NOTHING

My least favorite Meshuggah release since the band more or less defined themselves on Destroy Erase Improve, however, that doesn't mean it's terrible. This is a slower more grinding release, and Kidman really refines his vocal abilities.

This is one of the few Meshuggah albums that attempts to incorporate "melody" into their work. They actually don't do too bad of a job, with some really good melodies on tracks like Closed Eye Visuals. Nothing was a very dividing piece of work, as it was a definite change from Chaosphere, but all the elements of Meshuggah are still there, at least in this reviewers eyes. We still have the extremely heavy distorted guitars, the impeccable use of various time signatures, and the machine like voice of Kidman. Sure, the mood has changed, but the band is doing something different, which is certainly better than releasing samey songs on every album.

That being said, Nothing is still a bit of a dragger for me. I get more or less drowned out by the wall of chugging sound and if I am in the Meshuggah mood, would much rather have "I" playing, as it is far better. Overall a good release, but not on par with the top Meshuggah works.