A week ago I went to see Meshuggah play the Commodore Ballroom in Vancouver. I've been a fan of theirs for a few years now, but I'd never been to one of their shows.
For those of you who aren't familiar with Meshuggah, they are a Swedish heavy metal band. They've been around since the Late Eighties, but they didn't start to get big until about a decade later. Throughout their career, they've carved out a very unique sound and reputation. They are known as one of the heaviest bands in the world, but not in the sense that one might expect. Their sound would not be accurately described as "death metal." There are no blast beats, no growled vocals, and their lyrical content is not particularly preoccupied with death, though it is dark to be sure.
There are several elements of their music which really stand out and define Meshuggah's unique place in the world of metal. The best-known, most talked-about element is their polyrhythmic guitar riffs. They've said in interviews that they only ever play in 4-4 time, but the guitar parts are written in weird meters apart from the drum beat, lending the songs a highly complex rhythmic feel. What is really remarkable about this approach is that they do not let it hinder their musicality. Though it is challenging to listen to at first, the music grooves along very well, and once you listen to it for a while, you learn when to bang your head along to it. Generally, you just follow the crash cymbal.
Marten Hagstrom and Fredrik Thorendal, the two guitarists in the band, have chosen their guitars and amp setups for maximum efficiency and destructive power. They play custom Ibanez 8-string guitars, which are constructed more like short-scale (30.5") basses, Lundgren pickups, and Line 6 amps. The resulting sound is sharp, tight, percussive, and cold. It's machine-like, really. It's like a mechanical device designed to generate to most powerful metal guitar tone ever heard.
Jens Kidman's vocals are also quite different from the droves of growlers and screamers on the scene right now. Instead of a devilish, death-metal style, his vocals, like the guitars, sound almost mechanical. "Robotic" is a term I've heard used to describe it, which I think is accurate. He paces himself rhythmically, just like the rest of the band.
When I first got word that they would be playing a venue near me, the thought of going to the concert was as exciting as it was intimidating. I had no doubt that the music would be great, but I wasn't sure I actually wanted to be there. The concern here, of course, was the other fans. Slayer fans have a reputation for being really scary dudes who you don't want to meet in the pit. Pantera fans, too, maybe more so. So what was I to expect from the fans of the heaviest, most genuinely scary band I'd heard?
But I went anyway. Two of the friends I went with are huge guys: easy to pick out of a crowd, and more than capable of handling themselves. So I felt somewhat safer.
The opening band, Decaptitated, has been around for nearly as long as Meshuggah. They're a Polish death metal band, with one of those really huge lead singers with the waist-length dreadlocks. They needed little security. That guy could have beaten back the more eager of the fans with a flick of his head.
To be honest, I find straight-up death metal to be tiresome, and this was no exception. I came up with a rather vulgar but accurate analogy for how I feel about blast beats, which I'll not share here. The stage volume was also very, very high, which I don't think was necessary. On the plus side, though, Decapitated had great stage presence. They worked the crowd well and won their participation, which is more than can be said for the second band to play.
Baroness is a sludge rock band from Savannah, Georgia. Musically, they're not far off from Mastodon, but with less Black Sabbath and more Deep Purple. This band had an undeniable 70's metal-inspired sound, and as such were a bit of an odd fit for the night. This is a band with tons of potential, but perhaps a lack of direction. Their songs tend to have a lot of good elements, but overall aren't crafted well, with one section sort of jumping to another without a proper build-up or set-up. The musicians themselves are good, and they had energy... on stage. The audience, from what I could tell, felt disconnected. This might be that they came for Meshuggah and not a sludge/prog rock band, but I thought that Baroness could have done more to include the people who just happened to be there, make them feel connected, and convert them into fans.
Meshuggah was... perfect.
Several things stood out to me. The stage volume was not really loud. All the amps were kept backstage, meaning we only heard the guitars and bass through the house P.A. system. This did not reduce the effectiveness of the music. It improved it.
Jens made a strong connection with the audience. He has a quiet intensity about him when he is not vocalizing, which is mesmerizing. He carries himself almost like a priest.
The light show had obviously taken as much practice as the music. I watched the guy working the lighting booth for a couple of songs, and it looked as if he were playing the songs on a keyboard. I suppose that's not uncommon for bigger bands, but this was really tight and professional, like the band.
This was a no-compromise set. They did everything right, setting an example for all who wish to master the art of the live concert.
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