Yes. And they've all done your mom.
So I managed to get myself a copy of the album. Those of you who are resourceful will likely be able to do the same. I've spent a good three or so hours with it today, and... it's interesting.
Okay, so I'll get into it. Basically, to get the negative out of the way first, this is the first Meshuggah album that's ever seemed a little samey to me. The primary reason for this is because a lot of the tone is coming straight out of Nothing, and there are some compositional ideas used here that have been used along that album's already well-trodden ground. Too, this calls attention to points where some of the patterns seem a little bit too mathematically familiar. This is a little bit of a shame, and is my main knock on the album. My secondary knock is I feel like I've heard Jens do a lot of vocal stuff like this before. There's nothing bad, and he still does this stuff like nobody else, but for some reason it seems more familiar than some of what he's given us before.
HOWEVER ...
I'd say that quite honestly, this is the album Nothing should have been, or rather what I expected Nothing to be before it was released. It takes the same general stylistic outlook and makes it a good deal less ponderous with a general increase in tempo and complexity. So while not every last bit here feels quite as original as it should, and this isn't the revolutionary new album that the band traditionally delivers with a new release, it's still really stinking good and comes equipped with some evolutionary stuff every bit as good as their best work. Ultimately, I don't feel at all disappointed, and this is probably more exciting to me than the releases of I and Catch 33. Also, it marks the return of Haake working his magic on the drums for the actual recording instead of just some of the extensive programming done with the Drum Kit From Hell as was the case with the last. Yes, the little differences make all the difference. It feels great to have him back. Also, there's a much heavier presence of Thordendal solo work here, and it isn't as wanky as he can sometimes be. It goes a long way toward keeping things refreshing.
We start strong with "Combustion", the album opener and one of the best songs on the album. This is memorable stuff that will put you in the mood for more and yet will keep coming back to you even after you've finished listening and put the thing down. We move to the very Nothing-esque overtones of "Electric Red", overtones that eventually give way to some pretty amazingly heavy breakdowns that get you pumped. You'll stay pumped through "Bleed", which comes in as track 3 and is most likely the best song on the album. If you liked the low quality version, you can expect to go nuts with the real thing. I don't need to say anything more about that one. "Lethargica" follows, and as the name indicates, this one moves slowest of all songs on the album. This is the spiritual sister to "Closed Eye Visuals", I'd say, and also features some brutal low-end breakdowns akin to those on "Nebulous". The tempo kicks back up with the 5th song, the title track "obZen". It's worthy of the distinction, featuring some cool patterns and some decent breakdowns. Track 6 is "This Spiteful Snake", seemingly built of blockier chords and a lot more mutes. Some good moments, but this isn't my favorite. 7 picks up the pace again with "Pineal Gland Optics", and this probably stands as one of the top 3 or 4 tunes of the album due to some kickass rhythm patterns that are addictive even though they'd be right at home on any of the last 3 albums. Good shit. Track 8, "Pravus", is quite driven, and the slight monotony of one throwback segment is broken by some killer breakdowns. A bit more compositionally unique on the whole. Track 9 is the final track, the 9-minute epic "Dancers to a Discordant System". This one has its ups and downs, but in general feels like a good way to end the album, especially given how well it seems to fit the evolved Nothing sound that's prevalent throughout the whole disc.
So there you go. I gotta' get the hell to bed because it's way too late, but if your curiosity was burning a hole in your head, hopefully that eases the pain a little. It looks like we'll all have another quality record to add to our collections a little over a month from now. Long live the Crazy Fucking Swedes™.
