Obzen, is a shambled of an album … its not a “this doesn’t make sense” in a good way, its a “what the hell were they thinking”, i always expect new stuff or weird stuff from them, very little is ever normal and as such i find it very refreshing and enticing, but even in all the madness there was always something coherent, something that made sense, they were like Matryoshka Dolls, were each layer was different but it all fitted perfectly and therefore it made sense… now this “album” (if i should call it that) is like me getting tracks from their different albums and making a best of, sure there would be great tracks but it would all sound like shit together.

Well, I wont be talking a great deal about each track, no point really, the first 2 tracks, “Combustion” and “Electric Red” have nothing in common with the rest of the album, they sound like refreshed thrash metal, while “Bleed” (the single by the way… remember what i said about the 10000 Days single…) has nothing to with the rest of the album, its a mind blowing track with Tomas Haake doing a freakish double bass drum work that makes me lack the words to described it, it all sounds like white sound from a television… i would buy the album just for that track … but this inconsistencies go further, also the over abuse of “commercial” sounding ruses like slowing down or stopping a song to build it up again… cause i counted… they used it 7 times (that i noticed) almost in every single track, you know at some point that they will pause for some micro shitty interlude, I’ve got no problem with that, but it has to make sense… but overusing it is like Linkin Park making micro intros for every single shitty track they put out (sorry just went and saw one of their live shows and they sucked a bit).

“Lethargica” is next and the name fits the song, its kinda an OK track, with no big highlights it kinda drags on, now the title track “Obzen” is another beast, much more innovative and a bit of a headbanger with a more stop-goish groove going on with loads of highlights… “This Spiteful Snake” is an intricate groovy track, but still lacking, it doesn’t seem to go anywhere and ultimately it just feels self indulgent (trying to fit every single thing into it), “Pineal Gland Optics” we get a straight back to back speedier groove, again great quality and musicianship but with nothing else to add, “Pravus” is pushing again the silliness, its interesting, but not that audible, its a mishmash of musical techniques than music, we finish with “Dancers To A Discordant System”, that starts pretty mind blowing heavy and groovy (why didn’t they do this on some of the other tracks is beyond me), but then it gets into a certain pattern and although pretty good, it wasn’t nothing to call back home.

I know, maybe i expect too much, but like every Meshuggah album it takes a certain amount of time to really start understanding the music or a album, so i took that time, but after the 100th listen, these things still bug me like hell, i was expecting a lot of different things, i was expecting “Bleed”, but no, i get this best of (when their EP I, was the right way to do a Best Of) and then you join things like the freakishly moronic cover art that looks shitty and reminds me of the endogenous Marilyn Manson of Mechanical Animals, were at least he went over the top with it (in a good way), while with Meshuggah its just silly.

Ahh i wont drag this too long, they said in a interview that this was the first time they really had the time to make a album, and not be in a hurry, well then i hope for the next one, they’ll have to make it over a weekend, for sure we would get a masterpiece, this is above all a disappointment and will rarely fit my Meshuggah everyday playlist, don’t get me wrong, all this ranting should be taken with a touch of salt, the production is pretty much on the mark, and there are some really cool tracks (“Bleed” is Beyond Awesome), but i do expect a lot from this band, and I’m sorry to say but this time it feels, they over promised and under delivered, and that to me is a shame.

Official Site Meshuggah.net | Myspace Meshuggah | Vidcult Bleed Video

Meshuggah – Bleed

It all starts off with a bit of a bang with “Pieces of You”, you kinda get a picture right away of what this is all about, the music is a bit more cut and paste than The Dillinger Escape Plan, i mean they have smoother transitions, unlike Car Bomb were most of the time you see cuts between segments in the music, its not too bad cause the segments are pretty rockin, but still … cut and paste, “Gum Under The Table” comes next and a kind of fused death fuzzed metal groove going on into a electronic passage into a hardcorish kind of breakdown… and then… might i say a Meshuggah big wall of sound break… humm very nice.

Well i wont bore everyone by examining every track, suffice to say all of them seem and sound very fresh, they all follow this constant cutting and are very much founded into a more hardcore and harsh foundation, but again with loads of different stuff going around, maybe the most notable track for me is the very awkward “Best Intentions”, the rest is kind of a blazing blur of blasting and jazzing.

So… ok… is it good? txaaaa, i don’t know, like i said above this kind of music is difficult to give it a heads up or down, these boys have skill, but i do understand why a lot of people might not like it, its a bit too cut up, they barely capitalize on good grooves, i guess they seem to be in too much of a hurry to play something else, so yeah if you like weird technical metal maybe Car Bomb is just the right fit.

Official Site Car Bomb (great domain by the way)

Car Bomb – M^6
Car Bomb – His Eyes

First of all, we have new cover art and a bonus DVD. But let’s dig a little deeper. Basically, we have all the rhythm guitar re-recorded, some subtle changes in some tracks – like the end of “Closed Eye Visuals” and “Nebulous” was slowed down [Nebulous... Hmmm that sounds familiar somehow... Hm! Weird].
The drums were also tightened down and mixed from scratch [and I might add: a little over-compressed].
In the vocals we now have some delays here and there.

Is it good? Well… yes and no. Some tracks are great but… some tracks are way worst. In my humble “MESHUGGAH ARE GODS” opinion.
Before the track-by-track comparison, two things stand right away: The rhythm guitars are brutal. When comparing, the old guitars sound like crap. The new ones are very tight, very clean and heavy. On the other hand, the drums sound more mechanical and “hidden” under all that grooviness – particularly the cymbals.

“Stengah”. This track sounds great on some parts. Much more heavy and clean that the previous version. But, there it is… The drums…… The original mix had the cymbals rocking all the way! I really enjoyed that. Hearing all the cymbals in that syncopated rhythms, that was fun. Now the cymbals are quiet down… But that’s not the worst in this track. Didn’t enjoyed very much the removal of the clean chords right before the verse. That creepy chords were great. Too bad…
“Rational Gaze”… Well… This track sounds good. Didn’t notice any changes on this one. Just that, it’s less groovy somehow. Can’t explain it. The guitars sound heavier and cleaner but… Less groovy.
“Perpetual Black Second” did lose on the drums too. I loved that cymbals on the beginning. Now they are down there, under that monster guitar sound. It’s a pity. Delays were added on the vocals giving more power to the chorus.
“Closed Eye Visuals” it’s nice. Subtle change in the end with a re-recorded fill melody. The drum rolls sound worst [like in all other tracks...].
The beginning of “Glints Collide” lacks on the drums. That power groovy organic drums are now a synthetic compressed sound.
“Organic Shadows” it’s an OK track. Didn’t notice any big difference…
“Straws Pulled at Random” is one of the best “new-sound” tracks. Very powerful indeed. The new guitars do squash like a bug the old ones. I do miss that china cymbal pounding all the way tough – right after the intro.
In “Spasm” we have another big loss. Once again, the drums… of course. In the middle part there’s a drum solo kind of thing. Well, with the new drum mix it sounds very “plastic”. The old mix was way more organic.
“Nebulous” is the winner of the new mix. Why? Because it’s my nickname ^^ Now honestly, the new mix is great. It’s slower, heavier and punches you right on the stomach.
“Obsidian” is the final track and it was extended. Never listen to this track many times on the old version, at least on it’s full length, but I must confess that, after the 8 minute therapy, listening to “Stengah” again is very refreshing.

Final notes about the new «Nothing»: the guitars are great, the drums are… worst. Nevertheless, I like having both options. If I’m into some drum madness I’ll listen to «Nothing» v.1. If I’m into some crazy sick guitar groove insanity I’ll listen to «Nothing» v.2.
If this is your first contact with «Nothing» I recommend the new version. Way better sound and you’ll not miss that drum sound I was talking about. Ignorance is bliss.

Meshuggah – Straws Pulled at Random

With their first record they got my attention. I didn’t expect much from a possible second record. The truth is: they did a great record. In the beginning I didn’t dig it very much, but the first song was really cool and I gave this record a second chance. Hell I even gave a third and a fourth chance. Next thing I knew, I was addicted.

“A New Shape of Desperation” is a very melodic record [yeah they're Swedish! It seems melody is in their DNA] with great guitar work, a bit of calc / math metal [fuckin Meshuggah riffage] and a nice production ["Destroy Erase Improve" style but more up-to-date].

First track “It Starts Within” is a small intro that leads into the first song.

“The Truth Is Sold” has a great riff. When I first played this track it just blowed me away. My favorite track, no doubt. Headbanging all the way.

“People Like You” is next in line and is a blast. The pace is increased and my headbanging too. This one is a heavy motha’fucker. In the middle section we got a cool heavy groove, Meshuggah style ["Nothing" era] far from rip-off though [for those who like Meshuggah rip-off clones, I recommend Coprofago].

Next track is “Through Ashes We Crawl”. This track starts with a more melodic vibe but soon we fall into some heavy riffage. Meshuggah style once again.

“Same Old Story” follows and the heavy grooves are back. The chorus has a cool melodic riff. It reminds me “Descent” from Fear Factory‘s “Obsolete” album [check out Soundcult's review to Fear Factory latest work. Did I said "work"? I meant "crap"... latest crap... latest piece of crap... piece of latest... pile of... Ahhhhh crap. Metallica better release their new album really soon, I'm trying hard to forget Fear Factory's crappy album. You know what they say: Fight Fire With Fire ^^ ]. Anyway… Another nice track.

“Dead Eyes See No Future” is next and it’s kind of an instrumental track. Slow melodic riffs really well conceived. Really really nice track.

“Walls of Insecure” starts and is probably my second favorite track. The pace is back up-to-speed and we even got a little blast beat on the drums. Really cool section, mixing this kind of Hardcore playing with a bit of Death Metal. In the middle we have a melodic section with a guitar solo. It fits like a glove. Near the end we have another of those Meshuggah heavy grooves. Really powerfull stuff.

“Idiot” is a 50 second track and is like By Night went berserk. This track could almost be an Hate Eternal [check out Soundcult's review] track, but with a more hardcore feel to it, can you believe that? Sounds a bit out of place, but, I’m a Death Metal freak so…

“Forsaken Love” starts with a cheesy riff. Didn’t dig that at all. The next section is more interesting, Meshuggah strikes again! I’m re-considering the “take By Night of the Meshuggah wannabes pot” decision. Hmmm, but there it is. It’s influenced but has something different. Something that makes it a By Night riff.

OK, “Cursed by the Thought” is another of my favorite tracks. It starts with old Fear Factory riffing style but it’s just an intro. Then By Night’s melodic side steps in once again. Very nice. Heavy riffs but very melodic. I think this might be By Night’s strongest skill. The chorus has another heavy melodic riff. This track has a very nice epic ambiance. It’s this kind of tracks that make all the difference in a record.

The record finishes up with “Time Is Running Out”. Another instrumental. I do not think that this track fits very well with the record. Maybe it’s the piano parts, maybe is the sad feel to it.

OK, so, overall, this is a great record. By Night really surprised me with this second work. I think they now have all that it takes to be a great band. All the conditions to stick around for a long time are created.

Check out this epic song ^^

By Night – Cursed By The Thought

So let’s see what Coprofago did on “Unorthodox Creative Criteria”.
God damn! You didn’t? No… I must be… oh… No.
This is “Destroy Erase Improve” all over the place. Why oh why. I can’t believe this shit. I would expect you guys would stop ripping-off Meshuggah and start to have your own stuff but nooooo, you had to rip-off Meshuggah once again. This time even more perfectly, since the production is better and the vocals are even more Jens Kidman alike. I could swear that this was Jens Kidman singing. I had to triple check the credits. Twilight zone if you ask me.

OK. I have to be honest. It’s not all Meshuggah. We have thirteen songs. Some of them are like Extol and we still have room for some experimentalism, to bad that they are Allan Holdsworth all over the place. Surprise surprise Allan Holdsworth is the major influence of Fredrik Thordendal [Meshuggah's guitar player].

This album has a lot of work, I had to admit it. But… Man, this is identical…
I’ll try to describe the album anyway.

First track is “Crippled Tracker”. Meshuggah all the way. Vocals start and, is this Jens Kidman or what? You’ll have the chance to compare them.

“The Inborn Mechanics”. This is a major rip-off of Meshuggah’s style and I can compare it with one particular Meshuggah song. Check this out: Transfixion
The middle part even has that jazzy [Meshuggah riped-off Allan Holdsworth, and Coprofago ripped both of them] clean parts. That arpeggio chords are so unique.

“Neutralized” is different. Less Meshuggah. More Extol tough [older Extol, not the new pussy Extol]. I have to state that the solos are identical to the ones Fredrik plays also. Bet you didn’t see that one coming -_-

“Merge Into” is an interlude. Allan Holdsworth all the way. Just in case your are thinking I’m crazy check this out: Allan Holdsworth

Next in line is “Fractures”. This is a two minute track. Kind of different. Probably the only not “a major rip-off track” in the record. Weird track nevertheless.

Almost half the record is gone and it’s time for more Meshuggah!!! Shit, I meant Coprofago.
With “Hostile Silent Raptures” we have another element of the Meshuggah style. Yes, the three man singing chorus. End section has a Fredrik alike solo and whatever. This is just absurd.

“Isolated Through Multiplicity” is another Allan track. This guys are great musicians with great technique, no doubt about that. To bad they record this massive rip-offs.

At this point the album becomes a little boring. Not compact at all. Scattered songs with no flow. One Meshuggah track, one Allan Holdsworth track, one violin with synths track ["Glimpses"], another Meshuggah track ["Constriction"] and the album finishes up with two seven minute tracks. “Motion” and “Wavelength”.

What can I say. Very disappointing record. I tough they would improve but, instead they sticked with the Meshuggah rip-off songwriting. Personally I have no interest in this kind of bands. I stick with the original stuff. I stick with MESHUGGAH.

Coprofago – The Inborn Mechanics
Coprofago – Isolated Through Multiplicity

Seems the only original member was it’s most creative and energetic member, Damon Che drumming is for sure the driving force, everything revolves around it’s arrangements, without him it wouldn’t be the same, so how does “World Class Listening Problem” fares with time, quite good as it seems, there are still no vocals, but who cares, music is number one, and some times having vocals is worse than just jamming, and this is a jamming album, whatever the style of music you like, this is simply a delight, i won’t continue my rant, you’ll just have to listen to it, hehehe.

Are we listening to perfection? well the only way i can judge this is by their previous efforts, and it does seem they went a little bit safe, with what they know people would like, is it a bad thing?, noooo, well … maybe, at least for me Don Caballero is supposed to be adventurous to surprise me with weird arrangements, to lick my ears, to make me enjoy and think about music at the same time, and even thought i really enjoyed it, it didn’t made me forget about their later albums, well anyway, its a great album and i hope you people will really like it too (i promise it rocks, hehehe).

Don Caballero – Mmmmm Acting, I Love Me Good Acting
Don Caballero – Savage Composition

That’s all good and dandy but what about their latest release “Catch 33″, after the release of the Ep “I”, this again is a one song album, it’s divided only because it was required by their label, it should be listen in one go, again Meshuggah bring their jazz derived sound to first place, they said this wasn’t to be considered a full Meshuggah album, more a experimental mockup, even though its sure sounds experimental it’s still has all the Meshuggah trademark signatures and twists and turns.

I’m going to use the “song names” to better talk about the Album, so it starts with a 3 in 1 wit the first 3 songs it basic Meshuggah, just starting the engine, much like “Stengah” was used on the album “Nothing”, i find the album is basically divided into 3 parts, 1st the buildup until the double bill “In Death – is Life” and “In death is Death” we you get a masterpiece only Meshuggah could create, with that new bass filled sound, then Shed (much like “Spasm” on the Album “Nothing”, both give Tool a run for their money) starts the build up for the end of the album with the 2 for 1 again of “Dehumanization” and “Sum”.

This Album is like every Meshuggah album filled with surprising stuff, you need to listen to it 100 times to start to really comprehend it, if you have the time or if you are a die hard Meshuggah fan, this album is for you.

Meshuggah – Shed