Meshuggah - Catch Thirty Three

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Forest: Sold Out
Jul 5, 2003
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Indiana
Meshuggah – Catch Thirty Three
Nuclear Blast Records – NB 1311 – May 31st, 2005
By Jason Jordan

meshuggahcatch33cover.jpg


Didn’t Nate do a good job with the first review of Catch Thirty Three? How about another hand for Nate! * claps * Now, I’m here to weigh in on the issue, two months later, and present my opinion(s) about the most anticipated album of 2005…maybe. Unsurprisingly – after surveying the quality that emanates from Meshuggah – many of my thoughts parallel Nate’s, which means that I’m only going to touch lightly on Nuclear Blast Records’s chief moneymaking group.

By now, a mere four days before the European release date (eleven for the U.S.), it would be daft of me to think that you haven’t heard Catch Thirty Three already. It’s been downloadable for God-knows-how-long, and the promos were distributed some time ago as well. So, you know that the album is essentially one song, and that it’s fucking good. I enjoyed mostly every minute of the forty-five minute excursion, from the time “Autonomy Lost” opened with its patented Meshuggah riffage, to the wiry rhythms of “In Death – Is Death,” to the abstruseness of “Dehumanization.” No, the band isn’t easily dissectible this time around either. I relished not being able to realize the transitions between tracks – although I thought “Mind’s Mirrors” broke up the continuity too much, and I personally don’t have any use for said filler. On a larger scale, however, Catch Thirty Three actually accomplishes what it set out to achieve, much like we, the U.S., did in Iraq. The latter statement is littered with sarcasm by the way.

I was brilliant I thought, and everyone knew the group would have a difficult time upending their predecessor. Nonetheless, Meshuggah have ultimately crafted something mind-blowing, complex, and utterly fun to delve into. The aforementioned is better in short bursts, I’ve discovered, but that still doesn’t detract from its value. Back to you, Nate! Back to you.

9/10

Nate The Great's Review of Meshuggah - Catch Thirty Three
Official Meshuggah Website
Official Nuclear Blast Records Website