.

So far, I think my immediate enjoyment of Koloss at release was greater than with this one. More ups and downs. Still looking forward to listening more and letting this get under my skin though.

This is impressive. I knew Meshuggah wouldn't disappoint (as several bands did this year for me) but this one might also be among their best albums. Maybe this was the result of including Dick Lovgren into the songwriting?
I may rise this to a 9 if I don't get tired of this soon.

Btw, loving the last song. Doom ala Meshuggah.

Meshuggah needs to change things up a bit. They sound kind of stale on this record.

Maybe I need to listen to it a few more times to really get into it.

So far it seems that, on the plus side, the sound itself is a bit more vicious, and probably the closest they've ever been to the sound of Chaosphere since that album released (though, truthfully, it's still not all that close).

On the negative side, the songwriting itself seems very dull. I think Meshuggah are getting stale. I was hoping they'd find a way to stay true to their sound while mixing it up a bit and giving us something new, rather than releasing an album of filler tracks which tread absolutely no new ground. It does have a better overall sound than Koloss, but even Koloss gave us a good number of tracks that made the album generally enjoyable--not sure I can say the same for this one.

There's a few tracks that redeem this album a little bit, but the majority of it seems pretty "meh".

I was craving for a balls out Meshuggah album like this.
Might not be super proggy or experimental, but this is some of the most truly brutal music I have ever
heard in my life. It is so over-the-top brutal it scares me and It achieves perfection in that way, which is why i have to give it a 10.
It's like, oh here's a heavy riff, oh here's a weird riff, oh and now HERE'S AN AXE-INTO-YOUR-FACE RIFF! AND ANOTHER ONE!

This is a very hard album to evaluate for me.
Either I don't get something, like it happened with Nothing, when at first I completely misjudged everything, initially disliked it, then completely fell in love with it after a (long) while.
(But it was a time I wasn't used to this kind of music)
Or simply I will never be hit by this last album, shit happens.

Getting this up to a 9. This is among Meshuggah's best alongside Nothing and Catch Thirty-Three definitely.

Written by BloodJuNkie on 07.10.2016 at 19:19

Let me guess, another overrated album?

I find that a significant number of albums reaching the top charts here are precisely that. Fan boys gon' fanboy.

Written by Coconut Racecar on 03.11.2016 at 23:15

Written by BloodJuNkie on 07.10.2016 at 19:19

Let me guess, another overrated album?

I find that a significant number of albums reaching the top charts here are precisely that. Fan boys gon' fanboy.

That's why I don't consider this site as a reliable source for knowing how good an album is (for well-known bands) anymore!

Meshuggah are one of those bands that impresses me so much technically. This album is awesome, but I don't know how much I'll be listening to it. Kind of the same with their other releases; I appreciate their musicianship and talent but it's just tough to listen to them repeatedly.

I hope I get smart enough someday to get Meshuggah, but as for now, I'll keep my listening 'shuggah-free.

Awesome album. The whole thing is HEAVY. Ivory Tower is a personal favorite.

Written by MyNameJeff on 18.10.2016 at 20:18

I was craving for a balls out Meshuggah album like this.
Might not be super proggy or experimental, but this is some of the most truly brutal music I have ever
heard in my life. It is so over-the-top brutal it scares me and It achieves perfection in that way, which is why i have to give it a 10.
It's like, oh here's a heavy riff, oh here's a weird riff, oh and now HERE'S AN AXE-INTO-YOUR-FACE RIFF! AND ANOTHER ONE!

I agree.

Maybe I've grown old, but I just can't seem to appreciate anything Meshuggah have done after Obzen... Got bored straight away

This is definitely better than Koloss, most of the songs are sick

I could not get into this.

The weakest Meshuggah album. I gave 6 becuse It's Meshuggah. Deserves 5.