Meshuggah is widely acknowledged as an influence on many modern metal bands from Textures to Tool. They are regarded as pioneers by critics and musicians alike.
Discography
Psykisk Testbild (EP, 1989)
Contradictions Collapse (1991)
None (EP, 1994)
Selfcaged (1995)
Destroy Erase Improve (1995)
The True Human Design (1997)
Chaosphere (1998)
Contradictions Collapse and None (1999)
Rare Trax (2001)
Nothing (2002)
I (EP, 2004)
Catch Thirty-Three (2005)
Nothing (Re-Release With DVD) (2006)
obZen (2008)
Alive (2010)
Koloss (2012)
Pitch Black (2013)
The Violent Sleep Of Reason (2016)
Immutable (2022)
Band history
Meshuggah was formed in Umeå in 1987; two years later, the band released their first record, an EP entitled Psykisk Testbild (which can be roughly translated as "Psychological test image". This recording displayed a straightforward thrash metal influenced sound, with some strains along the lines of Metallica's concurrent releases. There were also hints of more complex music in the songwriting. As the group grew older, they further refined the technicality of their musicianship and songwriting. This led to a harsher sound, utilizing strong seven string guitar (and later eight string guitar) rhythms, manic sounding vocals, and a combination of jazz fusion elements as well. This caused the band's style to border on the lines of an esoteric feel. This style has shown to be hard to appreciate by some but it is widely embraced by Meshuggah fans.
While the band's music is extremely intense and aggressive, the members often demonstrate a strong sense of humour: their video for "New Millennium Cyanide Christ" consisted of the five band members sitting inside their tour bus headbanging and air guitaring to the song. Promotional photos of the band often include comical grimacing.
In late 2005, Meshuggah were nominated for a Swedish Grammy for the album Catch Thirty-Three.
Bands such as Dream Theater, God Forbid, Deftones, Textures , Lamb of God, The Safety Fire and Tool have cited Meshuggah as an influence.
Style
Among the band's most recognizable qualities are lead guitar player Fredrik Thordendal's abrasive, chaotic and dischordant solos, singer Jens Kidman's vocals, which resemble manic screams and shouts; the churning, dissonant rhythm guitars and the polymetric drum beats. In a typical Meshuggah song, drummer Tomas Haake plays two separate rhythms: a standard 4/4 beat with his hands, and a completely different metrical subdivision with his feet. The guitars mostly follow the bass drum work, creating an awkwardly pulsating rhythmic pattern to work as the basis of the song.
To give an example, the main riff of the song "New Millennium Cyanide Christ" from their 1998 album Chaosphere follows the aforementioned blueprint. Haake beats a rather slow 4/4 rhythm with his hands, while the bass drums and guitars play a repetitive 23/16 rhythm pattern on top of it. As the subdivided pattern is repeated, the pattern's accents shift to different beats on each repetition. After repeating the 23/16 pattern five times, a shorter 13/16 pattern is played once. These patterns sum up to 128 16th notes, which equals exactly 8 measures in 4/4 meter.
The band has evolved through a number of stylisitic periods. Contradictions Collapse and None have a sound similar to Metallica's concurrent albums. Destroy Erase Improve and Chaosphere have a more distinct off-time influence along with the thrash metal sound. Nothing and Catch Thirty-Three have a sound close to the vein of groove metal, consisting of droning and slow grooves.
While live drums were obviously not abandoned, a unique decision was made to use programmed drum patterns using Toontrack's "Drumkit From Hell" (developed in co-operation with Tomas Haake and Morgan Ågren) sample library on the latest album Catch Thirty-Three, not only providing a more precise and mechanized drumscape, but also making drum beat creativity a more collaborative effort amongst all of the band members. It cemented the album as one of the band's most complex works to date. The band members have, however, stated in several interviews that the decision to use programmed drums was due to the lack of time given by their label to produce the record.
On all records since Nothing, guitarists Thordendal and Hagström use custom-made Nevborn, and custom Ibanez eight string guitars. These guitars add two low strings to allow the crushing, heavy riffs to be played in even lower registers. They currently use Line 6's Vetta II Amps.
In regards to lyrics, the main lyricist of Meshuggah is drummer Tomas Haake, who uses complex, but precise, vocabulary and metaphorical styling. Through abstract descriptions, Haake's lyrics discuss such topics as the self, society, mendaciousness, and the human condition, all with an overarching theme that intertwines with metaphysical concepts relating to the psychedelic experience. While Haake tends to write the majority of the lyrics, guitarist Mårten Hagström also contributes to some songs.
Marrow
Meshuggah Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Two powers bound for unity
Like magnets, they align, under immunity
The product of their congress, their libidinous deed
Insatiable mouth of conflict and greed
Beware the soon to be born bringer of pain
Pure hatred conceived
The pairing of blood and power
A spawn of harm produced
Death and profit begotten, fused
A ghost-producing offspring. Immorality's embodiment
Spite and disgust incarnate. A progeny insane
Tar-black ejaculate
The seminal bile of conspiracy
The blood of those who died
Their innocence, their marrow
The pursuit of ruin. Murderous ambition
Bloodshed, the careless taking of lives
A conduct symbolic of its condition
Behold the newborn monstrosity
Descendant of avarice
Indifferent war machine in all its violent glory
A callous iron god born to reign
Tar-black ejaculate
The seminal bile of conspiracy
The blood of those who died
Their innocence, their marrow
The lyrics to Meshuggah's song Marrow describe the dark consequences of the union between two powerful forces, which result in the birth of a destructive creature that is the embodiment of immorality and an agent of ruin. The lyrics are metaphorical, describing the process of the creature's birth in grotesque terms, and highlighting the dangers of unchecked power and ambition. The song draws on themes of violence, conflict, and corruption to tell a cautionary tale about the dangers of unchecked ambition.
The first two lines of the song set the scene, describing the meeting of two powerful forces that are destined to come together. Like magnets, they align and come together, forging a union that is immune to outside forces. The resulting creature is the product of their union, a being that is driven by insatiable greed and a desire for power. The lyrics describe this creature as a ghost-producing offspring, a being that is immoral and evil to its core.
The lyrics also describe the process of the creature's birth in visceral terms. The creature is the result of the pairing of blood and power, and is born from tar-black ejaculate and the blood of those who have died. This vile process of creation highlights the monstrous nature of the creature and serves as a warning against unchecked ambition and desire. In the end, the newborn creature is portrayed as a callous iron god, indifferent to the suffering it causes and driven solely by its hunger for power and destruction.
Line by Line Meaning
Lasciviously they move
They move with an air of sexual desire
Two powers bound for unity
Two powerful entities coming together as one
Like magnets, they align, under immunity
They align with no negative consequence towards each other, like magnets with the same polarity
The product of their congress, their libidinous deed
The result of their sexual act
Insatiable mouth of conflict and greed
A desire for conflict and greed that can never be satisfied
Beware the soon to be born bringer of pain
Be cautious of the coming source of pain
One evil by another inseminated
One bad thing created by another
Pure hatred conceived
Hatred without any outside influence
The pairing of blood and power
The combination of physical strength and authority
A spawn of harm produced
A harmful being created
Death and profit begotten, fused
Death and financial gain combined together
A ghost-producing offspring. Immorality's embodiment
A child that represents immorality and is created by unnatural means
Spite and disgust incarnate. A progeny insane
The embodiment of malice and disgust, created offspring that is insane
Tar-black ejaculate
Dark and evil fluid released during sexual intercourse
The seminal bile of conspiracy
The dark and malicious result of a plot
The blood of those who died
The blood of those who have perished
Their innocence, their marrow
The purity and essence of life lost due to senseless violence
The pursuit of ruin. Murderous ambition
A desire for destruction fueled by murder
Bloodshed, the careless taking of lives
The reckless act of taking someone's life
A conduct symbolic of its condition
The behavior represents the negative state it is in
Behold the newborn monstrosity
Look upon the recently birthed creature of horror
Descendant of avarice
Offspring of greed
Indifferent war machine in all its violent glory
A merciless and bloody fighting object shown in all its cruelty
A callous iron god born to reign
An unfeeling lord born to rule with an iron fist
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: DICK AUGUST L�VGREN, DICK AUGUST LOEVGREN, FREDRIK THORDENDAL, JENS KIDMAN, MAARTEN HAGSTROEM, M�RTEN HAGSTR�M, TOMAS HAAKE
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