CATCH THIRTYTHREE

This is the fifth studio album by Meshuggah, and it's easily their most experimental to date. For those expecting machine gun riffs, don't come looking for them in this album. In a way it's continuing the trends of "Nothing" in that this album is certainly slowed down, but this time it's more experimental metal than groove metal. This album is certainly a grower. It's taken me about half a dozen listens to fully appreciate everything that's going on in it. Also keep in mind that this really isn't an album comprised of 13 tracks, but rather 1 song broken up into 13 sections. In the world of metal, this is easily one of the best experimental albums I've heard, and while some may not like the fact that Haake chose to use a computer program for this album instead of playing himself, I think that it really works in this case. If you've heard and enjoyed other Meshuggah releases, like your metal on the more twisted and experimental side, or simply want something different than your average "traditional prog" album, this is certainly a worthwhile album to check out. However good it is though, it's nowhere near my favorite Meshuggah album, but it is a sure sign of how this band reached full maturity in my opinion two albums back with Chaosphere. I can easily give this 4 stars.