MESHAGGAH. ya want some of this?

[rythmtroll]

Anyone know who Meshuggah is? www.meshuggah.net...its heavy Im warning you but...very creative and tight and alost perfect and if you respect music then you'll love this. Nevermind the crunch of thier g-tars and youll dig. Ya want some?"

[Matus]

Best extreme band ever :D They're pulling off stuff that most black metal bands wish they could only understand.

[jsuplicki]

Tomas Haake is an amazing drummer. His control over any meter is unbelieveable and the extremely synchopated beats are just rediculous. The rhythms and double bass drum patterns are insane. If anyone wants to give themselves a headache, try figuring out some of his stuff!!! One of my top 5 drummers.

[shaftninja]

I always forego the 'warning... it's extreme music' part because people who are open-minded enough to listen to bands like Planet X are usually open-minded enough to be able to 'handle' Meshuggah. If they are not, fuck 'em. Their loss.

[rythmtroll]

Have you heard "Nothing"?. The newest Meshuggah Cd that will manipulate your braincells and twist the mind. If you can grasp the timings that they out out then I commend you. Some rythms are really easy to follow but some will totally mind bogle you. Its called "NOTHING" and its in stores now. Get it . Leel it. Live it. You wont be dissapointed

[shaftninja]

Oh yah, I got that one. I was thickening up my Meshuggah library for a moment, but I had some other bills to attend to. Hopefully, soon, I shall complete it.

[rythmtroll]

I see. Well keep listening to it and you'll get so lost. www.meshuggah.net

[jimi]

For a first time listener, which album shall i go for??

[jonberg]

You should buy Destroy erase improve. That´s one of the best records I have heard in that genre!

[Matus]

Chaosphere is a winner, too!

[Christ Magnum]

Tomas Haake is DEFINITELY in my top 5 picks. The snare solo in the track "Spasm" off of Nothing is one of the most insane things I've ever heard. If someone can figure that out PLEASE enlighten me on it. I have all of their albums, but I think I enjoy Chaosphere the most.

[jimi]

Hmmm Chaosphere or D.E.I., i'll check them out!

[Matus]

Christ, you mean about 2:35 into the song, right? I think he's doing the accents on a floor tom along with the bass drum. If that's the case then he's doing a compound sticking pattern. In Chaffee's book, the one he's using the most would be in group C (three single strokes followed by one or more doubles). It's a 5 note sticking with 3 accents, like RLRllRLRllRLRllRLRll. Then he's mixing that with a 3 note group: Rll. That would be on group A (one single followed by one or more doubles).
If I'm not mistaken and he's doing that on the floor tom then he's alternating the accents between the snare and FT. The pattern would go like this...
Rll RLRll RLRll Rll RLRll RLRll Rll...
The alternation works this way (S=snare F=floor tom)
Fss SSFss SSFll Sss FSSss FSSss Fss...
He's alternating every right hand stroke between the snare and the floor tom.
I haven't transcribed the whole part and, to be honest, I don't feel like doing it at the moment LOL! I have stuff to do already and I'm taking a break. But anyway, I hope that at least it helped you understanding how he's doing all that crazy stuff.

[Fede]

My money's on Destroy, Erase, Improve. To me it's by far their best - the others are just plain good, but DEI is insane. It's much more complete and thought-through. Thomas is definately also on my top 5.

[rythmtroll]

This is great ! Meshuggah listeners! We're fortunate that we get to hear whats actually going on in that madness. The drum stickings on Spasm are alternated between the "bass drum" and the snare. Just to let ya know. And if your gonna get your first album recommend CHAOSPHERE . Its they're heaviest album by far. And the double bass work is really inspiring. See if ya can bust Corridor of Chameleons all the way through on the bass drums...I didnt think you could. It will open your eyes to what they are all about. Fav song off that album is "Mouth Licking What Youve Bled". Those guys are so syncranized and I loook up to them with great respect as musicians. I would love to see Virgil play Meshuggah songs and have Thomas play PLanet X songs . Think of how different that would look. Ha ha ha!!

[Matus]

Hmmm I thought it was the floor tom with the bass drum because it sounds kinda flammed at times and it would make more sense since he's accenting on the cymbals right after that. But if you're certain about it then just replace that and you got it ;)

[z'Alai]

Only thing is that sadly, Tomas does the same thing over and over with his hands. It's really just his feet that I give him props for. Yeah, it's great that he picks, like, a dotted-eighth to recycle his foot pattern in 7, but...yeah, at least Virgil will embellish every now and then. Virgil will TOTALLY lose you. He'll make shapes around the kit with his hands while doing some zany foot pattern (and still being musicalal), whereas Tomas would groove [with his hands] the entire time...which sounds AWESOME, but I can't rate him near top 5 just because of foot patterns. Of course, since it's more metal than fusion, the embellishing tendencies are probably less likely. Either way, that band is pretty nasty and tight live. They're pretty wild.

And I have to vote for Chaosphere being the album of choice.

[Matus]

I think Thomas' style is very appropiate for Meshuggah and that's why he plays that way. Judging by his level of precission, intrincacy and pattern creation I'd say he's more than able to embellish as much as he wants to. Just take a listen to Chaosphere, he's all over the place and when the band stops he just makes a totally awesome snare fill in crescendo. That shows he's got more than what's shown but I think that benefits the music. Virgil's just a whole different story :D
I'd love to see the guys live, really. They sound so tight on record it's crazy and most of it sounds natural, unlike other bands like Fear Factory, who quantize all the tracks with ProTools so it sounds that tight.

[jimi]

Is there any video footage of thomas available??

[Christ Magnum]

Thanks alot for clearing that up for me Matus. jimi, I have been unable to find ANY of Tomas' solos or any kind of footage besides the video for the song Rational Gaze in which you only see him for a split second or so.

[shaftninja]

As long as we're kind of discussing a band within these musical borders, does anyone listen to The Dillinger Escape Plan? They're fucking sick.

[Matus]

Mmmm I haven't heard them but I've read some great stuff about this band. Any advice on what to hear first?

[ecliptica]

For all of you that get the opportunity to see Meshuggah live, do so!
They're really great live, better than on record.. and even live they're perfectly sync. and tight..insane is the word.

For a first time listener i can't really recommend only one album.. every album is definetly Meshuggah allway through, but still every album is very unique.
Either you listen to samples from their homepage meshuggah.net from all their albums, or you buy all at ones (at least destroy erase improve, chaosphere and nothing though None and Rare trax are really good to).

Meshuggah are really unique at all points.. their lyrics are very meshuggah-style and unlike everything, same for their music and rythms and also their vocals are very unique - and not to forget the rythm-style of the vocals.
I don't think it is possibly to put meshuggah into a category, whatever they do they'll always be a category of themself- the meshuggah-category.
Quite cool with 8-stringed guitars.. massive sound.
Their guitar-effects are also unique, some of them at least..Tomas Haakes brother, Johan Haake are developing a guitar effect of his own, the 33, and meshuggah has one of them.. it's a really weird thing which you control with a mouth-joystick.. makes the guitar act somewhat like a saxophone.

By the way.. a new Meshuggah EP is soon to be released..june/july sometime.
They have also been talking about a DVD but it didn't sound like it was going to happen very soon.

Tomas Haake is by the way really amazing.. both his drumming and his lyrics..
I really like the fact that he put so much energy and focus on all the drumrythms and not just goes with an ordinar rythm and than adds a few fills here and there, like most ordinary drumers...
AND I sure that tomas, and most other famous, great drumers can play a lot more advanced stuff then they do on record.. cause if you play with a band it isnät about showing off, it's about playing what is appropriate for the music to make it the way you and your band want.. so judging drumers when you've only heard them play on record (unless solo-record for showing off:) ) is something i think is very wrong.
And as said before; to be able to play as tight, murdering and perfect as tomas do you have to be at a level far above what can be heard in the playing..if you get my point.


Regarding videos with tomas...
There is the Rational Gaze music video, a live video from springfield featuring sickening and Future breed machine, music video for Terminal Illusions, Meshuggah - the movie (great insane shit), meshuggah live in montreal and some few additional videos...
there are also an intervjue from ZTV (swedish TV) and there they show a special Rational Gaze video for the first and the last time.. i'm actually in that video, for about 1 second you can see me in the crowd ;) hehe

For you who hasnt listened to Rare Trax i would like to recommend the song "Don't Speak" from that record.. great song with very cool drumming.. much dubble bass..

I would also like to recommend the solo-album of Fredrik Thordendal (guitarist of meshuggah), Sol Niger Within.. great album.

cya!

[shaftninja]

Mmmm I haven't heard them but I've read some great stuff about this band. Any advice on what to hear first?
Oh boy, I really don't know where to start, but that's only because I'm such a big fan. "Sugar Coated Sour" launches off their Calculating Infinity album, and is a live staple, so check 'er out.

[jimi]

Thanks for all the info!!

[Christ Magnum]

Wow ecliptica it sounds like you're really into Meshuggah. I haven't had the opportunity to see them live but a few of my friends had and they loved it. I'll for sure have to check out the Terminal Illusions video, not to mention the movie :O thanks for all that info :>

[ecliptica]

heh :)

yeah the terminal illusions video is great hehe, they all have videocameras (either holding them or having them attached to their heads) and run around.. quite meshuggah-like. I believe that video is quite old and un-serious..

Meshuggah the movie is just great.. 10 minutes of insanity. It's stuff from tours, from their studio, from when jens is eating and tomas play hide'n'seek with the camera =)
BUT, the film is mostly in swedish tough i believe you would enjoy it even if you don't understand swe.

[jimi]

Check out ebay, i found the ozzfest and montreal gigs there, didn't get them though (yet at least)

[stapper15]

have any of you heard of drumkit from hell? it was made buy the drummer from Meshuggah. its drum kit software for your computer it sounds so good and REAL! a little pricey tho.

stapper

[ecliptica]

yeah DFH (drumkit from hell) is really something.. v1 is good enough and fills up one CD with samples.. if you program the drums with DFH in cubase or protools you get far better result than with a drum machine..

From the DFH homepage:
The recorded kit is a sonor designer series maple light shell.

Each drum is multisampled with both left and right hand hits. For example the snares have atleast 15 hits per hand from soft to loud not including additional flams, sidesticks, rims and ruffs. Three of the snares have also been multisampled with the bottomhead snare off.
(All hats, rides and cymbals are also multisampled).

Each hit consists of two seperate stereo samples. One is the drum or cymbal itself (with all the other kit mics turned on) and the other is the room/ambient mics.
With this feature you can process the close miked sounds and the ambient sounds seperately to create a huge variety of different kit sounds. Just imagine the possibilities that'll bring you!!!!

The kit was meticulously recorded at DugOut Studios in Sweden with virtuoso drummer Tomas Haake from Meshuggah providing all the hits and top producer/engineer Daniel Bergstrand recording them.

Now anyhow DFH Superior has been released.. 30GB of samples (85000 samples, 5 kits and so on).
DFH homepage (http://www.toontrack.com/index_samples.shtml)

[jonberg]

Hi Patrik, you´re from Umeå, right??
Not too far from Piteå, where I now live. I study at Studiomusikerlinjen at musikhögskolan. What are you studying right now?
Take care/jonathan

[rythmtroll]

No talking about anything else besides how bad ass Meshuggah is ok? I dont need to hear your propoganda!!!!!!!!!

_________________________

Why are asians always smiling?...they know something we dont...

[jonberg]

Well rythmtroll, this is VIRGIL DONATIS messageboard, so I guess it doesn´t matter really what we are talking about.

[ecliptica]

Well rythmtroll, this is VIRGIL DONATIS messageboard, so I guess it doesn´t matter really what we are talking about.
I agree :)

yes i'm from Umeå and i study electronic engineering (Dataingenjörsprogrammet).
Iwas thinking about studying music..but i like electronic engineering and besides i can play drums anyway..so it was a good sulotion for me but i understand that your program in piteå must be really interesting.
One of my friends study there i believe, Joel Sjödin.

Anyway i play in Ecliptica and we're quite active so that's enough for me..

Just to keep the meshuggah-line a little:
well i look forward to their new albums.. "I" is released soon.. 20 minutes improvisation album i believe.. and than "catch 33" will be released but no date is official. They have also planned one more album but can't say anything more about it. btw i read this in the newpaper VK.

[rythmtroll]

You guys got me all wrong.....look up JOKE in the dictionary. The jokes on you!!!!! No offence little boys.

[ecliptica]

You guys got me all wrong.....look up JOKE in the dictionary. The jokes on you!!!!! No offence little boys.

heh yeah i know :)

no offence taking fellow little boy

[DRoddyIncarnate]

Tomas Haake is in my top two.
His creativity is truly brilliant!
As for being able to listen to Meshuggah, i love them, i listen to much heavier as well.
You guys should check out a band called "Psycroptic" from my country Australia, where Virgil is from as well, haha we have all the good drummers :P
The Psycroptic drummer is David Haley, he complements his fellow musicians brilliantly, whilst displaying excellent technique, and chops:)He doesn't overplay either...Check Him Out!!!

[rythmtroll]

I didnt know that "I" was gonna be an Improv song!. Where did you hear this and are you sure this is true? I cant wait to hear it. I know this is kind of a retarded thing to say but I hope it's good. Are you sure its an improv?

[jonberg]

I agree :)

yes i'm from Umeå and i study electronic engineering (Dataingenjörsprogrammet).
Iwas thinking about studying music..but i like electronic engineering and besides i can play drums anyway..so it was a good sulotion for me but i understand that your program in piteå must be really interesting.
One of my friends study there i believe, Joel Sjödin.

Anyway i play in Ecliptica and we're quite active so that's enough for me..

Just to keep the meshuggah-line a little:
well i look forward to their new albums.. "I" is released soon.. 20 minutes improvisation album i believe.. and than "catch 33" will be released but no date is official. They have also planned one more album but can't say anything more about it. btw i read this in the newpaper VK.


Hey, I know Joel, actually I´m going to start some jazz projects and then I will have Joel playing. He´s great guy and pianist!
As for the Messhuggah part. I will see them at Hultsfred festival this summer, can´t wait to see them :) If you´re in the "hultsfred" area, mail me, because I live about 1mile from there.
Take care, and hopefully we will meet sometime. / Jonberg

[ecliptica]

I didnt know that "I" was gonna be an Improv song!. Where did you hear this and are you sure this is true? I cant wait to hear it. I know this is kind of a retarded thing to say but I hope it's good. Are you sure its an improv?

Well Haake and thordendal was interviewed in a swedish newspaper VK ("västerbottenskuriren") and there they said it was a kind of improvised album.. and by that i do not believe they ment live improvisation.. rather more planned improvisation if you understand me?
they also described both "I" and "catch 33"..

Roughly translated:
"I": we just wanted to place all rockkliché's in a row and shot'em down
like a kliché-massacre ;)

"catch 33": it will be like a huge enormous war-machine crawling over the sibirean wasteland on it's larva-feet


Jonberg: alright! cool! tell joel hi from me will ya? :)
well i really wanna se meshuggah in hultsfred but we (me and my girlfriend) already have so much plans for the summer so i don't think i will have the money or the time unfortunaly, but if i get there i will send you a mail!

ha de! =)

[rythmtroll]

Dudes!!!!!! Im pretty drunk right now And Im loving all this brotherhood. I know what you mean by the improv being slightly planned out. They probably went over timings and where they want to put them but the melody most likely hasnt been established. You know? Thas what I think anyway. On another note I swam with dolphins at Suma beach. It was a really spiritual experience. I was'nt drunk at the time like I am now. So Ill see ya later and...does anyone drink around here? Be honest.

[ecliptica]

yeah of course i drink now and then.. on saturday i'm going to party real hard i believe ;)
swimming with dolphins sounds great man..