Rock In Review

Meshuggah - obZen
Nuclear Blast Records

* * * * *
5 Stars

One word can describe the magnitude of Meshuggah’s new album obZen, MASSIVE! In these nine tracks of pure adrenaline filled Metal, Meshuggah constantly hits you with their obscure time signatures, heavy hitting drums, and insane bass and guitar parts. Honestly, I haven’t heard much Meshuggah material other than obZen, but I am extremely impressed with how this album sounds. As mentioned before, guitarists Fredrik Thordendal and Marten Hagstrom really outdo themselves on this album with the pure heaviness of their parts with the help of bassist Dick Lövgren, whose parts are really noticeable compared to a lot of other bassists. On top of all the guitarists is drummer Tomas Haake and vocalist Jens Kidman. Tomas and Jens alike offer their amazing talents to finishing off what the other three members have already established. Altogether, this has to be one of the top five most TALENTED bands I have EVER come across! The biggest thing that puts these guys high on the list is their relentless obsession with challenging themselves with the difficulty of the time signatures they use and the pure, complete product they produce while continually performing it live! Proving the skill and ability Meshuggah has to produce some of the greatest material heard on the Metal scene today, obZen has a couple of tracks that really push themselves forward as superior, but the entire album is a true thrill ride for new and old Meshuggah fans! My personal favorite tracks from the album are “Combustion” (track 1), “Bleed” (track 3), and the title track “ObZen” (track 5). “Combustion” fits in on the list for its ability as an incredible album opener. It begins with a bit of a light guitar part just before exploding into a very Thrash metal based song structure. As for “Bleed” and “ObZen”, they top the list because of their pure heaviness and aggression. “Bleed” starts out with another Thrash-like song structure and continues it throughout the entire track, keeping you looking for a time to slow down and take a quick break. Not happening! “ObZen” takes a different approach in the beginning with a heavier, more Heavy metal style structure that you can either mosh or just groove too. As Meshuggah would have it, that Heavy metal feel remains, but it overtaken by the crazy time signature. With these tracks in mind and the guarantee that every other track on the album is also incredible, it needs to be mentioned that Meshuggah cannot really be put into just one music genre. I realize that most bands are like this, but Meshuggah REALLY hits in many different categories. Just from the tracks listed above you have Heavy metal and Thrash metal, “Pineal Gland Optics” (track 7) really helps you see the Experimental metal of the band, and there are many other Meshuggah songs that would change your initial categorization of the band. For obZen, the overall product meets the credentials for the Experimental metal genre. All in all, if you want to experience one of the most exciting albums of 2008, check out obZen by Meshuggah!

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