Meshuggah – Koloss

 

“Accessible” is a word that’s going to be thrown around a lot on this, the seventh studio album by Meshuggah, specifically because it’s not a word anyone would associate with the Swedish metal band. Until now, that is. On Koloss the grooves are more tangible, the melodies more discernible and song structures simpler against the seeming abstraction of their earlier releases.

Here, Meshuggah spread themselves all over the map. From the slower, sludgy riffs of opener ”˜I am Colossus’ to the whiplash frenzy of “The Demon’s Name is Surveillance” to the groove of “Do Not Look Down,” the band consolidate all the elements of their earlier releases, first attempted successfully on 2008’s ObZen. In effect, Koloss is an extension of the ObZen theme, meshing the thrash influences of Chaosphere (1998) and guitar textures of Catch Thirtythree (2005) with soundscapes that draw from industrial to jazz. But Koloss is a more cohesive, polished beast to ObZen’s chaotic churn. Sure there’s no “Bleed” here but what the album loses in lead singles, it makes up for in a handful of well-crafted songs.

The album’s strongest moments are also its most populist. The Gatling gun clatter of “The Demon’s Name is Surveillance,” the dark, textured menace of “Behind The Sun,” the chiming guitars of “Break Those Bones Whose Sinews Gave It Motion” and the jazz groove of “Marrow” condense elements of the band’s sound that fans know and love. And while the album stumbles on the self-indulgently repetitive “Demiurge,” moments like the insect chatter midsection of “Swarm,” break through the rare monotonous passages.

Koloss is definitely not the sound of Meshuggah stretching themselves. Compared to albums like Catch Thirtythree, it’s practically safe. But even at their most accessible, Meshuggah remain head and shoulders above the swarm.