Meshuggah - I

Bleakest Harvest

\m/Misanthropic Hippy\m/
Nov 11, 2001
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Meshuggah - I
Fractured Transmitter Records - FRT001 - 14/07/2004
By Paddy Walsh

meshuggah_i_ep.jpg


With this stop gap EP, Meshuggah are no doubt aiming to appease those of you who were left underwhelmed by their last full length Nothing. I not only does this, but reaffirms the band’s position as leaders of the ‘technical metal’ field. Or whatever you want to call it.

Comprising one, twenty-one minute track, I initially seems like a daunting listen. Do I really want to hear twenty-one minutes of this kind of thing without so much as a second to breathe? Thankfully Meshuggah manage to keep things engaging. This is not achieved by any drastic songwriting changes - quite the opposite actually. The Meshuggah we all know and love is present and correct. All of those pulverising guitars, odd drum patterns and shouted vocals are here. Their habit of repeating a riff ad-nausea is here too, which of course has been known to turn off many a budding listener. However, the band seems to have a knack for knowing exactly when we’ve had enough of a particular riff, changing it just in time, or even just adding a nice jazzy solo into the mix.

What at first appears to be a ‘cut and paste the riffs together and make a long song’ type affair, I nevertheless is a captivating listen. Mainly because the group are on absolute top form, have returned to thrashing it up Chaosphere style as opposed to the slowed down Nothing. There is not a poor moment on this EP. In fact, like most of Meshuggah’s work, there are parts that make you go ‘what the hell is he doing there?’, and that can only be a good thing. The EP length actually works in their favour, creating a piece of music that doesn’t overstay its welcome, but while it’s here makes itself known in no uncertain terms.

8.5/10

Meshuggah's Official Website
Fractured Transmitter Records' Official Website
 
I fucking love this song. I divided it up into 3 songs in MP3 format cutting out some of the stuff I thought was kinda filler and put it on my ipod. Crushing stuff.
 
Yeah Sept 14th in the states. Canada already has it as does Europe. A friend of mine got a copy in Canada and burned me it. You can also get it on any file trading service obviously.
 
Didn't like it that much at first but it quickly grew on me. Meshuggah fucking own. While all the other Swedish bands are adding clean choruses and making their sound more commercial, Meshuggah refuses to compromise their sound. This album is crushing, just like everything else they've done.
 
if 'I' is anything to go by (and I sincerely hope it is), their new full-length album will fucking kill when it hits. 'Nothing' is forgiven and forgotten. Meshuggah, you own...