DESTROY ERASE IMPROVE

"Destroy/Erase/Improve" is a superb album that managed to push forward Meshuggah's sound. This album is more original and powerful as well as being heavier and more orientated to Meshuggah's own sound. The debut album was a great thrash metal album taking great influence from albums like Metallica's "Kill Em All" and Slayer's "Reign in Blood". This follow up has shown that in the 4 year gap since the first album the band have really worked hard to improve their sound and create much more original music. This album has been accepted as a classic metal album.

DEI doesn't really introduce too many of the band's progressive tendancies but it is clear that they are toying with some of the things that would make later albums sound much more progressive. Even their trademark use of insanely complex time signatures and shifts in tempo start to show up on this album. DEI favours much faster works yet often has the slow chuggy riffs and is incredibly heavy. This album is quite a treat as it is probably the last real time you will hear speedy metallic 6 string riffs before they would evolve to slow proggy mania and 8 string guitars for "Chaosphere" and onwards.

The best tracks on this album are "Future Breed Machine", which is a relentless offering of heavy guitars and vocals playing at churning speeds that will leave you slaughtered. Other stand out tracks include "Sublevels" where Jens talks over this eerie track. "Acrid Placidity" shows some of the slower and calmer sides to Meshuggah and is sound that will be revisited in parts of "I" and tracks like "Mind's Mirrors" from "Catch 33".

DEI is an excellent album, not a very proggy one but it is definetly one for fans of their later work. Perhaps this album serves as the last true test of how much a Meshuggah fan you are, as when they converted to their slower, heavier, proggier and more complex and intellectual music of the albums after this, it left some fans alienated who were just in it for the thrash heaviness. This album marks as the end of Meshuggah's more ordinary and the start of their more unique and intelligent music.