Frankie89

I'll be honest, I particularly like this review; it was one of the first I read when I discovered Debaser. A couple of years later (or rather, a week ago), I decided to get my hands on the album in question. "Damn," I thought, "if everyone is talking so highly of these Meshuggah, they must be explosive!" I should note that I'm not a huge metal fan; I enjoy a lot of different stuff, but in terms of metal, I only have the "essentials" (Reign in Blood, Master of Puppets, City, Vulgar Display of Power, etc.). However, I believe I can appreciate and have an ear for this type of music. Well, I won’t say this album made me feel like crap, but it definitely bored me to tears. Perhaps, like it happened to you, it will take some time before I can appreciate this album; who knows. For now, here’s what I heard: intricate but absolutely pointless hammerings, a rather bland voice singing lyrics of staggering idiocy, continuous time changes that mean nothing, a horrible echo effect on the guitar, and a sequence of anonymous songs that didn’t leave a single notable passage in my memory. At this point, I realized that this album is just one of those fetishistic technical showcases, a sort of Dream Theater album without the two-hour suites. When I hear a band praised for their technique, I tend to do something a bit petty and silly: I compare them to Unknown Pleasures by Joy Division, an album where no one knows what virtuosic technique on the instrument is; there’s only an incredible production and immense pathos. Well, this album didn’t stir even a cent’s worth of emotion in me compared to Unknown Pleasures. That’s not to say I disdain virtuosity; on the contrary, I really like it as long as it isn’t self-serving. For example, in my opinion, 43% Burnt by Dillinger Escape Plan is worth much more than all the tracks on this album because it aims to express something through those lethal riffs. In short, Destroy Erase Improve (what a silly title) is, for now, a cosmic disappointment. I’m going to listen to some other Meshuggah albums, hoping they are better. P.S.: Damn, they have the ugliest covers I’ve ever seen alongside those of Fear Factory and Ivan Graziani!

Ah, I see it's not about grind... I had already understood that you weren't reviewing anything else...

Uh, look who’s back. Interesting proposal... I thought that in the Italian grind scene there were only the Cripple Bastards. Aren’t these your friends?

Oh, sure there is propaganda and also the naivety of the enthusiasm of the day after. Now I have somewhat cooled down. In any case, it's not that I believe there are good and bad sides: certainly Berlusconi doesn't think of himself as "bad," nor do those who follow his thinking. Just as I don't think of myself as "good"; I just believe that a political model based on principles opposed to the Berlusconi ones is more future-oriented (you just have to reflect a bit to get there. Like, where would we end up if the powers of the constitutional guarantee bodies were annulled? Sorry, but I see a scenario à la Mad Max.) than the Berluskapensiero for the future of this weary nation.

Preferred in an instant! Now if you allow me, I'm going to downlooooad... the album... as well as check the toilet which is never nice to leave little reminders, especially with guests at home.

Beautiful! It must be a whole lot of interesting. Lounge music is the best when you're messing around on the computer and the music you're playing isn't something you're really listening to. Then with that cover, I mean, Eno makes them look like amateurs (what were we saying about San Francisco..?)

Nooooo, the hermetic turning point, nooooooo! Just kidding, I like it, but I prefer more traditional songs like "La ballata delle ossa" and "Codalunga."

Seen live: very good, but shy and distant, almost autistic. Scriiiiiiiiiiim, LIAR, LIAR, LIAR, LIARRR!

Heard. Nothing special. Much better, in the same genre, Marina & the Diamonds.

Heard yesterday, I don’t mind... Really well done.