MESHUGGAH — Catch Thirtythree (review)

MESHUGGAH — Catch Thirtythree album cover

Album · 2005 · Progressive Metal

4/5 · 2010-04-07
arcane-beautiful

Meshuggah, it's kind of like a double edged sword, you can either love em or hate em (well for most people). I'm in the middle, sometimes Meshuaggah can kind of be boring. You kind of want them to just do something simple, write a piece of music that dosent involve a billion awkward time signatures and a plethora of polyrhtyms. With Cathch 33 though, they were able to intrest me further, a 40 minute piece that contains polyrhythyms galore (who'd expect that...huh) but also alot of noise, improv, hidden beauty and special effetcs. Very hypnotic and very trance like.

Lyrically the album is based on the book Catch 22, which is basically about being a victim of something, but having no control over it. The lyrics almost feel that the protaginist is the victim of himself.

1. Autonomy Lost - This introduces the first riff wich lasts through the next 3 songs. Short and effective.

2. Imprint Of The Un-Saved - Again this riff is heard, but with more complicated timing over it (the drums are progammed...what the hell!!)

3. Disenchantment - The first riff is heard for the last time, ends the first part of the album off great.

4. The Paradoxical Spiral - Altrernate picking is heard, before jetting off into the next riff. A mammoth of 8 string frenzy.

5. Re-Inanimate - Again this riff is being devolved, reminds me of classical sonata form.

6. Entrapment - This song deals with the paradox of insanity and trying to escape from it, this also ends the second part of the album and leads into the avant garde Minds Mirrors.

7. Mind's Mirrors - For some reason this is my favourite song on the album. I think the spoken words added with vocorder chords is amazing. Very Cynic like. Before that the lowest note probabbly ever is heard, sounds like the end of the world, very effective. Then a hypnotic picked guitar part is heard, very creepy and it leads you into the next song with no haste.

8. In Death - Is Life - This is the 4th part beginning, this ear crushing riff over Jonas growly vocals. Very short and leads into the next part of part 4.

9. In Death - Is Death - The longest song, heavy, creepy, heavy, creepy basically, good growling on behalf of Jonas. After minute 9, the most hypnotic part of the album is played, and makes you very unaware, but beware...

10. Shed - This completely suprises you, the massive climax, with Jonas's growling over the riff, it almost sounds like his growls are part of the instruments themselves. Amazing oddly timed riff with added dark ambience, another gem on the album.

11. Personae Non Gratae- Shed part 2 basically, but less efffective, the riff is replaced and watered down...preparing you for the end.

12. Dehumanization - Leads you towards the end, perfect timing and odd riffs galore, 8 strings being pushed into your face.

13. Sum - A little bit loud, a lot of quite towards the end. Then the album fades out on the chords of Mind Mirrors, very eerie but very beautiful.

CONCLUSION - This album is not for just prog rock fans only, you have to understand metal as a genre and look at what the band where trying to achieve...making inhuman music...which they did. It does sounds like minds smarter than our made it, and I'm proabbly right. If you dont like too much avant garde then buy Obzen or Nothing... Obzen is quite different because songs like Combustion, Bleed & Dancers To A Discordant System are not just random messing with odd time signatures, but sound like real songs. Meshuggah do ten to repeat themselves alot..but this album is definitley they're most experimental. To be honest i love this album, not too much, but if a bit of avant garde comes my way, i except it for what it is...ADVANT GARDE.