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.
Transfixion
Meshuggah Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Connected to a blur sensations deformed
We are to drown just to become
Another set of eyes among the millions
Enchanted we fade selecting illusions
Dwellers of the scene a new world obsessed
Gods of displays divine screens
Down kneel to shields of glass
To the sovereign
Bleed for the entity of wavelengths
Transfixed yet eyes glowing with delight
Delusions of omniscience bred us by liars
Mentally drained by the growing leech
Fed on our manic desire
Oceans of sewage continual
Washing into our minds
Drowning in wasted integrity
With eyes too open to see vanity
Engulfed in super fiction fields
What are we when the false pictures
Dissolve
Caged within a twilight world
Devoid of own self made thoughts
Stare blind...
The lyrics to Meshuggah's song Transfixion appear to be a commentary on the modern obsession with technology and the media that surrounds us. The singer speaks of being trapped in a gaze where time stands still, and being connected to a blur of deformed sensations. The song seems to suggest that as a society we have become addicted to the endless stream of information and entertainment that is available to us through the screens that surround us.
The lyrics suggest that this addiction has made us lose touch with reality and has caused us to become delusional, thinking that we are all-knowing and omnipotent. However, in reality, we are simply being drained mentally by the endless exposure to media and technology. The line "Drowning in wasted integrity with eyes too open to see vanity" is particularly telling, suggesting that we are losing our moral compass as we become increasingly obsessed with the superficial world around us.
Overall, the song is a powerful commentary on the dangers of our relationship with technology and the media. It suggests that we are becoming lost in a world of illusion, and that we need to regain our sense of self and our connection with reality if we are to thrive as individuals and as a society.
Line by Line Meaning
Trapped in a gaze where time stand still
Our attention is captured in a way that halts the passage of time
Connected to a blur sensations deformed
Our perceptions are distorted and unclear
We are to drown just to become
We must give up our individuality to become part of the masses
Another set of eyes among the millions
Our unique perspectives are lost in the sea of uniformity
Enchanted we fade selecting illusions
We willingly lose ourselves in false realities
Dwellers of the scene a new world obsessed
We are consumed by our obsession with the artificial world around us
Gods of displays divine screens
We worship the technology that controls our perception
Radiate us now your blessing
We beg for the approval and validation of the technology controlling us
Down kneel to shields of glass
We bow down to the screens that dictate our lives
To the sovereign
To the technology that rules us
Bleed for the entity of wavelengths
We sacrifice our own well-being for the signals that control us
Transfixed yet eyes glowing with delight
We are captivated yet unaware of the negative impact on our lives
Delusions of omniscience bred us by liars
We are misled to believe we possess knowledge beyond our capacity
Mentally drained by the growing leech
We are exhausted by the technology that feeds on our obsession
Fed on our manic desire
Our addiction to the technology that controls us empowers it
Oceans of sewage continual
We are constantly bombarded by harmful messages from our screens
Washing into our minds
These messages become ingrained in our thoughts
Drowning in wasted integrity
Our moral values are disregarded and destroyed
With eyes too open to see vanity
Despite our awareness, we cannot escape the trap of superficiality
Engulfed in super fiction fields
We are surrounded by fake realities and lose touch with actuality
What are we when the false pictures
We lose our sense of identity when our false perceptions are exposed
Dissolve
Everything we thought we knew falls apart
Caged within a twilight world
We are trapped in a world of artificial light and illusion
Devoid of own self made thoughts
Our own ideas and thoughts are lost, replaced by external influences
Stare blind...
We are blinded to the truth, unable to break free from the illusion
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: FREDRIK THORDENDAL, MAARTEN HAGSTROEM, MARTEN HAGSTROEM, M�RTEN HAGSTR�M, TOMAS HAAKE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@NavarroSkyrim
This is by far the most underrated song by Meshuggah
@slowpace1984
Autonomy Lost
Shed
Beneath
@rustyshackleford9452
I am colossus
Nebulous
Marrow
But this one is also pretty underrated
@mythosspecialist1352
In death is death
@LifeinaMaze
All songs by them are under rated. Future breed machine was a perfect depiction of today. And today sucks. I'm All about destroy erase improve. But it's the government that needs erasing. Every fucking one that sits in the counsel of seven, the 13 and the like.
@cualquiera5187
@@slowpace1984 Shed is pretty well known
@barbamatteo
Destroy erase improve is a masterpiece.. no one single song is bad.
@mrconfusion87
Revolver Mag rightfully cited it as one of the Greatest Metal Albums ever before...
@pawemichon5882
Man, that ending breakdown...... gives me chills
@LeonLandgren-qt9pg
Its awesome.