Reviewed by Martin
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City: Copenhagen, Denmark
Venue: Amager Bio
Date: 20 April 2011
Set length: approx 80 minutes

Meshuggah

I won't bore you, dear readers, with reviews of the supporting bands as they were in one case - Scamp - plain boring, and in the other - The Psyke Project - plain awful, because this night belonged to Meshuggah, a band few can compete with in the sport of rhythmical exercises.

The band's carrier has from the first album Destroy Erase Improve to the latest Obzen given us music of such complexity that one could hardly understand that most of the band's music is actually in 4/4. Because of this it also becomes an astounding experience to see the band totally master the winding songs in a live situation.

I'll admit that the band sticks to well-tested cards as songselection goes - Rational Gaze, Combustion, Electric Red, Stengah, Pravus and rhythmically brilliant ostinatoexerzising Bleed that makes a large portion of the audience feel blissful. Most of the audience are made up of guys either swinging their arms like windmills or guys who with their bodylanguage show that they have learned every little accent and syncopation in the band's music - it's very entertaining to watch.

Meshuggah themselves are not a flamboyant band. And it's not needed when the music speaks fine for itself. We still get treated to synchronized waistdeep headbanging from guitarists Fredrik Thordendahl and Mårten Hagström and bassist Dick Lövgren while they pump out riffs so ludicrously down-tuned that they feel like punches and that are only interrupted by solos so chilling in emotion that I shiver.

Singer Jens Kidman is the closest the band gets to a showman as he actually talk s to the audience when he's not screaming his head off that is. If you want flair, you'll have to look to drummer Tomas Haake whose playing really make so many of his guild brothers green with envy. That man can simply play!

The sound is, as usual at Amager Bio, excellent. But what impresses me most is the light-guy as he synchronizes the lights with the bassdrums. That guy wore down his fingertips, and he is a strongly contributing factor to the concert's awesomeness. Meshuggah shows with pummeling dominance that there are not many bands that are as tight and has such heaviness in the backcatalogue. A truly impressive performance.

8 chalices of 10

Setlist:
Rational Gaze
Bleed
Electric Red
Pravus
Stengah
Combustion
Lethargica
Straws Pulled At Random
Perpetual Black Second
Sane
Soul Burn
Future Breed Machine

Related links:
www.meshuggah.net
www.myspace.com/meshuggah