After turning down several gigs to record new material, MESHUGGAH is back to kick some ass. I don't think this band needs a long introduction, they've already been a standard in the Swedish metal scene for several years. If you ever hear a band with heavily muted riffs, freaking measure changes and experimental sounds, most likely they're inspired by this band! The already famous guitarists Marten Hagström and Fredrik Thordenthal have another pleasing surprise, why play 7 string axes.. if you can go down on custom made 8 strings! This will be a war with heavy machinery!

One thing's for sure, this review was not an easy task. I'm dealing here with really experimental music, which I would have disapproved after listening only once. But after giving it a second spin, I started to like it. Every time you play it, new elements drag your attention. Rational Gaze is one of those tracks that features some weird stuff. You're in the middle of some choppy riff and then suddenly a weird guitar lead colours this wall of sound. I really felt I was listening to two completely different styles and still they matched perfect! With Closed Eyes Visuals you almost get hypnotised! Another crushing riff mixed with oriental sounding leads, but this time you get a nice X-Files type melody playing along. At some time I really felt paranoid! It gets even beyond these journeys on the other tracks. Just sometimes the vocals work a bit disturbing, but he makes up for that on several tracks. This is not just music, it's an experience!

One thing is for sure, it's hard to get Nothing out of your head. I wouldn't have thought this at first, but I did find this album to be exploring. This sure wasn't my style of music, but somehow they managed to open my eyes. I know this stuff will probably frighten a lot of die-hard metal freaks, but give this baby a couple of spins and listen with an open mind. I just found out that MESHUGGAH is going to be on a US tour with Tool, doesn't surprise me that much after hearing this album. Will be some freaky gig!