MESHUGGAH Immutable | Weekly Heavy Metal Album Review

Released by Atomic Fire Records on April 1st, 2022

Quick Background

Swedish progressive metal band Meshuggah was formed in Umeå in 1987 and released their debut album Contradictions Collapse in 1991. But it was 1995's genre defying Destroy Erase Improve that put the band on the map and it's now consider one of the best and most influential prog metal albums of all time. That album was the blueprint for the trademark Meshuggah sound. They rose to fame as a significant act in extreme underground music, became an influence for modern metal bands, and gained a cult following. Meshuggah have become known for their innovative musical style and their complex, polymetered song structures and polyrhythms. The album obZen was a big boost in the band's popularity and the song "Bleed" became a classic and reference song in extreme prog metal. That was the time I got into the band, so I do have a stronger connection with the later releases and I absolutely love the last two albums. Their concerts are also quite an experience and actually mesmerizing. 

Immutable

Immutable is their ninth full-length album following 2016's The Violent Sleep of Reason. It features 13 tracks in 66 minutes. Making it their longest album to date and first to break the one-hour length. It features 3 instrumental songs, "They Move Below" being almost 10 min long. Most songs are on the 4-5 minute range though. Within the Meshuggah frame of reference this album is more melodic and more dynamic than most of their albums. There was great attention paid to the album flow. Some parts are really slow and mellow. There are a couple of songs with spoken words and clean guitars and also a song without drums. More on those later. 

The songs "The Abysmal Eye", "Light The Shortening Fuse" and "I Am That Thirst" were published as singles before the album release. Music videos were released for "The Abysmal Eye" and "Broken Cog". The opener "Broken Cog" due to the slow tempo and build up construction feels like a long 5-min intro and I think that's a nice contrast to the 'in your face' and chaotic start of Violent Sleep with "Clockworks". Spoken words are the only voice we hear all the way until the last minute of this 5:30 song. Then we finally hear the powerful voice of lead vocalist Jens Kidman. "The Abysmal Eye" which will certainly become a live favorite  brings back the "Bleed" feel and of course that's well received. "Light The Shortening Fuse" is another welcomed concrete brick in your head. The thrashy "I Am That Thirst" brings back the style from some of their earlier works. Another highlight for me is "Ligature Marks", man the brutal drumming on this one. It's hard to imagine that drummer Tomas Haake was having to deal with skin problems in his fingers while recording this album.

The 9-min instrumental "They Move Below" is strategically placed in the middle of the album with its two and a half minute intro with only clean guitar is a pallet cleanser to the album's brutality. It’s a little sludge/stoner rock. For some reason I though of it as being Meshuggah's equivalent to Metallica's "To Live is to Die". Another curved ball is the black metal influenced track "Black Cathedral" but without any drums, while standing on its own it is a intro for “I Am That Thirst”. "Past Tense" closes the album with a melancholic clean guitar and drumless intrumental song. 

The Picky Guy

Meshuggah is and will always be an acquired taste. So it's possible that Immutable will grow on me, specially if I see some of those songs live. But after many spins this album did not have the same impact that the last two albums had on me. There are still plenty of good songs but none of them knocked my socks off. Many sound too much as recycling ideas from previous albums. 

Wrap Up Opinion 

Immutable is less harsh sounding and more dynamic than previous albums. But it sounds like we come to expect from Meshuggah since Obzen. It features some good tracks, interesting moments, some risk taking and a lot to unpack. I think if you are new to this band, and you like this kind of music, this is as good as any of the last albums. But for seasoned fans like me, it did not stand out compared to recent albums. It's OK and will add to their set list but overall it falls short. Consequently, I'm giving it 79/100, a middle of the pack good album. And I'd still recommend it for new and old fans.  

SCORE: 79/100

Genre: Progressive Extreme Metal

Released by Atomic Fire Records on April 1st, 2022

Rating System

99 - 100 Perfect
94 - 98 Excellent
87 - 93 Great
82 - 86 Very Good
77 - 81 Good
66 - 76 Mixed
58 - 65 Bad

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