The old JAR has been a little lighter the last few weeks, so let’s tighten things up a bit. Dropping on April 1st the Djent polyrhythmic Progressive Death forefathers (in a way) have a new album to grace the reviews! Formed in the mid 1980s, this band has done wonders taking the usual borders of heavy metal genres and pushing them out to this rhombus of resolution. I personally have been an outside observer of this band. Around Chaosphere (1998) didn’t hate it, but it also wasn’t my thing, then gave obZen (2008) a spin, and had similar feelings. So since this is the first album since my usual 10 year check in habit has begun, let’s see how I feel!

Meshuggah is: Jens Kidman (vocals), Fredrik Thordendal (guitars), Tomas Haake (drums), Marten Hagstrom (guitars) & Dick Lovgren (bass)

• Artist: Meshuggah
• Album: Immutable (2022)
• Label: Atomic Fire
• Total Track Time: 66:43

Broken Cog very heavy churning drums start off the first minute, building up to everything else coming in. Where there’s light guitars, keys and even the vocals are a raspy whisper when they come in, so it’s an interesting sonic experience. It does give off this chugging through rusted metal vibe with the fact the song is trying to keep things driving with the rhythm section but the rest is whispered and holding back. Gives a very tangible vibe to the ‘broken’ aspect of the song title. Lyrics seem to be about whispers from an ancient malevolent being trying to put things into motion. Very cool song and easily gets across this beckoning doom through the syncopation of the music and the fantastic drum beats. The Abysmal Eye okay this is more of that quick, blast beat opening as we go into much more aggressive vocals than the previous song. ” Relentless and inexorable, This menacing creation, That we ourselves conceived, With covetous verve and credulity“; that’s the first couple lines of the song. Though the lyrics read like a college thesis statement, the old Meshuggah style is very evident in this song. Eventually getting across impending destruction in the lyrics, the bends in the guitar playing, that Djent style mixed in with a fun space-y spiraling solo really makes this a fun ride of nearly getting sucked into a black hole or something. Light the Shortening Fuse now this is awesome. It has crashing symbol fills to compliment the screaming vocals and crunchy in your face guitar tone. Lyrically it speaks to the soul of how moronic social media is, the confirmation bias and how it’s just become an echo chamber of idiocy. “This trope of ignorance, disinformation, Made to confuse, to light the shortened fuse”, this says so much in just a few short words. Great song that stays in your face without being too much, and just really picks its spots to punctuate the point. Fantastic.

Phantoms, little upset this song has nothing to do with Ben Affleck, he was the bomb in Phantoms, yo. About the song though, this goes for more of an industrial approach, like Tool or Twelve Foot Ninja. I don’t really appreciate how inaudible the vocals are in this song. Death vocals are always a weird balance with me. It’s better than the awful guttural Cookie Monster swallowing the microphone style, but when you add too much vocal fry, the lyrics are irrelevant. You might as well just be singing a Chinese buffet menu. The music keeps me slightly invested with that interesting industrial flair, but I’m never playing this one again. Ligature Marks heavy and a bit more simplistic for the band. Lyrically it plays with Sadomasochistic wording to paint a deeper picture on a possibly existential level. The vocals actually help the vibe of the song since it’s supposed to get across torment. Pretty cool. God He Sees in Mirrors okay this is a chaotic sonic cyclone, but I don’t hate it. The disjointed approach to the composition is interesting, especially given how the lyrics are about tyranny and dictatorship. There’s a lot of serpentine metaphors, and this song does have that slithering feeling. Not a smooth motion, like a snake escaping, a little erratically and very interesting. Could this be chalked up as noise and trash? Sure. But I really enjoy how it all ties together cleverly.

They Move Below is a 9 minute 35 second instrumental. Starts with very light and clean guitar tone for a few minutes before we start getting into the heavier palm muted djent staples for musicality. During the lighter part the instrumental had moments where it sounded reminiscent of Aerials by System of a Down. The trip has gotten heavier and it’s a really cool ride. Thanks to the tempo and tone change after the first few minutes, it helps the instrumental stay fresh and you remain locked in, even though it’s over 9 minutes long. Very cool song, no real complaints, the movement in the song tone helps to play with the title of moving below since it’s starts off light, clean and airy; then goes into heavy Djent territory. Curious if this is going to be a turning point in the album sound, or if it was just a cool instrumental. Kaleidoscope punches you in the teeth pretty quickly with the vocals. The instrumentation isn’t quite as heavy or intricate as they have been, but it all blends together for a great sounding song. Though the guitar tone during the solo, is odd. The lyrics get across seeing through lies and falsehoods with this kaleidoscope. Pretty cool song, save for the guitar tone of the solo. Weird ass dolphin being dragged across hard wood sound. Black Cathedral a 2 minute instrumental, but another instrumental none the less. I will say, I’m not too mad since the instrumentals are interesting and my biggest hang-ups with Death Metal is the vocals. So taking the variable away, almost ensures that I’ll like the song.

I Am That Thirst ahh yes the horny bonk song! Obviously not true…though not super far off from the lyrics. They seem to focus on thirsting for fame/money, the original things to crave. Musically this is also interesting since it reminds me of OverKill since there’s groove and thrash elements. The end of the song goes for more of the Iced Earth sludge flavored finish, so it’s really just an interesting song. A little forgettable, but not offensive. The Faultless has a very interesting bassline to start things off. Very heavy and groovy. The vocals don’t help anything here since the lyrics are about mental abuse and the abuser acting innocent as many gaslighting/manipulative types like to feel. Instrumentally this is really cool, spirals in a fun arpeggio that circles back around to the despair and deep darkness the guitars and bass tone give off. This is beautifully erratic, and then the last verse, the vocals are actually perfect! When it’s more of the foreboding spoken word, that is genius. Took a little bit to get me there, but this ends up being a wonderful song.

Armies of the Preposterous while I don’t like the initial vocal delivery, the persistent double bass really gets across this marching. Also the time signature is weird to me, it feels like 3/4, which is more classically known as a waltz. So a double bass heavy Djent waltz about contrivances, misguided groups, here this line sums it up; “Armies of the preposterous, trapped in misguided thrall“. Very interesting if not confusing to get a waltz towards the end of this album. Past Tense is another instrumental to end the album, and it starts almost like the Jaws theme, but more ominous and sorrowful.

So much like with my review of Knife last year, me liking a Death Metal album is always a little weird. Yes, Meshuggah isn’t just death, they cover at least 7 other genres in this album alone, but it’s always interesting when I take to an album that isn’t really my style. Aside from the vocals losing me in places, and the one song being sonically ruined in my opinion; we get a solid and enjoyable album. Three instrumentals feels like a lot, and I think I would’ve preferred Past Tense leading into Armies of the Preposterous just to end the album with more of a punch. But that’s nit picking. Plus given the lyrical content of Armies, maybe it was supposed to end a little more foreboding as food for thought.

Either way, a pretty damn solid offering. Plus it’s not often you can hear a heavy metal waltz, especially from a band known to be intricate and polyrhythmic. So I liked it! Is it for everyone? No effin’ way. But hey, I had a fun trip.

Final Judgment: 7.05/10