Heavy metal royalty MESHUGGAH have just announced their 9th studio album, Immutable due to be released April 1st, 2022, on Atomic Fire Records. This is their first album in 6 years and for those die-hard fans who have waited so long, I can confidently state that this album is worth the wait.
MESHUGGAH is a band that needs no introduction. If you’re not familiar with who they are and the brand they bring then you’ve either been living under a rock, or you’re just not really into metal. I was fortunate to attend a pre-listening and press conference at which I listened to Immutable in its entirety. These are my initial thoughts and represent only a single listen-through.
This is a long album for MESHUGGAH at 66 minutes in length and as the band’s drummer Tomas Haake describes it, it’s a return to their roots. There are some eerily beautiful moments in the album that show a maturation of the MESHUGGAH sound. Make no mistake though, this is absolutely a MESHUGGAH album from start to finish with that classic djent sound. As Tomas states, band identity and making music that is noticeably MESHUGGAH is so important to the band.
Immutable is an album that must be listened to from start to finish in its entirety. MESHUGGAH has gone to a lot of effort to ensure flow between tracks and a natural progression. Virtually all tracks finish with a gentle outro, leading into the next song. Tomas spoke at length about the importance of the first and last 30 seconds of each song to the band even going so far as to say that the transition between songs was as important to them as any other factor.
Track number 1, Broken Cog, and track number 13, Past Tense, bookend the album well. Past Tense is an atmospheric finale to the album that brings a sense of foreboding. Meanwhile, They Move Below acts as an intermission of sorts, and at 9+ minutes is the longest song on the album. If you’re at all familiar with the brutality that MESHUGGAH brings, this brings some much-wanted release. This is a band that knows its strengths and knows its fans. There’s plenty of classic Djent riffs, groovy sections, and ridiculously fast drumming throughout the album. Expect amazing energy when these songs are played live.
MESHUGGAH fans, the wait is nearly over and well worth the wait this album is. I’m going to go out on a limb here and state that this album may compete with obZen as their best album to date. You’ll also be happy to know that according to the band they had to cut several songs from the final release. Could this mean less of a wait for the next album? Only time will tell.
Tracklist:
- Broken Cog
- The Abysmal Eye
- Lighting the Shortening Fuse
- Phantoms
- Ligature Marks
- God He Sees In Mirrors
- They Move Below
- Kaleidoscope
- Black Cathedral
- I Am That Thirst
- The Faultless
- Armies of the Preposterous
- Past Tense
MESHUGGAH: Facebook
Release Year: 2022
Label: Atomic Fire Records
Category: Album
Country: Sweden
Reviewed by Phil Bergersen
