CHAOSPHERE

This album could be considered as the very peak of Meshuggah. Almost all melodical substance (that was still present on the previous album) is destroyed, erased here and all that's left of it, improved to serve the chaos. Unlike the previous one, this one doesn't sound Dream Theater at all. I'm not sure if this one can be categorized as progressive metal anyway, it's platonical metal to me. Polyrhytms (typical in prog rock) are very present here, even increased and improved in some amounts, but they also serve the chaos. Seven string guitar riffs support the polyrhytmical blast powerfully and make the whole thing crush you. Thordendal's insane avant-garde guitar solos (in a Holdsworth sound) are a kind of contrast to everything else that's going around, but they make the music sound quite twisted, which is a positive thing. And to the top of it all, Kidman's brutal and highly aggressive vocals make you feel very violent yourself too.

The only boring parts of this album are Neurotica and The Exquisite Machinery Of Torture, two mid-tempo songs on the album, but all the rest of the stuff is almost legendary in the brief history of heavy metal. Highlights are Concatenation and New Millenium Cyanide Christ.