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MESHUGGAH
‘IMMUTABLE’
Album Review

(11th April 2022)

Review by Vox Fontaine

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Mavericks. Pioneers. Unique. Immutable.

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The dedicated and zealous following of Meshuggah is fervently cult-like. An act that has carved out a unique tone and been the demonic inspiration for many guitarist that are compelled to find the illusive ‘drop-z’.

As with any band that has a fanatically ferocious fandom the listeners have waited with bated breath and gnashing teeth, especially after a 6 year wait between albums.

This release marks a sweet relief with the return of guitarist Fredrik Thordendal, whom took leave from Meshuggah in 2017. Thordendal’s absence struck big questions for what was to come next for this troupe of titanic troubadours, as he has been with the band since they first decided to detune and wage a riff based war on humankind, way back in 1987.

All this wafting and preamble of mine comes to its point, in saying that Meshuggah and ­this album is indeed well categorized by its title. IMMUTABLE!

Immutable announces its presence to the world with a hard rhythmic attack that remind us of a slowed down and pensive version of ‘I’. Then opening up into their signature creeping tone, one that was ever present on ‘Obzen’, an album I am also presently pleased to partake in.

The track ‘Broken Cog’ chooses to take its time to develop but Meshuggah have played the patient game before and alas we are rewarded with a riff that evokes Mick Gordon style brutality with an underlying drone. In line with their penchant for the psychotically psychedelic, the whispered yet growled vocals that delay around the stereo field give me the same dark feeling as the production from Korn’s ‘Issues’.

Whist the first track was suitably savvy for sadistic spectators, the savagery surely is unmistakeable on ‘The Abysmal Eye’. Swift rhythms that suspend on notes bent into a deliciously ugly territory over a bedrock of hypnotic time signatures that draw you into a maniacal mantra. Fredrik’s lead work here (and throughout his entire career) has a way of taking the non-melodic and bending it to his will, creating a soundscape of horror and cruelty that haunts you.

Stank face is induced on ‘Light The Shortening Fuse’, it hits with the ability to make your head groove easily whilst not pulling back on the heaviness or their eccentricities. This has long been a staple tenant of Meshuggah and no doubt what has given them prominence over so many fellow brutalists. It’s unexpected elations amid such tight and primal beats.

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‘Phantoms’, ‘Ligature Marks’ and ‘God He Sees in Mirrors’ aim to deliver a host of key Meshuggah-isms.
‘Phantoms’ whilst brutal and chug worthy, dwells within the dramatic otherworldly tones of Obzen, giving a nostalgic feeling that I didn’t know I craved. ‘Ligature Marks’ diverges into a decedent dedication to a singular note and how dynamically and dramatically it can be used.

Savage chaos and erratic notes choices impart a decisive fury on ‘God He Sees in Mirrors’. Yet the essential groove is still present, just as if the brutality is held within the headbangability of the track. The solo willingly detaches from the song’s key and acts as an avant-garde slip into madness. This is a brutal banger with a unique feel and is a less calculated cut, allowing them to approach the song more organically.

Every musically conscience band of brutalist and prog professors is not complete without laying down a near 10 minutes track and herein lays ‘They Move Below’.

Trickling into form with old school thrashy clean passages, harkening back to Meshuggah’s 80’s roots and influences (Megadeth/Metallica). Toped with some choice note deviation, it sounds as if a sweet melody is stalked by a tri-tone. 2 minutes in, this cut open up and explodes into a myriad of riffs so heavy that Sabbath would blush.

Unfortunately, this long instrumental never truly takes off. The groove and hypnotic riffs are there and strong, but alas for 10 minutes of Meshuggah it’s not diverse enough for ears to go back to. Perhaps some vocal diversity from Jens Kidman would have added some more structure.

‘Kaleidoscope’ ups the anti and re-ignites the fires of the forge, with an action packed cut that implies its fury without ever needing to blast beat and instead focuses on the signature bending style riffs.

The first thoughts to enter my twisted mind whilst listening to ‘Black Cathedral’ was “Is Meshuggah about to drop a black metal track?”. Opening with a distorted and echoed guitar motif that could only be described as ‘particularly nordic’. I was pensive with anticipation at the prospect of Meshuggah’s take on the beastly genre.

But then I was saddened to find out… that is all it was. A grim tremolo picked interlude. One that thematically leads into ‘I Am That Thirst’.

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Fwaa! Relentless!

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‘I Am That Thirst’ is cut so good it had me looking up where I could buy Fredrik Thordenal’s and Mårten Hagström signature Ibanez’s. The pace is kept and this track will crush you. It’s on the edge and you can hear that they loved creating this. Boundless brutality barbarically befalls my bewildered brain.

I was left with that glorious metal head feeling, as if you were young again and delving into your first heavy bands. Although not the most dramatically toned track on this album, it’s perfectly paced power comes at just the right place in Immutable’s list.

Question: What could follow that?!
Answer: ‘The Faultless’

DOUBLE FWAA!

THIS IS WHAT I CAME FOR! These two tracks are the cruellest of neighbours, two twins of torrential terror targeted on torment. It’s tracks like these that you can see Meshuggah’s dedication to the diabolical.

‘Armies of the Preposterous’ focuses on constantly rotating rhythms and the more thrashtasic side of Meshuggah’s sound. Its frantic spiciness adds a nice difference compared to the previous two bass laden behemoths.

Alas, as all good things must, Immutable comes to an end with ‘Past Tense’.

Clam yet sinister guitars that harken back to the clean passages of ‘Lethargica’ ease our ears and hearts from and crushing nature of the album and put us to an uneasy rest that feels as if being lulled into a nightmarish sleepscape.

The first half of the Immutable is massively monstrous and that ramps up the fury perfectly in the later tracks. The production is truly some of the best we’ve ever heard from Meshuggah. It’s clear yet the low end and aggression are unyieldingly brutal.

Immutable is an absolute contender for the best Meshuggah album, an uncompromising combination of their most iconic and unique traits. An aggressively artistic album that stays true to its name, unbridled yet precisely focused on stating its purpose and legacy.

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Legendary. Unique. Immutable.

“Immutable is the next evolutionary milestone…” – ROCK HARD

“Thirty years on the throne and counting, Meshuggah can still ignite surprise after devastating surprise from within this beast of a genre. Between its brutally minimal grooves, bright cinematic vistas, slippery rhythmic sideswipes, disgusting bass bludgeoning, classic Thordendal solos, and overall darker sonic presentation, “Immutable” pioneers new territory for the band as much as it lays claim to everything that made them great for the past nine records.”  – Decibel

“On “Immutable”, Meshuggah’s mission remains unchanged: to tunnel into the future, leaving metal’s tired tropes in the dust. Polished to an obsidian sheen, they have crafted a widescreen journey of stripped-back bludgeon, contorted rhythms, and dynamic surprises. It confirms them, yet again, as one of the most important heavy bands in the world.” – Knotfest.com

“…an epic and majestic monument…” – EMP

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Immutable
Tracklist:

01. Broken Cog
02. The Abysmal Eye
03. Light The Shortening Fuse
04. Phantoms
05. Ligature Marks
06. God He Sees In Mirrors
07. They Move Below
08. Kaleidoscope
09. Black Cathedral
10. I Am That Thirst
11. The Faultless
12. Armies Of The Preposterous
13. Past Tense

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MESHUGGAH is:

Jens Kidman | Vocals
Mårten Hagström | Guitars
Dick Lövgren | Bass
Fredrik Thordendal | Guitars
Tomas Haake | Drums

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Follow MESHUGGAH
Website – Facebook – Twitter – Instagram

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Press Release 4th April 2022 (below) HERE

MESHUGGAH
New Album
IMMUTABLE
Out Now 

Via ATOMIC FIRE

Available on all digital platforms
Physical Editions CD, Ltd. Vinyl, Cassette, Merchandise

Available here

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AMNPLIFY – DB