Let's say I imagined all the music I listen to as a big open plain. Got it? Nice. Let's then, for the sake of the argument, take a closer look. What do you see? HA! You can't because it's MY imaginary plain so I'll tell ya... that and I can't hear you. Okay so, I see a valley, nice deep one with rivers descending from the highlands. The highlands are basically the boring sh.... certain classic bands. Iron Maiden, Motorhead, Judas Priest, Slayer and the like. The chonky, broad and nice looking mountain are Celtic Frost. Just wanted to say that. A glimpse souther and we see younger, shorter but sharper peaks which represent the modern influences such as Deftones, Opeth, Burzum, Gorguts, Devin Townsend, Mastodon and others. Then come the trees, brushes and other types of foliage. All that are new, upcoming and important bands. We (I) can also like... change the type of climate so if this was a desert, just translate what I said to that space. Or maybe just have every type together? Yeah... that looks cool as hell.
However, no matter how many things I move around or change, there's this large monolith just sitting in the middle. A towering slab of ominous blackness which casts a large shadow encompassing multiple hypothetical AND for the sake of the argument regions.
That my friends, is how I picture Meshuggah. A band leading a solitary lifestyle because no one can reach them, some get close but never enough. They are a once-in-a-lifetime, trans-generational act that didn't reinvent the wheel but tampered with how it rolls. No group of musicians, no matter how talented, think in a way these musical shamans do. No amount of musical theory or instrumental mastery will emulate their approach to rhythm or heaviness.
And on 2022, they re-affirmed that for the ninth time with the maybe aptly-titled Immutable? WHAT? Time to find out.
My love for these legends runs veeery deep, bordering on realms ov obsession which is why I'll do a multi part analysis of their whole sound! Just wanted you to know that sends kiss.
Now, with a wait as long as it has been with Immutable and the music landscape constantly shifting, I, like others, asked myself if they would be up to the task. That being topping The Violent Sleep Of Reason, an album that initially didn't get the love it deserved (Metal Injection and similar pages automatically praising everything from a bigger band not included) but clearly wasn't and isn't as good (read mind-bending) as their best stuff.
A logical train of thought considering how long the quintet have been at the vanguard but it proved to be a foolish one because, like the album title implies, Meshuggah never left. Not only is this their longest record to date but also their most varied. Before I tell you why this is great and not that great let's begin where the band does with "Broken Cog".
Living up to its namesake, the quintet dangle the main pulse before you, almost provoking you to try and find it. They've done this a million times but it never gets old, especially here as Haake opens things up vocally, something fairly rare in their discography and I am glad to see it return, especially in this format.
They never announced their arrival in this manner which is already huge but I can't help and feel some Koloss grooviness when the track explodes. It's no coincidence as the quintet have been writing it since the Koloss days and haven't been able to find it a proper home... until now.
Promising start and the follow up keeps the momentum going. Echoing the sentiments of "The Demon's Name Is Surveillance", "The Abysmal Eye" acts almost as this prophetic figure warning how our creation, AI, will be our undoing. And just like that certified hood classic, "The Abysmal Eye" is really complex although that's not as apparent as it is with "The Calves Names Are Pain". The main pattern is tricky on its own, following a 4/4 groove but of course Haake is hitting it at strange places but the band goes a step further and add extra bars seemingly just to fuck with us. I lack the vocabulary and musical knowledge to paraphrase, let alone explain all of it so here's Yogev Gabay brilliantly analyzing it if you're interested.
Despite all of this, "The Abysmal Eye" is one of the weaker tracks on here as its repetitions, no matter how technically impressive, lack that special sauce to make them worthwhile. The overlong, albeit rager solo reinforces this opinion. Skipping ahead a bit and we reach "Phantoms", an absolutely despicable song featuring oddly personal lyrics revolving around regrets for words and actions done in the past. Musically, it's focused around a rhythm pattern that puts you off but not enough to miss the main pulse, classic Shuggah. Think Koloss's grooviness (again) but with Nothing's character. It feels like it could derail at any moment but doesn't.
There's also a tremolo-based melody played by Hagström in the ending section which brings me to the first real flaw of Immutable. I obviously don't mind tremolo picking nor melody, especially when talking about these guys but these two elements are repeated way too much. I understand why but the approach on aforementioned "Phantoms" and "The Absymal Eye" alongside "I Am That Thirst" never changes and that in turn makes these moments feel redundant. Plus other songs like "Ligature Marks" or "The Faultless" do a similar thing WITHOUT the tremolo so they're automatically more compelling but suffer the same issue.
Furthermore, I take issue with the solos. Like in general. They're bland. And too similar. "Kaleidoscope", "The Absymal Eye" and "The Faultless" all feature intense shredding that lack rhythmic or tonal deviations which, you know, are the things that made the band so iconic and Thordendal so beloved. Think "Rational Gaze", "Do Not Look Down" or more recently "Born In Dissonance" and see how differently they "move" from these ones.
This is a big deal for me and many die hards out there and we now know why.
You see when Fredrik took a three year long break to focus on building his studio and continue working on his solo album, a thing many have been eagerly waiting for for over a decade now, he ended up not playing guitar for that amount of time.
So when he said he wanted to write leads for Immutable, which at that time was written and ready to record, he played for the first time since the break. Absolute madman but his absence from playing is noticeable. Now I do not know what this means for new Special Defects but I hope the legend is doing fine and enjoying his new studio space.
So with him out of the picture during The Violent Sleep Of Reason's and a big chunk of Immutable's writing process, the band adapted by having more members write. Hagström I feel is represented well in minds of fans but allow me to list some of the songs he wrote alone to paint the full scope of his talent.
"Pravus", "Break Those Bones Whose Sinews Gave It Motion", "Straws Pulled At Random", "The Last Vigil", "Lethargica", "Elastic", "obZen"... insane line up honestly which is why his eight (!) contributions to Immutable make complete sense.
The strongest tracks on the album are his. Like "Ligature Marks" which I'll touch upon a bit later because I wanna highlight the man so many sleep on. Dick Lövgren.
Being the newest band member, (he joined in 2004) his efforts seem to be understated by many (yours truly included) for years. However with the arrival of The Violent Sleep Of Reason some, and by some I mean nerds, took notice after seeing the track listing and credits. Him and Haake wrote most of the album with Haake taking care of lyrics as always. "Clockworks", "Nostrum", "By The Ton", that's all them.
And on Immutable the duo struck again but this time Lövgren got a chance to write two tracks on his own. "The Abysmal Eye" and "God He Sees In Mirrors". The importance of the latter shall be revealed shortly because I got even more lore for ya. As mentioned, the lyrical side of things was Haake's forte traditionally but with newer releases Hagström took the reigns on a few occasions, three to be more exact. "Ligature Marks", "Broken Cog" and "Light The Shortening Fuse" which I am all a fan of. That said, "Armies Of The Preposterous" remains my favorite from a lyrical perspective. How couldn't it with bars such as this:
"I will not swallow the bile
The putrid ideas you regurgitate
A conviction saturated with imbecility
Adopting the coursе of the blind
Unanimous in your revolting declaration
Conjurеd by offensive, feeble beehive minds"
Shit goes hard. The band never shied away from critiquing systems of any kind but here they set their sights on far-right groups that have been going through a resurgence in Europe for the last ten or so years. Doesn't take a genius to see why this is bad and why it's ironically fitting. History always repeats itself after all.
Now I'm far (hehe) from an epic liberal gamer, at least in the modern American (and mega embarrassing) sense which is why I find these lyrics particularly apt for that group as well. Honestly they fit so many extreme groups which is why I appreciate them as much.
OK now we can get in the nitty gritty.
"Ligature Marks". God damn what a behemoth. It was the first new thing we heard from that teaser and let me tell you, from that moment to this day, its heft and girth lost no impact on me. It trudges along with ill intent and all the momentum it needs to function. No less and no more. Instant classic.
Plus it inhabits a similar space as "Break Those Bones Whose Sinews Gave It Motion" in Koloss which makes its inclusion that more welcome. For these ears "Ligature Marks" walks the line between Koloss and Chaosphere but is ultimately something new. That void space lurking amidst the hiccuping vortex of chugs adds more weight than any despicable guitar tone which they of course possess. And in true Shuggah fashion we've got some nice touches like the main riff's progression from palm muting to open chords. Gets heavier the longer it lasts but suddenly a melodic passage appears. The outro which it forms is a beautiful and haunting affair which again harkens back to the earlier work. In this case it's "Straws Pulled At Random" which can only one thing. It good. Lyrically, it uses S&M lingo to describe what we do to each other and ourselves both at a spiritual and physical level.
And Jens, being Jens, translates this weird mix between acceptance, anger and urgency like no one else. People often times mention how monodimensional he is in his approach and while that may be true, he actually does a lot more than many established vocalists. His phrasing, for one, is where his brilliance shines the most but let's not forget how with years, instead of raising the pitch, Kidman lowered it. And lowered them he did once again, to a point where I can safely say he never sounded as guttural. And I'll never get tired of his word placements, so creative.
When it comes to Haake, I only have good news for you. His ongoing battle with eczema was not felt here, at least for me and I have songs to back that up!
As soon as "Ligature Marks" draws its last breath, "God He Sees In Mirrors" barges in. And exits only to barges in right back again but at a different beat. Aaaand then it exits. Nope, it's back again. Repeat process until end.
Basically, Lövgren took this rhythm pattern and decided to never restart it in the same place. Ever. This is the Meshuggah I know and love. Bonkers track and one I seriously hope they'll play live. After all they did say how "Phantoms" is out of the question for the time being. Nothing that new to the band that wrote "The Demon's Name Is Surveillance" but it's still a shame.
So far so good right? Sure we have some issues but in the grand scheme of things Immutable is success. Right? The band still seems to be flexing their muscles as well as activating new ones and that, this "late" in their career, is magnificent.
BUT perhaps these new groups of activated muscles don't fit their overall frame. Or they didn't build them well enough. You see when looking at the tracklist we notice "They Move Below" in the centre. A nine and a half minute long instrumental track. But Meshuggah. It's the biggest innovation on Immutable. Sounds like an incredible idea but in truth, I find myself skipping it often. Its core pocket of ideas just don't evoke anything special in me, once the initial shock dispersed that is. Still know it by heart.
"Black Cathedral" also falls in this category. In theory it acts as an intro to "I Am That Thirst" but in truth it just adds bloat to an already bloated effort. Haake said how he didn't like the silence between it and "Kaleidoscope". I disagree because there is a gap between it and "I Am That Thirst" where in reality there shouldn't be one. Really don't get why it doesn't explode into it. Like here. Mind you, layering twenty or so guitars is a very neat concept but playing only one riff, a generic black metal power chord and not do anything more with it is such a missed opportunity. Imagine Haake blasting just a tiny bit... Yeah.
Another blunder is the closer "Past Tense". Conceptually, it fits the whole journey perfectly. It's the silence after the fall. The problem is that this is strictly worse than "The Last Vigil", Koloss' masterful closer. It's still good but doesn't feel that essential you know? Still know it by heart. And now for the last piece of legitimate critique I have and this is a big one. The production.
Some of you may have read my Koloss retrospective which can be accessed through here and in there I touched upon some of the criticisms regarding its mix. Haake himself said how it's too compressed. which is why the follow up did not make the same alleged mistake. The Violent Sleep Of Reason is still their best sounding record by a good margin. The "still" part is unfortunate as I expected Immutable to have that organic quality and not be this sterile, overcompressed and oddly warm(ish) banger which it is.
It's obZen vs. Koloss all over again and I'll always prefer the punchier and cleaner sound which is why I prefer Koloss' drum sound. For reference listen to the cymbals and crashes on "Phantoms". The biggest winner here is clearly the bass as it sounds the closest to Chaosphere which for my three (Srbija) cents has their best bass tone to this day. But the guitars, the djent and butter of it all, sound good. Clear enough to hear the details but still burly. For reference listen to the guitars on "Phantoms".
Nothing new honestly. Production issues I mean. It's a key part of Meshuggah lore and their ongoing journey to find that perfect mix. The one where all things are in balance but let's be real, Nothing and Chaosphere work that well BECAUSE of the mix which makes things sound like on verge of collapse... Really should make that multi part analysis. Forgot? Me too hahaha. OK focus. 14k words in... Shit. Oh well...
So "The Faultless"... It's a song... That like "Broken Cog" switches things up but doesn't stumble! Main riff? Feking natty. Bass? Monstrous. Drum pattern? Hoho! And what of the vocals? Glad you asked (didn't) because this is the first time their song has three distinct vocalists. Jens doing his thing, Hagström answering him a few times and Haake announcing the end of existence at the final stretch. Triple vocals baby and the closest they've been to gang vocals since they abandoned them. Love the tumbling main riff, I call it tumbling but make no mistake, these set of stairs lead you straight to hell and fast.
Last third of "I Am That Thirst" does that but with drums and that might be the most insane moment on the whole album which is saying a lot.
Which I can't say for its music video. So embarrassing. Like what the hell is all this? Has to be the label pushing them. 100%. Right? It's so bizarre too because this is the band Meshuggah (meaning crazy in Yiddish) and they deserve something better, something worthy of their art. Something that's not this lmao. This is why I always prefer the visualizers so wonder, truly, if we're ever gonna get a high budget music video that captures the spirit of both them and the song in question but doesn't do a shitty Michael Bay meets edgy 17 year old... thing. It's wild how videos for "New Millenium Cyanide Christ" and "I Am Colossus" remain their best work and a one-off thing. And with that I finally realize the extent of my rambling. Time to bring this chonker to a close.
Glad it's a chonker honestly because otherwise the almost 7-month long wait would be really silly. So what do we get after all this? A flawed but deeply engrossing, absolutely insane and reinvigorating release by the best band on the world? Yes. Something immutable? Hell yes.
Immutable was released through Atomic Fire Records on April 1st of 2022 and it was no joke.
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