May 12, 1995 - Destroy Erase Improve

Three days after my last release and a long four years since their debut album "Contradictions Collapse", Meshuggah finally released their second album "Destroy Erase Improve" on May 12, 1995. Jens Kidman played rhythm guitar on their debut, but he is just the lead singer on this album as Meshuggah become a five-piece and add rhythm guitarist Mårten Hagström. Meshuggah have changed their sound a little and there are still elements of the thrash-y style of their debut, but they have shifted to a different style of metal that is even heavier and more progressive. I like the sounds of that! Let's check out the new Meshuggah!

The album kicks off with "Future Breed Machine" and it is a brutally fast song for the most part with some great fast, offbeat guitars and also some cool fast drumming by Tomas Haake. Kidman's vocals sound even heavier and more polished than last album and he sounds wonderfully angry. They slow it down in the middle with Fredrik Thordendal playing sole epic guitar before ramping back up into a typical Thordendal guitar solo that is all over the place and sounds pretty crazy. Up next is "Beneath" and we have some more offbeat guitars that sound nice and heavy and some gnarly bass by Peter Nordin as well! Kidman sounds solid once again and Hagstrom is showing that he's a more than capable rhythm guitarist, holding the fort down while Thordendal plays some trippy stuff overtop. Track 3 is called "Soul Burn" and it's slower and reminds me more of their debut album. After a couple nice slow versea/choruses Kidman let's out a few nice "buuuuuurn!"s and then Thordendal follows with another pretty amazing solo that continues to make my jaw drop further and further. Kidman's final "burn" of the song is is longest yet and he holds it for a good while for an excellent finish. The next song is the first one under five minutes and it's titled "Transfixion". It fades in until they snap into a pretty fast and cool main riff. Thordendal adds some keyboards in the background as well and eventually they set the stage for the guitar solo. It sounds high and crazy as usual as Fredrik casually shreds it up. Track 5 is back to five-plus minutes and it's called "Vanished". It has a fast-paced main riff that is offbeat and cool as per Meshuggah. The middle section is slower and trippier and then Thordendal delivers another phenomenal guitar solo. They finish things off fast again and every song so far has been pretty good. The next song is an instrumental titled "Acrid Placidity" and Hagstrom keeps the pace with a light but cool rhythm guitar. Thordendal eventually comes in with some slow and epic lead guitar and this song is easily the lightest of Meshuggah's short career so far, but I still enjoyed it. We're back to the norm though with "Inside What's Within Behind" with another heavy and offbeat main riff. There's both talking and Kidman's usual yelling simultaneously, but when the talking stops and it's just Jens he sounds pretty great yelling full force overtop the cool music. There's also the typical Meshuugah backing vocals with everyone else shouting nicely inbetween Kidman's lines. Haake plays some nice drums towards the end during the long fadeout that finishes things off. Track 8 is "Terminal Illusions" and it has a strange intro before they finally settle into a nice fast-paced main riff. Kidman sounds awesome on this one with some great yelling vocals and there's another typically crazy and cool solo from Thordendal. Up next is "Suffer In Truth" and Kidman's vocals are easier to understand and more like the debut album as he leads a typically heavy main verse. Kidman lets out one nice yell of the name of the song and they proceed to jam out a pretty cool and heavy new riff. The final song on the album is "Sublevels" and the first part has some cool music, but the talking instead of singing/yelling is a little dull. Eventually they do shift to a more typical Meshuggah sound and then Thordendal plays a lengthy solo that isn't his flashiest, but it's still nice and epic. Eventually the song hits a long fadeout and Haake provides lots of nice drum fills as they slowly finish off the album.

That is the end of "Destroy Erase Improve" and I thought it was a pretty good album. Their debut was more standard thrash, but this second album shows Meshuggah evolving into more of their own distinct style. There's still the insane solos and guitar playing of Fredrik Thordendal, some great drumming by Tomas Haake and the most improvement is definitely Jens Kidman as I love this heavier, yelling vocal style. I think it easily surpasses their debut and I can't wait to see where Meshuggah go from here!