Meshuggah
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THE REVIEW

When Meshuggah became Meshuggah. Gone are the savage and boisterous screams and the overly static nature of their debut thrash metal, the techno-thrash formation from Umea plans its return to the scene; the cards have been reshuffled and then overturned, and this album sounds very much like an (angry) statement of intent.

Dissonant sounds open "Humiliative", followed by a distorted and tremendously cold bass that preludes the deliberately vicious and calculated fury of the vocals, courtesy of Jens Kidman, who is solely devoted to the declamation of these. The song proceeds with odd times and jazz/fusion rhythms, which however aren't confined to a mere demonstration of technical ability but form the backbone of the track and the "means" with which Meshuggah manages to play on the brink of noise (very little space given to melody), yet always maintaining total musical balance, so much so that the track is almost "punchy".

The same goes for the next song, "Sickening", with the added value of instrumental parts that break its rhythm, without feeling "tacked on" or pointless; the Meshuggah machine slows, creaks, as if to emphasize the heaviness and madness of the tight passages heard just before. With the next song "Ritual", we return to familiar territory from the band's previous full-length, the riffs become less intricate, and the influences of Pantera and Metallica are felt in Jens Kidman's voice, making us fear a "rethinking" by the band... All until Thordendal's beautiful "free" solo still manages to daze the listener, momentarily shutting down their critical sense.

The record closes with two tracks that are deeply personal and essential in the economy of this ambitious little disc, "Gods Of Rapture", somewhat the summary of what has been heard so far, and "Aztec Two-Step", where the band breaks the rigid compositional metrics that characterized the previous songs, overwhelming us with icy industrial samples, piercing screams, and endless silences, with no continuity solution: the Meshuggah machine releases repressed energy without precautions to avoid damage, resulting in total alienation of the listener.

It's unnecessary to dwell on the performances of individual members, as the organic nature of their sonic proposition ensures that no one stands out significantly over the others, each dedicated to shaping a sound that originates from old bases but sounds terribly fresh and "young", driven by the distinctive drumming of Thomas Haake, a pillar of the rhythm section along with Peter Nordin (bass) and the two guitarists Thordendal and Hagstrom.

All this contained in an EP of just five tracks, essential and balanced in its brevity, which sounds like a powerful jolt to a genre, metal, that was more than ever conforming to the stylistic trends of the time.

A kick in the "jewels" that doesn't cause pain to the lower belly, a sweet masochism that can be addictive...