real-talk I really do like this album, but I'm more into their "destroy, erase, improve" sound. I wish they still did more of the cool jazzy bits and ambient stuff they did back in the day. I think it really helped to break up the potential monotony in their sound.
My album hasn't come in yet and I stopped downloading music. Mostly because I can't even find time to listen to the ones I buy :s
instrumentally speaking this might be their best and most complete album ever. EVER. The guitars rule supreme. However, vocal-wise I'm let down. There's no real standout section of the vocals, they're just there. Which is sad because it makes me think Jens doesn't really care about the band anymore and just gets the job done.
For me the vocals have always been the weakest element - it' a shame he barely ever tries to do anything with his voice beside scream in a fairly monotonous way. But i'm used to it and i'd say at this stage it's never going to change so I don't really mind.
yeah but on former albums he tried some interesting rhythms or these extreme screams on Catch 33(Dehumanization?). Maybe it has to do with him being cautious with his aging vocal cords but then I don't understand why he doesn't go for some more melodic stuff. He has done it in the past. lol @ fruity shit
I blasted this album while I saw at the gym and I think I saw God Completely agreed. When I listened to Meshuggah, I think of that big chomping truck that Björk drives in her "Army of Me" video just mowing down skyscrapers methodically. Jens' voice (and, overall, the band's relentless pushing rhythms) works perfectly in that capacity. They're just this big polyrhythmic machine that won't ever stop.
I actually think the vox work really well at a couple of choice parts, otherwise yea they're just a nice layer. The end of I Am Colossus is fucking insane vocally
lol @ complaining to Jens vocals. Can you picture Russell Allen ,James LaBrie or Dan from TesseracT singing in Meshuggah?. I can't. Jens is the perfect vocalist for this band.
Maybe you wanna give me a name who will be 'appropriate' for being vocalist on Meshuggah, and then I will find out that you're retarded as well.
what the hell else should jens do vocally? sing or do faggy growls to turn meshuggah into crap like every other "djent" band? no thanks.
Jens is the "appropriate" vocalist for Meshuggah.. The names you dropped I don't think anyone here (or anywhere) ever thought of being a fit like.. at all.
I would fight you but its C33 so I don't give a fuck. Jens just has no variation, no interesting vocal rhythm's, nothing new on this album. He's going through the motions, which what a lot of posters complaining about the vox are trying to get at I'm sure.
I definitely wouldn't want him to go down the route of what all those faggy djent bands with clean singing do, that's for sure. But there's definitely ways he could make them a little more interesting. I loved the prolonged epic screams on Catch 33, for example. He never seemed to do them again unfortunately. What he does works well and it's effective, but he could definitely be a little more creative than the constant 'raah raah raah raah raah raah' on every single song. But anyway, I don't wanna bitch too much because this album is fucking brilliant after 3 listens.
This album is quite good. I agree that the vocals have always been my least favorite part of Meshuggah, but I understand why they are the way they are, and they certainly don't ruin it for me. Koloss is like the perfect gym album. After only a couple listens I'd have to say my favorites are The Demon's Name is Surveillance and Marrow.
