Meshuggah’s ‘Koloss’ crushes everything

Meshuggah is the least accessible mainstream metal band on the planet.

Someone with ears that aren’t trained for odd time signatures and a never-ending barrage of distortion and harsh vocals – and even some metal fans – will argue all Meshuggah since 1995’s Destroy, Erase, Improve, or maybe 1998’s Chaosphere, sounds like muddled noise (arguably 2008’s Obzen was a return to more traditional song structures, but those tracks tended to run a bit long at times).

The group’s latest effort Koloss provides an answer to this dilemma, in that it is the grooviest record the band has ever released – the jazzy solos and ridiculous rhythms are still present and there is nothing that resembles a vocal hook to be found, but the tracks vary enough to stand on their own (try and play a friend who hasn’t heard of Meshuggah a single track from Catch Thirtythree and you will understand the difference).

God Forbid finds ‘Equilibrium’

God Forbid never seems to get its fair share of the metal pie.

From the in-your-face aggression of 2004’s Gone Forever to 2009’s borderline progressive Earthsblood, the New Jersey natives have proven they possess songwriting ability that far outclasses most in the current metal scene. These guys are putting out albums that are more consistent than Lamb of God, Shadows Fall, or Trivium – and arguably seeing less of a following from it.

Some more shit rained down on God Forbid recently in the departure of longtime guitarist, backup vocalist, and songwriter, Dallas Coyle (brother of still standing guitarist Doc Coyle). Rigors of the road, lack of recognition, and a loss of passion for this particular brand of  metal are likely reasons for his leave.

The point is that God Forbid deserves every bit of praise thrown its way and in 2012 the band has cemented its status as heavy metal heroes with newly acquired  axeslinger (ex-Himsa) Matt Wicklund on its latest effort –  Equilibrium.

A few things are very noticeable on first listen to the record. First off, the songs are shorter. This doesn’t mean they are any less complex than the tunes found on the progish Earthsblood – just more focused. Second, there are so many hooks to the point the record might be the band’s most commercial yet. Where hardcore fans might scream, “sellout,” the music is all the better for it.

Explanation of ratings scale

A quick editor’s note: Reviews will be live on the site here shortly. Between work and an awesome night of metal tonight (GWAR, Municipal Waste, Ghoul, local metal and more), I likely won’t be reviewing this week’s releases until tomorrow.

However, I hope to put up a brief concert review in addition to reviews of the new Overkill, God Forbid, 3 Inches of Blood and Meshuggah albums ASAP. So stay tuned for updates.

Also if you are wondering how the review system is going to work, I will be using a 1-10 scale incorporating .5 in the mix (i.e. 8.5/10, 6.5/10, etc.). I feel like the 5 point scale is a bit limiting.

Welcome to The Heavy Metal Review

Hello world,

My name is Eric and I graduated from the University of Iowa in May 2010 with degrees in journalism and marketing. This was not the best time to be graduating (and let’s face it, still isn’t) so I have made a living working various unrelated jobs since getting my degrees.

This blog is a means for me to start writing again. More specifically about one of my passions – heavy metal – mainly in the form of CD reviews and the occasional commentary.

These days most people are using Blabbermouth.net, Metalsucks.net and the like for their metal news, so I am going to try and provide you with something different, in the form of original commentary and thoughts on upcoming metal albums. What qualifies me moreso than most bloggers?