August 6, 2002 - Nothing

Eight days after my last release and nearly four years since "Chaosphere" (another long gap), Meshuggah released their fourth album "Nothing" on August 6, 2002. Bassist Gustaf Hielm was only on their previous album and he is not replaced as Meshuggah return to a four-piece. The bass on this album is split between the two guitarists Fredrik Thordendal and Marten Hagstrom, but even after another long break between albums, Meshuggah continue to build off their last album with more super heavy, super groovy and very unique and offbeat metal. It's also the first album where both Thordendal and Hagstrom sometimes use 8-string guitars. Eight! Let's check out the madness!

The album kicks off with "Stengah" and it's driven by a simple but nice and heavy riff. Jens Kidman still sounds like his usual self, but perhaps even clearer as I find his vocals easier to understand. Still very heavy though! Thordendal and Hagstrom play all kinds of super low guitars and bass and Thordendal delivers one of his unique and offbeat guitar solos filled with some great shredding at times, and some cool super distorted stuff at others. Tomas Haake plays some cool drums as they close things out and this was a pretty fitting way to kick off a Meshuggah album. Up next is "Rational Gaze" and it's got a more complex main riff that is constantly keeping you on your toes and not following any regular sort of time signature. It's still super groovy though and Kidman sings/screams a heavy yet catchy verse overtop. I love Thordendal's offbeat guitar solo midway through, it's nothing too flashy, but it's just so unpredictable! I love the uncertainty and this is a pretty cool tune you just can't pin down. Track 3 is called "Perpetual Black Second" and they dive right into a fast-paced and furious main riff with some nice groovy bass, fast drums and some more offbeat and interesting guitar leading the way. Kidman does some more great clear vocals that are right on the borderline of singing and screaming and words don't do proper justice to all the cool guitars and bass that is going on constantly. Thordendal's solo is non-stop madness this time with a phenomenally crazy solo, then we fire right into a nice breakdown that sounds really heavy and cool and things start to very slowly fade out until we finally reach the end. Another really sweet tune! The next track is the seven and a half minute "Closed Eye Visuals" and words once again fall short when I truthfully say it's another heavy, offbeat and pretty damn cool main riff. The uniqueness and creativity of all these abnormal riffs is just amazing to me and Meshuggah are still a unicorn in the metal genre, and this is another pretty damn cool main riff. The first four minutes or so is just non-stop groovy greatness from everyone and then Thordendal delivers one of his trademark crazy solos. Things go very quiet and the song seems it might be ending, then they very nicely slam back in with some more groovy stuff to really finish things off. Track 5 is "Glints Collide" and there's no let-up here as Haake fires right into some speedy drums and we're off another heavy, groovy and awesome adventure with all kinds of great metal! Words could never do justice to how fucking groovy and amazing this whole five minute song is. Thordendal plays another fantastic solo midway through, and the rest is just a cacophony of groovy and awesome metal. My favourite song on the album so far, and there has been nothing even close to a weak song yet. Up next is "Organic Shadows" and they build another really cool, offbeat main riff starting with some low bass, then some distorted and cool guitars, Kidman starts to yell a solid verse and Haake completes things with some pretty cool drums. It's another unique and groovy main riff and of course there's another fantastically crazy guitar solo by Thordendal. They start a long fadeout to finish the song, but I find it takes away from things a bit, just end it a minute earlier. Track 7 is "Straws Pulled At Random" and Hagstrom dives right into a fast-paced and cool rhythm guitar riff that everyone else builds nicely around for (words don't do proper justice) yet another groovy, offbeat, and heavy main riff. Where you would expect a solo midway through the song, Thordendal instead plays some more melodic guitar than we are used to. It still sounds good for sure, but it's much tamer than his usual stuff and a melodic Meshuggah is a little weird! The next track is "Spasm" and Thordendal plays some trippy, distorted lead guitar while the rhythm section chugs heavily along in the background. Haake does the vocals for this whole song, and he doesn't really sing, more like creepily talks in an offbeat way that is just oh so Meshuggah! His voice isn't winning any awards, but it does match the music pretty well, and the music is pretty cool. Thordendal's solo is very short, but he still shreds some cool stuff in it to spice things up. Track 9 is "Nebulous" and it's got a super groovy main riff that is just so damn catchy and solid, these guys are just exploding with unique and really cool metal! Haake's drumming is super epic and cool as well and Kidman sounds phenomenal screaming overtop! After several minutes of non-stop pretty sweet metal, they break things down to a crawl and shift to a slow, doom-y new riff that sounds nice and dirty and heavy! This doom-y riff also enters a super long fadeout of like several minutes, and this one is better than the other one, but it still goes on a little too long. The final song on the album is "Obsidian" and it's entirely instrumental! It starts with a quiet and slow guitar riff that goes on for about a minute and a half, then they slam into a nice heavy new riff with Thordendal now playing some super distorted and sweet lead guitar overtop. This same riff just jam out for the entire rest of the song and while it's super heavy no doubt, it's a little repetitive.

That is the end of "Nothing" and I thought it was another pretty damn awesome album from Meshuggah! They continue to build on what makes them so awesome and the bar on this album is very high with even the weakest song still being pretty good. I think it easily surpasses their first two albums and I think it's even better than "Chaosphere" so it's their best album yet! Meshuggah couldn't possibly continue to ascend album after album... could they?