{"id":6254,"date":"2008-03-07T00:00:24","date_gmt":"2008-03-07T00:00:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/?p=6254"},"modified":"2013-07-20T12:10:15","modified_gmt":"2013-07-20T12:10:15","slug":"album-review-meshuggah-obzen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/album-review-meshuggah-obzen\/","title":{"rendered":"MESHUGGAH – obZen (2008) | Album \/ EP Reviews @ Metal Forces Magazine"},"content":{"rendered":"

MESHUGGAH
obZen<\/strong><\/span>
\n\"\"
\nNuclear Blast (2008)<\/span>
Rating: 8.5\/10<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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For the last 20 years Sweden\u2019s Meshuggah have been destroying the planet with their unique sound. Often described as \u201ccontrolled insanity\u201d, the band has been praised by critics and fans alike for their artistic approach to both album art and music. Meshuggah count themselves among a small circle of bands that consistently amaze their fellow musicians. From the sound of the custom built eight-string guitars to the tribal percussion work to the masterful handling of heavy, they are truly musician\u2019s musicians. <\/p>\n

So what can one really say about a band like Meshuggah? Anyone who has heard Chaosphere<\/em> (1998) or Nothing<\/em> (2002) already understand the kind of pummeling they are in for on the band\u2019s latest, obZen<\/em>. For those who have never heard Meshuggah, they are perhaps best described as what it feels like to have a train hit you while you are strung out.<\/p>\n

If you listen closely enough you\u2019ll hear elements of Ministry, King Crimson, mid-90s black metal, Black Sabbath<\/a>, Primus (you can\u2019t tell me he didn\u2019t learn that bit in \u2018Pravus\u2019 from Les Claypool), Megadeth<\/a> and Mental Destruction, although always in small doses and always buried deeply in the heavy sound. obZen<\/em> takes the band\u2019s sound to another level by becoming even heavier than most metal fans believe humanly possible. <\/p>\n

Not only is obZen<\/em> heavier, it\u2019s also more technical. The time changes seem more comfortable than they did on the band\u2019s last album, Catch Thirtythree<\/em> (2005), which, in turn, make this one sound more like a fluid album than a psychedelic fistfight. In that sense, Meshuggah have certainly matured over the last few years. While previous efforts have been all about \u201cheavy and technical\u201d, this album thankfully includes some additional dynamics that make it feel like an album. Like the songs were intended to be together and ordered in this particular way. <\/p>\n

Pretty much everything here is phenomenal if you enjoy music that refuses to bite on any current trends. \u2018Combustion\u2019 and \u2018Pravus\u2019 are easily the most impressive from a metal standpoint. They are both unbelievably technical, dynamic and heavy as hell. As \u2018Combustion\u2019 opens the album you are immediately faced with the decision as to whether you will allow the beating to continue or if you will run and hide. \u2018obZen\u2019 is heavy in a more traditional way, spiraling downward musically while the screaming vocals ascend skyward. Despite the fact that these two entities seem to be going in opposite direction it\u2019s easy to close your eyes and imagine yourself in a dusty circle pit on a hot summer day as the sound of Meshuggah lays waste to an outdoor arena. This song was tailor made for festival season. \u2018This Spiteful Snake\u2019 is the only thing close to a respite, providing a moment of clarity with which to reattach your head before descending into the madness again with \u2018Pineal Gland Optics\u2019.<\/p>\n

obZen<\/em> is everything you expect from Meshuggah and a little more. The fluidity of obZen<\/em> is likely to open some bigger doors for the band without them having to compromise their sound for commercial success. As a matter of fact, this could be considered a blueprint for expanding and exploring without compromising or alienating. As with all Meshuggah albums, obZen<\/em> is a must have for fans of technically impressive music. Open minded doom fans may want to give this a try as well. <\/p>\n

Mark Fisher<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

MESHUGGAHobZen Nuclear Blast (2008)Rating: 8.5\/10 For the last 20 years Sweden\u2019s Meshuggah have been destroying the planet with their unique sound. Often described as \u201ccontrolled insanity\u201d, the band has been praised by critics and fans alike for their artistic approach to both album art and music. Meshuggah count themselves among a small circle of bands […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,313],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6254","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-album-ep-reviews","category-meshuggah"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6254","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6254"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6254\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13149,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6254\/revisions\/13149"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6254"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6254"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6254"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}