Meshuggah
Biography
Offering a complex form of metal that combined the sweeping adverturism of math rock, the oddball tempos of experimental jazz, and the stunning brutality of thrash metal, Meshuggah raised the bar for metal bands everywhere upon their debut. The roots of Swedish metal band Meshuggah were planted in 1985; originally named Metallien, the founding line-up included frontman Roger Olofsson, guitarists Peder Gustafsson and Fredrik Tordendahl, bassist Janne Wiklund and drummer Örjan Lundmark. After a few demos made the rounds, Metallien broke up and Fredrik Thordendal continued the band with a different lineup and a different name. The original lineup of Meshuggah also included vocalist Jens Kidman, guitarist Johan Sjögren, bassist Jörgen Lindmark and drummer Per Sjögren. A handful of demos followed before Kidman left the group to form a new outfit, Calipash, with guitarist Torbjörn Granström, bassist Peter Nordin and drummer Niclas Lundgren; the surviving members of Meshuggah soon disbanded, and when Granström left Calipash, Thordendal assumed guitar duties in the new band. Kidman and Thordendal then agreed to reclaim the Meshuggah name, and in 1989 the band released a three-song mini-LP; after signing to Nuclear Blast (and swapping Lundgren for new drummer Tomas Haake), they issued the full-length Contradictions Collapse in 1991.
Selected Discography
I saw these guys open for Tool too man they were going off in a well lit arena not giving a f**k!! Thomas Haake is a machine!!!
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Nothing like it, who says anybody is better. I got to meet them in orlando and drink beers while waching the ministry set of ministry's last tour. They were cool as hell, just like anybody else that was there. Nobody even noticed them standing there,Which was cool becouse they could just hang out with me and my girl we got pictures with them. They are gods of metal for sure.
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tomas haake is one of the best drummers out there. f**king god like. go youtube one of his performances . its mind blowing
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Its cool when Death metal and prog bands do shows because they are two of my favorite generes. Unfortunatel y , I have never attended a concert with such an epic line-up as that.
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They really did open for Tool and I saw it! 9.9.01. They were great but hard to understand in a big boomy arena. Peoples jaws were on the floor.
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Purdy f**kin' good! I still have an old long sleeved chaosphere concert shirt kicking around somewhere. The show was purdy good too, these guys are outstanding live. lol (loooong time ago!)I think they opened up for Tool. Meshuggah will always be a kick a** band!
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Dr. Max, nothing on earth can convey the anger, sadness, angst, betrayal, pain, and suffering there is to be felt the way a Jens Kidman scream does. Thats what it means to most bands, it's the best and only way to truely get across what they feel. Not to mention that it goes with the generally dissonant nature of Meshuggah's music as a whole. And the iambic pentameter is ridiculous. And for the Thomas Haake fan below, he writes all the lyrics, too. GENIUS!!!!!! ! ! !
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One of the greatest metal band of the 21st century. Even their older thrash-ish stuff is above and beyond most of today's offerings *cough, Blood Mountain era Mastodon, cough*. Very challenging to listen to at first, but it soaks in after a few dozen spins. Lyrics are where it is at.
As for the brutal screams...I don't know. It just feels right to some of us. Going against the grain. |
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Dr. Max, it's because it sounds good :3
The anger, the brutality, the cold anti-melodic nature of it. It is appealing. |
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I can't believe how incredibly technical and what brilliant musicians these guys are. BUT the vocals-Pleas e I NEED to know WHAT IS THE MUSICAL APPEAL OF Screaming, growling, gasping etc. I'm trying- but I can't get past it. Lemme know, I'm trying to be open.
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MESHUGGAHMES H U G G A H M E S H U G G A H M E S H U G G A H M E S H U G G A H M E S H U G G A H M E S H U G G A H M E S H U G G A H
MESHUGGAHMES H U G G A H M E S H U G G A H M E S H U G G A H M E S H U G G A H M E S H U G G A H M E S H U G G A H M E S H U G G A H MESHUGGAHMES H U G G A H M E S H U G G A H M E S H U G G A H M E S H U G G A H M E S H U G G A H M E S H U G G A H M E S H U G G A H MESHUGGAHMES H U G G A H M E S H U G G A H M E S H U G G A H M E S H U G G A H M E S H U G G A H M E S H U G G A H M E S H U G G A H MESHUGGAHMES H U G G A H M E S H U G G A H M E S H U G G A H M E S H U G G A H M E S H U G G A H M E S H U G G A H M E S H U G G A H MESHUGGAHMES H U G G A H M E S H U G G A H M E S H U G G A H M E S H U G G A H M E S H U G G A H M E S H U G G A H M E S H U G G A H MESHUGGAHMES H U G G A H M E S H U G G A H M E S H U G G A H M E S H U G G A H M E S H U G G A H M E S H U G G A |
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I caught them a few years ago in Sand Diego. It was intense but it was a typically lame California crowd of Gapers. No one knew what was happening to them so they just stood there, agape, bewildered.
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Wow have I missed out on some greatness. Everything I've heard so far has been awesome.
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These guys are one of my top three favorite bands. I want to see them live.
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Yeah, I have the album, gotta love the brutal, relentless technicality paired with the nihilistic philosophica l goodness.
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Destroy/Eras e / I m p r o v e came out in '95, regardless of what year anyone thinks they bought it. "Obzen" is the greatest album ever created by humans! Check out "Dancers to a Discordant System" and follow along with the written lyrics. Also recommend "Electric Red" and "Pineal Gland Optics" Enjoy!
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These guys are so good that they got an entire article in an academic music journal analyzing their style of music.
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this band is one the greatest metal bands ever. i sugest you listen to them
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I bought Destroy Erase Improve in 02 with nothing and rare trax so DEI needs to be fixed but Meshuggah is currently the hardest metal band in the world the song war was voted out of Rockband 1 and 2 it was destroying the drumkits.
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every other metal band is pale in comparison to these guys. nuff' said.
METAL FOR THE F**KING WIN!!!! !io! |
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saw them with ministry-i'm sure i said this-emoiten a l blackout and they were phantastic !
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Awesome Band I think all Death Metal Bands from Sweden Are awesome especially In Flames. Meshuggah kicks a** though.
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Only Kickasss bands like this dont make it mainstream but are better then most who do by 10 fold
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The vocals are tightrope walking right on the border between me liking the band and dismissing it as noise.
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Brutality, grace, savagery, and sickness. The greatest metal band in existence.
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Planets colliding couldn't be heavier...
there is no other, they are absolutely the best. |
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I just want to make a quick comment about the description above:
"Oddball tempos of experimental jazz?" That doesn't make any sense. Tempo is just the speed at which the music is played. They may have meant time signature, but even that's more related to "math rock" than jazz. Really Meshuggah has very little to do with "experimenta l jazz" because it's not improvised on the spot or based on loose song parameters (like modal or chord progression- b a s e d jazz). That said, Meshuggah rocks. |
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