Album Review: Meshuggah ‘The Violent Sleep of Reason’

Meshuggah are the undisputed warlords of modern extreme metal and the ‘djent’ phenomenon, and are basically the heaviest thing in the universe. Their new album ‘The Violent Sleep of Reason’ confirms this beyond doubt, and offers up 10 relentless and sonically crushing tracks that’ll leave any metal fan grinning from ear to ear.

Opening track Clockworks wastes no time in delivering some classic meaty goodness by tearing straight into a furious chug-party. Crazy off-beat drum accents and intimidating low-tuned guitar drops feel right at home on a Meshuggah album, and serving them up as the tasty first course is a powerful way to start the journey. Featuring a few slinky riffs and a strange atonal guitar solo, Clockworks gets the ball aggressively rolling.

Lead single Born in Dissonance maintains the intensity by launching into a thick breakdown. Lead vocalist Jens Kidman bellows over the breakdown while grimy riffs slide in and out of the mix. The song captures Meshuggah’s classic pace-alteration and unsettling changes in pulse to keep listeners on their toes, yet somehow maintains the headbang ability not easily achieved in the more progressive styles of metal. Long suspended chords break the song up with powerful lyrical statements from Kidman, solidifying that this song was a great choice for lead single.

The song contains the usual ingredients, offbeat accentuations and ferocious vocals, but everything feels more like a jam session rather than an intricately crafted piece.

MonstroCity kicks off with a groove-laden jam that marks a slight change of vibe against the furious assault of the first two tracks. Whilst still powerful, the song backs off on tempo to make room for more feel and a straight forward approach. The song contains the usual ingredients, offbeat accentuations and ferocious vocals, but everything feels more like a jam session rather than an intricately crafted piece.

A massive breakdown breaks the pace even further, with everything choking and holding over massive palm muted guitars and a shimmering lead guitar line. The song bounces back to the groovy riffs before degenerating into a long outro filled with droning guitars and screeching feedback.

By opening with thundering drums and more signature Meshuggah riffage, By the Ton well and truly lives up to the name. A huge, eruptive track that crushes the listener under layers and layers of guitars and vocals, By The Ton features what is likely the most catchy vibe on the album. A cool and slick riff passage at the mid-point of the song foregoes vocals and lets the guitars sing in a memorable and infections groove.

The album’s title-track Violent Sleep of Reason is thick with lyrical content and covers a variety of different vibes and beats, with a slamming punk-like beatdown as the highlight. Powerful statements punctuate the song, “This is not our war/another life condemned”, showing that underneath the aggressive music is a strong message. The song closes with a brutal synced-up guitar and drum punctuations and a long suspended chord, letting the album breathe for a moment before launching into Ivory Tower.

Ivory Tower’s opening riff gives the sense of running down a spiral staircase; a descending run of a sharp notes void of any musical key restrictions. Pure, aggressive, and chaotic. The song barely stops for a breather on its marathon run, with riffs popping in and out with catchy jumps between thick low strings and brighter high strings.

Up next is Stifled, and after making its way through a classic dish of Meshuggah goodies, the song erupts into an extended tapping solo reminiscent of the great Eddie Van Halen. It then drifts away into a beautiful ambient passage with reversed lead guitars and crooning synths. The instrumental break provides a necessary respite from the storm, because up next is perhaps the culmination of all the chaos and aggression seen so far.

Nostrum, another single dropped prior to the album’s release, is a formidable and disturbing sonic experience. Characterised by off-beat palm muted guitars throughout the intro, Kidman’s iconic throaty bellow, and a blistering and frighteningly atonal guitar solo from lead guitarist Fredrik Thordendal at the outro, the song draws the listener in and well and truly solidifies the feeling of being trapped in a nightmarish frenzy.

It’s as if the band came to the end of the album and said “F*ck it, let’s just let loose and get as heavy as we can”. They did this, and they did it well.

Our Rage Won’t Die features an intro riff that would be at home on an album by a band like Killswitch Engage or Lamb of God. It is a smooth, somewhat basic guitar line that makes way for another violent serving of Meshuggah’s sounds. Returning to the same percussive elements in the intro several times throughout the song the piece is more of a ‘comfort food’ track than anything else, providing familiar and accessible sounds rather than challenging the listener with crazy ideas.

Album closer Into Decay is a fitting and destructive ending to the album. Opening with a dirty, decayed guitar section that sounds like it’s being filtered through nails and gravel, the song is the lowest tuned and heaviest offering on ‘The Violent Sleep of Reason’. Containing all the pieces of the monster machine Meshuggah is, there are ambient synths layered in the mix that lift the song in terms of musical diversity and tonal variance.

The song aims to crush and destroy whatever may be left of the listener, with relentless beatdowns and the thickest riffs imaginable. It’s as if the band came to the end of the album and said “F*ck it, let’s just let loose and get as heavy as we can”. They did this, and they did it well.

‘The Violent Sleep of Reason’ is one of the heaviest albums to come out this year, and is a testament to the creative legacy and unyielding dedication from Meshuggah to churn out pure HEAVY albums. At times falling into repetition, the album manages to deliver 10 songs of blistering, djenty metal that tick every possible box.

Check out the interactive music video for Nostrum and upcoming 2017 tour dates below!

Meshuggah 2017 Australian Tour

SUN 11 MAR
The Tivoli, Brisbane
SUN 12 MAR
Enmore Theatre, Sydney
WED 15 MAR
170 Russell, Melbourne
FRI 17 MAR
Metropolis, Fremantle

Get Tickets HERE