OBZEN

1. Combustion- Here begins the sonic assault. The best part of this album: it gets heavier after this song! Everything here is perfectly crafted with absolutely mind-bending instrumental and time signature work to create a uniquely dark sound. They actually give you a few seconds to catch your breath in this one! 10/10

2. Electric Red- I really like the drum and guitar work on this one (well, as usual). Haake does a wonderful job of pushing the song along with his fantastic drum work and the guitar has a very interesting erratic tone to it. Another masterpiece song. 10/10

3. Bleed- The high point of the album! 7 minutes of pure headbanging Meshuggah genius; everything is the pinnacle of machine-like in this track. The track pulsates and systematically drags you along with it. This is the very definition of mechanical. The break with the guitar solo in it here is just as cold, but it is played wonderfully and still is able to transmit amazing amounts of emotions. Flawless. 10+/10

4. Lethargica- Who would have thought lethargy to sound like this? It actually works. As you attempt to drift into heavy-headed slumber, Meshuggah continues to pound away amazingly at their instruments and craft another signature composition. The ending has a perfect fading repetition. Trying to sleep to this isn't smart! 10/10

5. ObZen- Genius once more. These tracks are all played masterfully to the point of head explosion, unique in structure, and a full onslaught of notes and emotions coming at you with hardly any stops. This track again conveys that machinery feeling once more in its form, and it works. 10/10

6. The Spiteful Snake- Very atonal (that could describe the whole album, but especially so) guitar lines open up this album as the drums snake around to move the track forward. The whole mood to this is absolutely hypnotic, complex, and cold. Like its track description, it does have a very snake-like feel to it. 10/10

7. Pineal Gland Optics- What more is there to say? Another perfectly crafted and played track in the same vein yet with a unique flavor in comparison to what came before it. The ending is menacing. 10/10

8. Pravus- Woah, this one is even more action-filled than the last couple songs! I really like the noisy guitar part that makes this track incredibly intense. Definitely not for the faint of heart. 10/10

9. Dancers to a Discordant System- The most perfect possible closer to this album, at 9 minutes in length. Kidman's vocals continue to shine here as they have throughout, adapting the moods without flaw and here he mixes up his style quite well to fit the music. You hear all of Meshuggah's signature sounds here in a mini-epic of amazing structure! It is entirely distant, mechanical, and intense; that does not change. Another pinnacle Meshuggah composition. Flawless. 10+/10

Conclusion: This is NOT for the faint of heart. I can't say that too many times. Oddly enough, I am not a huge metalhead at all, in fact I usually shy away from really heavy material. This, however, intrigued me on first listen.

An absolute masterpiece of music. A mechanical rhythm-bursting onslaught that consumes all who cannot take it. This is the definition of artistic hardcore extreme metal.

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