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New Meshuggah album

#5
I ordered the CD/DVD and t-shirt preorder deal so I've been rockin' that CD since last Tuesday. I wasn't blown away but I do like the songs and enjoy them. My one and only complaint is the production. It sounds too plastic to me. Meshuggah used the same guy who mixed Destroy Erase Improve and Chaosphere. DEI sounds decent to me, and I can't listen to Chaosphere. As much as I love the songs on that CD, the mix sounds like nails on a chalkboard to me. So with Koloss, I was disappointed that Meshuggah just didn't do it themselves again. Obsen is nice and punchy and heavy. Koloss lacks that sonic punch to the face because they're using some weird mid freqs that aren't normally used.

But like I said, I dig Koloss; good songs. Just a little plastic.

OH!! And most importanly, the bass guitar is too buried on this CD. The previous ones, I can totally pull it out of the guitars but not on this one. Maybe on a couple parts on various songs.
 
#6
North America release tomorrow, yipee!!11!!!1!! I ordered the CD\DVD as well, Amazon said it shipped today, can't wait! I've managed to not sneak a peek of anything on the Interwebz except the trailer on YouTube. I had a bootleg copy of Obzen months before it came out and kind of regretted it once I got the real release, so I told myself I'd hold out for the real thing this time ;-)
 
#7
Concr3t3 said:
My one and only complaint is the production.
Click to expand...

So after listening to it for the last two days, I agree about the mix. It's not that it's bad per say, just odd. Actually, I find it truly brutal (and not necessarily in the broootal metalhead sense). It's kind of like a constant bludgeoning with a large, dull object. I think it's a blend of the kick drum and the guitar frequencies like you mention. It definitely does not have the snap of Obzen or the precision and finesse of some of their other albums. Overall I like it (hey, any Meshuggah is better than no Meshuggah) and a few of the tracks have some great grooves. It's just an oddity that I have a headache after listening to a song, even at a lower volume...I don't recall this ever happening before with any band (and I tend to listen to some pretty crazy metal). It's like it was mixed to aurally beat you into submission.
 
#8
gscroggin said:
So after listening to it for the last two days, I agree about the mix. It's not that it's bad per say, just odd. Actually, I find it truly brutal (and not necessarily in the broootal metalhead sense). It's kind of like a constant bludgeoning with a large, dull object. I think it's a blend of the kick drum and the guitar frequencies like you mention. It definitely does not have the snap of Obzen or the precision and finesse of some of their other albums. Overall I like it (hey, any Meshuggah is better than no Meshuggah) and a few of the tracks have some great grooves. It's just an oddity that I have a headache after listening to a song, even at a lower volume...I don't recall this ever happening before with any band (and I tend to listen to some pretty crazy metal). It's like it was mixed to aurally beat you into submission.
Click to expand...

I think you may be right! I think that's why they put the ambient song last - sort of how Catch33 trails off at the end sort of leaving you emotionally numb and broken after you've been pounded into the dust by the onslaught of the album. (Not that C33 and Koloss sound the same, but both tend to be very crushing and end in ambiance)

I don't really mind the production on this one, but I really liked Chaosphere a lot, so maybe I'm biased.

Meshuggah's sound I have often described as being like a "moving mountain". It's huge, heavy, and ever expanding and although you can run from it, you'll eventually have nowhere left to run and the mountain will overtake you and crush you under it.

I love Koloss, so far! "Behind The Sun" and "Demiurge" are my current favorites.
 
#10
The new album is brilliant. Brutal and groovy in equal measure. I love the way the album closes after that intense aural assault...good point Bloodhammer. Dick and Tomas, as ever, hold together some of the most insane rhythms without it ever sounding contrived or overly clever.

Production values? Meh. Pedantics, semantics and the fine art of splitting hairs....this is the new Meshuggah album. Embrace, immerse, surrender, enjoy.
 
#11
IMO, the vocals have never sounded better. That extra bit of top end really makes it stand out. I also find the production to be very fitting to the feel of this record. If it had sounded as clear and almost synthetic as Obzen does, it wouldn't have worked.
 
#13
Tituscrow said:
The new album is brilliant. Brutal and groovy in equal measure. I love the way the album closes after that intense aural assault...good point Bloodhammer. Dick and Tomas, as ever, hold together some of the most insane rhythms without it ever sounding contrived or overly clever.

Production values? Meh. Pedantics, semantics and the fine art of splitting hairs....this is the new Meshuggah album. Embrace, immerse, surrender, enjoy.
Click to expand...

Could't have said it better. This new album is brilliant, and I think the production is great. It's less "dry", if that makes any sense.
 
#14
I figured out the part that's giving me a problem; @330mhz. I found if I drop @ 4-7 db / q=.6 (depending on the song) that wooly mid-bass goes away...and so does my headache. Perhaps I'll set up a different mix on my iDevices for the whole album, I've never really played around with that Apple feature before.

I'm really starting to dig all the tracks now though!
 
#19
gscroggin said:
So after listening to it for the last two days, I agree about the mix. It's not that it's bad per say, just odd. Actually, I find it truly brutal (and not necessarily in the broootal metalhead sense). It's kind of like a constant bludgeoning with a large, dull object. I think it's a blend of the kick drum and the guitar frequencies like you mention. It definitely does not have the snap of Obzen or the precision and finesse of some of their other albums. Overall I like it (hey, any Meshuggah is better than no Meshuggah) and a few of the tracks have some great grooves. It's just an oddity that I have a headache after listening to a song, even at a lower volume...I don't recall this ever happening before with any band (and I tend to listen to some pretty crazy metal). It's like it was mixed to aurally beat you into submission.
Click to expand...

I haven't listened to the new album yet but I did see them a few weeks back, and they certainly have the most brutal sound and visual I have experienced from any band ever (I have seen a lot of heavy bands). When I walked out of the show my drummer and I both reported that we felt shell shocked. Don't know if that is a good thing but it was certainly a new experience.

I do appreciate what Meshuggah does but it isn't really my thing. I saw them in hopes that the live show would change my mind but it didn't. I probably would not see them again live.

If you are into good for you because they most certainly are some unbelievable musicians and they have some vision. That vision is just not something interests me.
 
#20
Concr3t3 said:
OH!! And most importanly, the bass guitar is too buried on this CD. The previous ones, I can totally pull it out of the guitars but not on this one. Maybe on a couple parts on various songs.
Click to expand...

I'm always amazed when people say this - and it can be in regard to any Meshuggah album. I feel that the bass is never burried on any Meshuggah recording (I have heard everything from DEI onwards). The bass tone is probably more important to get the overall Meshuggah tone than the guitars I feel. Koloss is no exception and the bass is by no means hidden under the guitars. Some people have actually confused the bass for a guitar soemtimes though... :/

Overall a great album though. Perhaps one of my favorites from them. Alot better than Obzen which I felt was alright to good but never stuck. Koloss has loads of great passages, great song and the vocal performance is pretty awesome - if a bit monotous in the long run.
 

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