Meshuggah - Destroy, Erase, Improve

The first notes one hears are of an alarm sounding, a truly foreboding sound and the calm before the storm. Destroy Erase Improve is aptly named, as the band has completely transformed their sound since Contradictions Collapse. Jens Kidman's voice is tons more brutal, the guitar attack is infintely more staccato and precise, and the drumming, godly. Future Breed Machine is worth the price of admission alone , a cross of death and industrial metal which just cuts to a superb jazz break halfway through it. Meshuggah are perfectionists, and their overall sound benefits from it. How these guys can keep it together while playing is beyond me. I think that much of this is courtesy of Fredrik Thorendal, and Tomas Haake, both outstanding musicians. Solo guitar lines soar over top of a foundation which changes constantly from triplet to half time feel on a whim. Because Haake is able to play essentially two drum patterns at once, he does not have to decide whether to follow the guitar lines or keep the beat, which is a common problem in progressive odd-time music. If you keep the beat, it's boring, but you can follow the song, follow the guitar, you lose the song, and the listener. Now, this album isn't for the purist. There is definitely a lot of weird shit going on here. But, if you get into progressive/industrial/brutal metal, than this album is one easy 10