CATCH THIRTYTHREE

I have to say with a great regret, that this is my least favourite album from Meshuggah so far. After hearing the mindblowing Destroy Erase Improve, which i consider a progmetal classic i had huge expectations. But as it turned out, Catch 33 is very different. While Destroy Erase Improve was full of dazzlingly catchy riffs and haunting clean-guitar sections, Catch 33 is highly minimalistic, almost a some sort of meditation. It also has those silent sections with clean guitar but they do not sound exactly innovative or interesting to me.

As many of the reviewers have pointed out before the band grinds one riff through many tracks. The first three thracks are basicly the same, and after that again three tracks with just little changes and even when there is a new riff it's hard to spot since they all sound almost the same. Most of the riffs have only two tones and tempo is largely the same throughout the whole album. The band have clearly wanted to make a continuos and uniform album to support album's concept (the lyrics form a some sort of progression in a person's mind), but continuity does'nt necessarily mean that all the tracks sound the same.

I understand that many people enjoy this new minimalistic Meshuggah but in my opinion they have to develop their sound. There certainly some very good qualities in the album, for example, that the bands overly accurate playing sounds really good and especially heavy. Catch 33 is also propably the heaviest progmetal album so far, which can be considered as a good thing, at least they have pushed boundaries. I would recommend this to a person who wants something really extreme both extremely heavy and extremely progressive, but not for the fans of Destroy Erase Improve-era Meshuggah.