Koloss (For Real)

Okay, reviewing Meshuggah's new album, Koloss, now.

Though most people have never heard of Meshuggah (named after the Yiddish word for "crazy"), they've been one of the more influential bands in metal since the release of their last album, obZen. A new subgenre of metal called "djent" is largely based off their technicality and distinctively distorted guitar sound--a whole generation of metal bands trying to sound like Meshuggah. How does Meshuggah respond? By calmly reasserting their dominance of the experimental/extreme metal scene and releasing what might be their most solid album yet.

Koloss sees Meshuggah explore beyond the oft-imitated style of metal they pioneered without ever leaving it fully behind. (Except on the last track) The opening track, "I Am Colossus", is definitely on the slower end of their repertoire; a slower, lumbering, and discordant beast of a track that flirts with equal parts groove and doom metal with its impossibly low, detuned guitar chugs. It has a faster sort of revere breakdown in lieu of a solo to spice things up. Just when the first track was almost getting relaxing, "The Demon's Name is Surveillance" returns to "Bleed"-like intensity, levels, built on Tomas Haake's laser-precision rapid-fire kick pedal triplets played in 6-time. The man is a human clock or something.

"Do Not Look Down" is slower but has a similarly intense atmosphere, as well as one of the cooler polyrhythmis on the album. It's more riff-focused, built around a distinctive guitar loop that gets accentuated by some shredding during the solo as well as a few slower breakdowns. Again, these are many of the same elements lots of other technical metal bans use in their songs, but when Meshuggah does it, it feels right and perfectly planned. They are the masters. Anyway, "Behind the Sun" is slower and even more doom-y, though accented by some double/triple bass later where the solo might be in a normal song.

"The Hurt that Finds You First" is probably the most extreme song on the album, with distorted 3-time guitar chugging laid over blast beats and other staples of extreme metal drumming. Then, of course, the outro shifts to a style reminiscent of post metal. "Marrow" is another polyrhythm-heavy song, with a repeated riff that appears to slide up the fretboard midnote for a cool slide effect. The solo here is some higher, discordant shredding to counterpoint it. "Break Those Bones Whose Sinews Gave It Motion" reminds me of doom metal...or post metal...or just Meshuggah. It has one guitar engaging in some of the lowest and heaviest riffing since "I Am Colossus" while the other guitar (or maybe the keyboard) provides electronic-sounding overtones. In the solo/breakdown the guitars go largely ambient for an almost creepy effect.

"Swarm" is built on top of rapidly picked, low-register guitar triplets, with Haake tribal-sounding polyrhythms for a sound that seems to creep and crawl on all fours until it--nevermind. In the solo the guitars just go crazy--I swear, every single song features a totally different guitar sound from the ever-inventive Swedes. "Demiurge" is again slower, with a pounding guitar line that can't seem to decide between 3 and 4-time. It's one of the more chill tracks on the album, relatively speaking, except of course "The Last Vigil", which is a quiet, ambient instrumental postlude to help you relax and return to the world of sane music.

All in all, this album may not seem all that different from obZen, but when extreme metal experimentation is your baseline, it's hard for Meshuggah to sound too innovative without completely reinventing themselves on each album. (Which they sort of already do) It seems a bit more raw and less robotic than their earlier work, as if the band is getting back to basics. (Except that would entail their music having been "basic" at one point) Koloss sees Meshuggah pursue new sounds and prove that, as usual, "rhythm" and "tonality" are mere suggestions. At the same time, they seem to be kicking back ever so slightly and showing that technical metal isn't about who can move their fingers and feet the fastest. The elements of their music have been frequently copied of late, but only Meshuggah can put them together so perfectly into a simultaneously visceral and intellectual package of well-thought-out aggression.

The final word: I would give this album a 5/5 for being one of Meshuggah's most solid releases yet, if not their best. It's definitely not for everyone, but worth a listen for adventurous metal fans. Some good songs to sample are "The Demon's Name is Surveillance", "Do Not Look Down", "Break Those Bones Whose Sinews Gave It Motion", and "Swarm". Bonus points for the fractal-inspired artwork.