music in colour not black and white.

Call it whatever you want, math metal, technical death metal, whatever else you can think of to call this kind of music - but Meshuggah are back in fine form with another album of skull crushing metal. Meshuggah are as heavy as ever before, for anyone unfamiliar with the band they have one of the heaviest sounds out there of any band at the moment - guitars and bass sound like they have as many strings between them as there are in an entire musical instrument shop, and once we have this incredible heavy force it is not straight forward from there. Meshuggah are rhythmically complex, stopping and starting as they do - it is not music that can be easily accessed by newcomers, even more so if they are alien to irregular timings, off-beats and other such progressive elements. To the untrained ear Meshuggah will sound like chaos with no real structure, but rest assure there is one in there.

Meshuggah have not changed their signature style and so "ObZen" stylistically will have no major surprises for fans of the band. The album is methodically paced, not the fastest you have ever heard but it does the job and does it well. Opening track "Combustion" is the fastest you will hear on the album, and with such intensity this song loosens your neck right from the start, as you will find yourself incapable of not headbanging to this gem. Along with the opening track, "Bleed" also demands special attention. This track is the musical equivalent of a nuclear bomb going off for seven minutes, Meshuggah have never been so relentless, you will find yourself unconsciously turning your CD player up as loud as it will go for this one. Title track "ObZen" and "Pravus" also offer themselves as highlights of the album but generally after the onslaught that is "Bleed", the album drifts off somewhat into a land where nothing seems to demand attention quite as much.