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.
Spasm
Meshuggah Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Codes of tendon-flickers I can't grasp. Focus lost as I writhe and twitch
Random beats of blinding shockwaves. Erratic suns that twist my eyes
Flashes pounding at my thoughts as the intrinsic pains multiply
Muscle and tissue twined with every violent lash
Battered by an unrelenting shine
Immobilized by the increasing pains,
Lightwave frequency body-oscillation. Undeciphered motions pass through my flesh
Bodily reverberation induced. A corporeal system lost in its waves
Bleached into their existence by tremulous epileptic strokes
Blasts of irregular pulsar-radiation -Triggering the process of mind and body control
Lost to their control
A sentence - in flashes told
Enticed by their calls; - Insane, divine
Torn, undone, dissolved
By incandescent gods condemned,
Burned. Their mark on my soul
To my inverted shadow confined
Twisted, spun. Vertebras and spinal column unaligned
Joints shattered and torn apart. Spasm-rendered distortion
Organic spiral. Stretched and torn into a new creation
A wordless thing, a thingless word. Lightborn malformation
The lyrics to Meshuggah's song "Spasm" describe a violent sensory overload, where the singer is assaulted by flickering lights and sounds that cause their body to writhe and twitch uncontrollably. The lightwave frequencies induce bodily reverberation, effectively taking over the singer's physical and mental faculties. The violent lashing of muscle and tissue, coupled with the increasing pains and procreating agonies of system breakdown, lead to the complete loss of bodily control. As the singer is torn apart and dissolved by the incandescent gods, they are left with nothing but a wordless, thingless malformation.
The song's lyrics delve deep into the idea of losing control – of one's body, mind, and soul. The flickering lights and sounds create an almost hypnotic effect, drawing the singer towards the lightborn malformation that is their destiny. The violent imagery suggests a level of brutality and suffering that is difficult to endure, yet the singer is powerless against the overwhelming sensory assault. The final image of being confined to an inverted shadow speaks to the complete loss of self, as the singer is stripped of everything they once knew.
Line by Line Meaning
Stroboscopic contorsion-assault. Lightbulb language translated into fits
The repeated flashing of light distorts and contorts the body. Unable to communicate, the spasms become their own language.
Codes of tendon-flickers I can't grasp. Focus lost as I writhe and twitch
Muscle spasms become uninterpretable signals, leading to a loss of control over the body's movements.
Random beats of blinding shockwaves. Erratic suns that twist my eyes
The flashes of light interfere with vision, causing confusion and disorientation.
Flashes pounding at my thoughts as the intrinsic pains multiply
The constant light flashes not only cause physical pain but also affect cognitive function, making it difficult to process the experience.
Muscle and tissue twined with every violent lash. Battered by an unrelenting shine
The spasms cause damage to the body's tissues, and the continuous flashing light makes it impossible to heal.
Immobilized by the increasing pains, the procreating agonies of system breakdown
The pain becomes overwhelming, leading to a total breakdown of the body's systems and functions.
Lightwave frequency body-oscillation. Undeciphered motions pass through my flesh
The light frequencies cause the body to oscillate in a way that is beyond comprehension, further distorting movements and sensations.
Bodily reverberation induced. A corporeal system lost in its waves
The whole body reverberates in response to the light, causing a loss of control over one's physical self.
Bleached into their existence by tremulous epileptic strokes
The intense light exposure causes the body to undergo an epileptic seizure-like state, leaving the individual at the mercy of the experience.
Blasts of irregular pulsar-radiation -Triggering the process of mind and body control
The irregular light blasts serve to bring control of mind and body under the influence of the pulsar radiation.
Lost to their control
The sense of self becomes lost in the light-induced seizures.
A sentence - in flashes told
The experience becomes a language of its own, trying to convey messages through the flashing lights.
Enticed by their calls; - Insane, divine
The individual becomes attracted to the light, seeing it as the divine presence instead of the cause of their ailment.
Torn, undone, dissolved
The entire experience breaks down the constituent parts of the individual, leaving them deconstructed and disassociated from their existence.
By incandescent gods condemned, Burned. Their mark on my soul
The gods represented by the light are burning and destroying the individual, leaving a permanent mark on their psyche.
To my inverted shadow confined
The individual becomes confined to their own shadow, trapped in a spiral of self-destructive behavior.
Twisted, spun. Vertebras and spinal column unaligned
The experience causes the individual's spine to twist and deform, leading to further physical damage and pain.
Joints shattered and torn apart. Spasm-rendered distortion
The individual's joints suffer severe damage and are unable to function correctly, creating a distorted appearance and movements.
Organic spiral. Stretched and torn into a new creation
The individual's body undergoes a transformation, becoming a new creation that bears little resemblance to the original form.
A wordless thing, a thingless word. Lightborn malformation
The experience leaves the individual devoid of speech and words, becoming a malformed creature borne out of the light.
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: FREDRIK THORDENDAL, TOMAS HAAKE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind