"I'm the great Leviathan, insatiable colossus,
Titanic engulfer of lives, I reward you, absorb you"
A monumental opening statement but one befitting a band of Meshuggah's stature. Like the decidedly inhuman yet human figure on its cover, Koloss deals with engrained yet heavy concepts. The dangers of religion, the increasingly large and ever watchful digital eye, mankind's eternal lust for bloodshed, the Machiavellian drive, wage slavery,... All this and more touched upon in an even heavier matter. Such was always the way of the Shuggah though, a name synonymous with innovation. And on their seventh effort, the Swedish harbingers of organized chaos continued this tradition. Exactly ten years have passed since this beast saw the light of day so it's time to open up the vaults and let it in. Its presence will continue seeping beyond these rusty doors no doubt but that's a small price to pay to have something as important as this eternalized.
For yours truly, this was my first experience with the quintet's revolutionary blend of technicality and groove which makes this iteration of Into The Vaults that more special. I'm not exaggerating when I say Koloss changed my life. Until 2015 my definition of heaviness reached an ending point with bands such as Opeth, Deftones and Slipknot. Gojira changed a narrative only for a little while as not long after discovering them I stumbled upon a song that completely blew me away.
It wasn't "Bleed" or "New Millenium Cyanide Christ" or "Rational Gaze". It was "Break Those Bones Whose Sinews Gave It Motion". Thanks to the intro, I found myself lulled into a false sense of security. I felt something was off, the obviously sinister guitar plucks were a clear indicator but I was definitely not ready for that drop. Even less with what followed. I did not take Jens Kidman's grating shouts kindly initially but I did nod my head to the groove and quickly realized the musicianship on display, even on a track that's comparatively slower than most of their output. Soon enough however, I became a fan, a huge one.
For the sake of hypothetical brevity, let's leave the pleasantries of nostalgia and my relationship with the band for now as we have much to discuss.
Following something as big as ObZen was no easy task, even less with all the new attention it garnered but these Swedes never shied away from a challenge. In fact they decided to change their songwriting approach completely. Instead of Haake, Thordendal and Hagström creating demos and sending them to each other and the rest before tinkering with them, they decided to jam it out. Thus "Swarm" was born. Living up to its namesake, "Swarm" moves with confidence and in seeming unison. Of course there's some rhythmic mindfuckery going on as is tradition but there's a feeling of... well "looseness" to it. The intro, no matter how insane with its intense and tom-heavy drum pattern, super tight picking and rumbling bass, feels like something that would come out of a jam. A jam filled with absolute madmen but a jam nonetheless. The way the intro lingers before transitioning into an even more "open" groove never gets old, the absolutely bonkers solo even less so. Instant classic in my eyes and I would call it a raging success. The five also thought the same but after recording it they returned to their olden ways. If it ain't broke, don't fix it as the saying goes.
The Shuggah however, was always built different so even with the same principle, they've decided to shake things up. First and most obvious is the production. Whereas Obzen revelled in its metallic coldness, Koloss sounds much "warmer" and dare I say organic. Almost. It's no Violent Sleep Of Reason but guess what, this served as a blueprint for the approach they would take on that album and further expand on the production values Koloss possesses. And there's honestly a lot to love here. The bass pedal, snares and toms have enough "snap" and punch behind them but never veer into overbearing compressed nonsense like so many albums from that era and even today. They're still very compressed though but in my opinion it's done tastefully. Which is crucial when you have tracks like the thrasher "The Hurt That Finds You First" or the batshit insane "The Demon's Name Is Surveillance". "Demon..." honestly deserves its own retrospective but let's get back to the production for a bit more. Now, the guitars... I mean, are you hearing what I am?
Despicable tone, it's so... not crunchy but like a mix of weight, sharpness and crispness with surprising clarity, enough that you can hear the other and often times very overlooked aspect of Meshuggah - the clean tone. Where most bands use them as a means to alleviate pressure or disperse the darkness, the maestros instead use it for the exact opposite. The second guitar in "Behind The Sun" masterfully showcases this, it's relatively easy to miss if you're not paying attention which brings me to the bass. Unfortunately, in most of their releases, the bass is not as easy to spot because it intertwines with the eight strings. With revisits however you'll start to notice those glorious tremors quicker but I still think that shouldn't be the case. In a live setting the story is much different from what I've heard.
Vocals are also very nicely situated in the mix, in front but just in that sweet spot that warrants attention but does not take away from the instrumentals.
There's another catch however and it's related to the drums. As much as I like their sound, the cymbals and hi-hats unfortunately took a hit which a shame considering how creatively Haake utilizes them. Overall though, this is still one of their finest sounding efforts for this pair of ears.
And now for the extremely juicy part, the songs themselves. Where ObZen acted as a summation of their career, Koloss saw them streamline their sound and double down on the grooviness. Granted, every Shuggah album grooves, after all it's the essence of their sound but not since Nothing did the quintet commit to it as hard as here.
Calling an album of theirs "accessible" is strange but I cannot find a better word for Koloss. Of course, it's accessibility on their own terms. For some fans this proved to be an issue, especially after following up ObZen but I have no such issues because Koloss is just so damn fun.
Take "Do Not Look Down" for example. As the band themselves said it, this is the closest they've got to making a funk track and I definitely hear that. Even when they slow down like on crushing opener "I Am Colossus" or aforementioned "Break Those Bones Whose Sinews Gave It Motion" you still find yourself bobbing your head because the pulse is so hypnotic. When a banger like "Demiurge" arrives however, all nuances go out of the window and mayhem ensues. It has so much momentum and weight behind it that even with its repetitive nature, it doesn't get old, it cannot.
My favorite track however remains "Marrow". It, like "The Demon's Name Is Surveillance" was never performed live due to their complexity which, when you think about it, destroys the argument that Koloss is overly simplified. If the band learned to play "Bleed", "Dancers Of A Discordant System" and "Clockworks" live and not these two, that tells you something and I think it becomes pretty evident when you hear the absolute fucking majesty that's this song. If "Dancers..." didn't exist, this would be my number one Shuggah song. Hell at some days it is. Why is that I hear you wonder?
Number one, the guitar pattern. Even by their standards it's weird and Haake certainly does (not) help with his seemingly off beat placed snare smacks. That slight delay in both the drums and guitars create this weird tension and a feeling things are barely holding together. And then the song opens up and Kidman starts spewing beautiful vitriol. A lot of their lyrics evoke certain scenes but few reach the hopeless levels of "Marrow".
For example:
"Tar-black ejaculate
The seminal bile of conspiracy
The blood of those who died
Their innocence, their marrow
The pursuit of ruin, murderous ambition
Bloodshed, the careless taking of lives
A conduct symbolic of its condition"
The seminal bile of conspiracy is such a powerful fucking line and tar-black ejaculate portrays such a vile picture, befitting of us humans.
We're not done just yet though. Out of nowhere, a blazing solo appears, something that was surprisingly lacking in Koloss which some also criticized. Still, I would rather have no solos than a forced one and Thordendal knows it. However, there's a catch. "Marrow" features not one but two goddamn solos which is practically unheard of! I struggle remembering what other songs barring "Pitch Black" and "I" have more than one. And to top all of this off we get what's quite possibly the greatest outro of all time. Puzzlingly overlooked track in my opinion.
Even after multiple decades of pushing boundaries, Meshuggah still finds a way to surprise and catch off guard and while Koloss already had a lot of these moments, the biggest one arrives at the very end.
After what has been a decidedly bleak, critical and enraged voyage, "The Last Vigil" finishes everything off on a... sad note. Disappointed even. With no bass, vocals or drums in sight and only a handful of chords, plucks and howls to guide us, "The Last Vigil" silently asks us a few questions. Is this all we can do? Create so many wonderful concepts that we then turn into carriers of destruction? A perpetual cycle of violence and avarice from which we still haven't learned a single thing from?
Quite depressing but such a fitting finale of such a brilliant record. Is it my favorite from these legends? I can't tell for sure as the order constantly shifts depending on the day but I do know that Koloss will always comfortably sit in my top three. Who knows if Immutable will change that, only time will tell...
Happy tenth anniversary Koloss, thank you for everything and thank you Meshuggah for changing my life. Eternal may be thine reign.
Koloss was released via Nuclear Blast Records on March 23rd of 2012.
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