Catch Thirty-Three (CD - 2005)

After repeatedly raising the bar for metal bands everywhere, Meshuggah goes slightly experimental on CATCH THIRTY-THREE, the respected Swedish outfit's 2005 release. Meshuggah keeps intact its propensity for the pummeling riffs, demonic vocals, and complex polyrhythms that have compelled massive crowds to headbang in 7/4 time. But the band displays a new direction here, utilizing relentless repetition and atmospheric guitars to create a hypnotic opus that borders on industrial music.

CATCH THIRTY-THREE unfolds more like a symphony in 13 parts than a metal album, as movements bleed into each other forming a perfect arc of structured chaos, strewn with darker, ambient interludes ("In Death - Is Death"). Thematically, frontman Jens Kidman's struggle with physical and spiritual confinement continues, as he describes "the struggle to free myself of restraints" on "Disenchantment." On the album's finest track, "The Paradoxical Spiral," a tightly strummed guitar drone gives way to powerhouse bass and drums, breaking open the doors for Kidman's guttural declarations. Three songs later, the rampage continues with such heft and precision that one can only sit back in awe. minimize