Breakfast with Meshuggah.

pinback · Post by **pinback** » Fri Oct 07, 2016 5:58 am

It's 6:50 AM Central. I have a large cup of coffee, and the new Meshuggah album, "The Violent Sleep of Reason", at the ready.

Let us DO THIS, as I comment on each track as it comes up. (Let us also drink coffee, because goddamn.)

With an album name as bad as "The Violent Sleep of Reason", and track names as bad as "Our Rage Won't Die", I'm expecting great things.

Track 1: Clockworks
Chugs. Drums. Waiting for the drop. There it is. Nope, more chugs and drums. WHOA SHIT. Insanity begins. Headphones already begging for mercy, not getting it. Here comes the first solo, atop a steady barrage of chugs -- amusingly the chugs in this part do not change meter, almost, 1, 2, 3, 4. Not even halfway through the song. Now a major-league groove with Fredrik going berserk. Relentless, toe-tapping brutality. This is the hardest song I've ever heard. And now back to the opening theme. Bringin' it around. Whew. I'm exhausted. More coffee.

Track 2: Born in Dissonance
This was one of the singles, so I've heard this several times. Total groove that shifts angles fast enough to cause whiplash if you're trying to headbang along to it. Which I am not. You think I'm some kinda rookie here? I was BORN for this shit. Born... in DISSONANCE for this shit? Jens cannot pronounce the word "dissonance", which provides some light comic relief. The solo here is too familiar, but I'm letting it go. The first one with an obvious "pattern" that we'll all have fun figuring out. Pattern difficulty level: 4 (where "Bleed" is a 10.) Amusingly, you can hear Tomas' chair squeak at the end, almost to prove that they're recording it live for the first time in over two decades.

Track 3: Monstrocity
More laid-back start, mid-range slow riff. But then... A locomotive of anger drives through the station on some weird 8/9 time signature or something. I can't get the groove yet, which is not a complaint, it's a challenge. It's always a challenge with these guys. If they ever played Meshuggah at a NASCAR race, it'd probably be this song. Nice solo, Fredrik. Middle section inscrutable, hopping between a low chug and high chord seemingly randomly. Now a super-sweet descending riff with everyone locked in, and then back to the locomotive. This song is a departure from the norm, I'd say. Whatever the norm is.

Track 4: By the Ton
Slow, Nothing-esque riff to start. Leads into a slow, bendy section, lots of zipping up and down the fretboard. And what's this, a riff that almost sounds like a normal band would do it -- but not quite. You can hear the squeak of fingers sliding on strings, another rarity. Showoffs! Middle riff, two notes see-sawing with each other. But then the see-saw breaks and all the kids go flying. Mid-tempo riffing everywhere! How can you hit strings that hard, that's my question. And now some '80s Metallica chugging, cute. This shit is all over the place, yo. Then goes out with more brutal midtempo riffage, but it's like one continuous "riff story", nothing seems to repeat. That's a great term, Ben. Thanks.

Track 5: Violent Sleep of Reason
Standard opening, but then... CHRIST, what the hell. Like the scythe-swinging bendy note hammers from the end of Marrow but more evil. The guitar tone for the riffs on this album is incredible. After the bendies, Jens yammering about something idiotic I'm sure. Nothin' but off-tempo chugging in the back, not that interesting, other than figuring out the pattern. Now a solo, somewhat reserved. Maybe they decided to take this song off and relax a little. Uh oh, a wild groove appears! And then a riff bordering on melodic, though we never use the "m" word with this band. This feels like a "fuck it, throw everything at 'em" song. Nonstop pummeling from first to last.

Maybe something a little more uptempo, fellas?

Track 6: Ivory Tower
Nope, more mid-tempo riffing. Getting hard to tell the songs apart. Riffs descending like boulders falling off a mountain. A noticeable rhythmic pattern here we can all figure out. Different mid-tempo riff in the middle, but they're all hitting directly on the 16th notes. Now Fredrik playing another slow, drunk solo. Lol, one little high-hat hit in the middle of a stop. A humorous little wink. And then going out on Jens screaming and everyone else pummeling.

Track 7: Stifled
Hey look, more midtempo riffing! But then it kinda kicks it up a notch. But not quite. Chugs 'n' bendies, chugs 'n' bendies. No groove in sight yet. EXTREMELY heavy riff in the middle, RIP ears. Now we're talkin'. Fredrik back playing a solo that has nothing to do with the rest of the song, a Meshuggah hallmark. Back to chugs 'n' bendies. And now another "riff poem". I like that more than "riff story". Good modification, Ben. Thanks. This riff poem has a pattern I can almost pick out, but not hit every note. And now a dreamy little atmospheric break, like floating in the clouds! A touch of Vangelis. Maybe they'll do the soundtrack to Blade Runner 2 (in theaters, October 6, 2017). Well, this is certainly new and different. I figured it'd come back and start chugging again, but nope, just drifting through the clouds. I think I'll put this on when I go to sleep.

Track 8: Nostrum
The other single, which I've heard. It starts with relentless pounding, then heads into a section with the single hardest note I've ever heard in music. Ah, the sweet relief of familiarity. Then a rockin', bendy middle part which caused me to initially brand this song "Marrow 2", which is not a bad thing, and which I still stand by. I STAND BY MY EARLIER STATEMENT, THANK YOU. Fredrik's solo is still my favorite on the album I think. At the end it actually meets up with the music the rest of the band is playing! And I love the bit at the end where it goes chug-chord, chug-chord, but the chord part then goes way up into the clouds, like whaaa, where are we? What's going on?? Are these the same clouds from the end of Stifled? But then we crash back to Earth.

Track 9: Our Rage Won't Die
God, what a terrible name. But, it's up-tempo! Yeaaah, rock 'n' roll! BUILD THAT WALL! 'MUUUURICA!! /throws shit around the room, breaks things without regard for decency. A nice break from the relentless destruction of the past several tracks. It's a toe-tappin' treat! Meshuggah elitists will probably look down on this one due to its accessibility, but I forgive myself for liking it. And the middle riff is total Nothing-ness (heh), which is always a good thing, because that is their best album, if I forgot to mention it. Obzen has Bleed and Dancers to a Discordant System, which are probably their best songs, but taken as a whole, Nothing is the better album. But let's get back to the topic at hand. RAWWWWK!!!

Track 10: Into Decay
What is THIS. What is this sound I am hearing. It's like the world's most evil guitar after being pelted with flaming Satan rocks! Sinister to the extreme, this chuggy opening. But then... We're crawling out of the rocks with some bendies... Bendies will save us from the darkness! Whoops, no, back to Hell for us. This is DOWN-tempo, in the best way possible. Nuclear bombs going off in the middle. This is the best song on the album already. Riff poem in the middle, but the sounds those guitars are making are not normal, not... human. Now some syncopated chording, but with the same stygian broken-guitar sound. Feels like something we're not meant to listen to! Hey, Jens said something I could understand, finally ("What have we become?") I dunno, man. Going out on a riff I recognize from a song on another album, but it's not coming to me. If this is their last album, this is a good song to go out on. They're leavin' the egg in the microwave on this one!

Welp, that's it. My initial impressions are:

1. Their heaviest album ever?
2. Feels a little "samey" in the middle, but as always, repeat listens will distinguish the songs more, as the intricacies are pulled apart.
3. The sound is incredible, the guitars have never sounded more DJENT. HUhuhuh. I said that to piss a certain crowd off if they ever read this.
4. A few instant classics, and the rest are, I mean, have you ever heard Meshuggah? Yeah, they're just like that.

I give this album 10 trips to the otologist out of 10.

What??

Flack · Post by **Flack** » Fri Oct 07, 2016 7:13 am

Best non-riff story about a riff-story I ever read.

Pinback's Review: 10/10.

Didn't see this coming. · Fri Oct 07, 2016 1:18 pm

Ok, this all makes sense now, pinback and Tdarcos are the same person.

pinback · Post by **pinback** » Fri Oct 07, 2016 1:19 pm

What the fuck are you talking about? This has about as much in common with a Tdarcos post as you do with being a universally loved poster here.

bucket of nipples · Post by **bucket of nipples** » Fri Oct 07, 2016 3:19 pm

pinback wrote:What the fuck are you talking about? This has about as much in common with a Tdarcos post...

The only people who type out posts this long are me and Tdarcos, and I know I am not Tdarcos.

pinback · Post by **pinback** » Fri Oct 07, 2016 4:22 pm

Yep, nope, you really got this place figured out.

Dream Weaver · Post by **Dream Weaver** » Fri Oct 07, 2016 9:38 pm

pinback wrote:Yep, nope, you really got this place figured out.

Really? I have 2 active polls on if I am really Tdarcos, but you get pissy for me just mentioning it to you?

RealNC · Post by **RealNC** » Fri Oct 07, 2016 9:44 pm

Only listened to it once so far (just now), but it already looks like it and "Decision Day" by Sodom are the best of 2016.

pinback · Post by **pinback** » Sat Oct 08, 2016 12:27 pm

Upon repeat listens, Clockworks might be the greatest Meshuggah song of all time?

Paul, listen to this for me, and tell me what you think. Best song ever, right?

[youtube][/youtube]

Paul · Post by **Paul** » Sat Oct 08, 2016 2:14 pm

pinback wrote:
Paul, listen to this for me, and tell me what you think. Best song ever, right?

[youtube][/youtube]

It actually didn't do anything for me.

pinback · Post by **pinback** » Sat Oct 08, 2016 3:19 pm

You absolutely can NOT be Fake Paul on here. That is one thing I will not allow, and I will ban your ass faster than Paul destroys his latest Android tablet.

Tdarcos · Post by **Tdarcos** » Sat Oct 08, 2016 7:03 pm

pinback wrote:Upon repeat listens, Clockworks might be the greatest Meshuggah song of all time?

Paul, listen to this for me, and tell me what you think. Best song ever, right?

I can categorically certify this after 20 seconds to be unlistenable and after a minute and a half to be the worst piece of shit I have heard. A couple drunks banging trash can lids on garbage cans would probably be better sounding.

Actually, after actually looking up "banging on a trash can" on You Tube, I can say that there actually is a better sound from banging on a trash can:

[youtube] [/youtube]

pinback · Post by **pinback** » Sat Oct 08, 2016 7:23 pm

Okay, how about this version of "Shout" from Disturbed. You love this song! It's in your signature!

[youtube][/youtube]

bucket of nipples · Post by **bucket of nipples** » Sat Oct 08, 2016 11:14 pm

Disturbed is a shit band.

In Paul's defense... · Sat Oct 08, 2016 11:36 pm

pinback wrote:You absolutely can NOT be Fake Paul on here.

Can I be Paul's advocate then?

pinback wrote:and I will ban your ass faster than Paul destroys his latest Android tablet.

He does the best he can given his situation, I respect that.

RealNC · Post by **RealNC** » Sun Oct 09, 2016 2:05 pm

Tdarcos wrote:I can categorically certify this after 20 seconds to be unlistenable and after a minute and a half to be the worst piece of shit I have heard.

This is how you know that a metal album is great. Hearing non-metalheads say exactly what Paul just said.

In Paul's defense... · Sun Oct 09, 2016 3:50 pm

RealNC wrote:This is how you know that a metal album is great. Hearing non-metalheads say exactly what Paul just said.

Maybe Paul is just viewing the album from a less biased perspective?

RealNC · Post by **RealNC** » Mon Oct 10, 2016 2:02 am

In Paul's defense... wrote:Maybe Paul is just viewing the album from a less biased perspective?

Explain "bias" in this context.

In Paul's defense... · Mon Oct 10, 2016 3:43 am

RealNC wrote:
In Paul's defense... wrote:Maybe Paul is just viewing the album from a less biased perspective?
Explain "bias" in this context.

Not until you ask nice.

RealNC · Post by **RealNC** » Mon Oct 10, 2016 4:31 am

In Paul's defense... wrote:Explain "bias" in this context.

Not until you ask nice.[/quote]
Explain "bias" in this context, bitch.

Please.