Meshuggah – "Immutable"

It's a tough job giving an exhaustive account of an album from a band that has nothing left to prove, yet somehow keep on pushing themselves and taking on new territory. But I suppose I could always start from the start.

Since the – dear god – 10 year old "Koloss", Meshuggah have been more focused and patient in their songwriting, and this is apparent from the jagged, chunky beginning of "Broken Cog". The eerie opener unfolds slowly and meticulously, the first two verses being almost whispered. And when vocalist Jens Kidman finaly lets it all rip along with the rest of the band, it's like seeing an old friend after a long time. (Yeah, weird comparison, I know.)

"The Abysmal Eye" is more classic Meshuggah in all its semi-automatic machine gun riffing over a complex half-time groove. As always, even though drummer Tomas Haake mostly plays in 4/4 time, it's impossible to figure out any regularity in the rhythm figure periods unless maybe you're in the band and/or autistic. And like its eight predecessing long-players, "Immutable" has material for several spins. All the more so since this is the band's longest album, clocking in at 1h7m.

You could spend several listens only following one instrument at a time, and you'd probably still be discovering new details even after a year or two.

As such, and, again, as always, it's hard to name any stand-outs. But one honorable mention definitely goes out to the almost 10-minute instrumental "They Move Below", starting with a long, clean intro in a pure minor key, a slaughterhouse machine-like killing riff coming out of nowhere, shifting in different variations of itself. You could spend several listens only focusing on one instrument at a time, and you'd probably still be discovering new details even after a year or two.

Another cool stand-out is the slow, deep, syncopated "Ligature Marks" which must be on the top 5 of the band's heaviest tracks ever. And at the same time, the outro's twin guitar lead over the frantic tom-drumming is some of the most melodic and original stuff the band has ever done. Same thing goes for the album's outro track, "Past Tense", which is purely clean guitars with seemingly random extentions and alternating bass notes, making for an atmosphere that's as quiet as it's unsettling.

The word atmosphere is worth dwelling upon. Meshuggah are getting older, and as initially stated, they've long passed the point of having anything to prove. So instead, they've become more focused on atmosphere, and started to write more... well, song-like songs than before. And it works!

Meshuggah have long passed the point of having anything to prove. They've become more focused on atmosphere, and started to write more song-like songs than before. And it works!

If you have the patience and the attention span, you'll notice this all the way toward the end. E.g. in the dark coda of "The Faultless" with its alternating major and minor expansions and disturbing spoken vocals. And the super-heavy half-time bridge of "Armies of the Preposterous" with its almost indecipherable mid-tone lead suddenly disappearing and lifting the listener to a plateau.

Even though "Immutable" features a distortion that's warmer and easier on the ear than before, I'll admit that I'm getting a bit exhausted toward the ending. Meshuggah is a demanding band in a demanding genre, and +1hr is a long time to deal with demanding, aggressive music even though one might be into it.

Maybe one or two fewer tracks and a bit more variation between the rest would have worked. But if you were in doubt, there's not a lot to improve upon here. "Immutable" is testament to the fact that Meshuggah is one of metal's all-time most superb bands, and that they're still evolving.

Jävligt bra.