Destroy Erase Improve

Meshuggah | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (July 25, 1995)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Nuclear Blast Americ
• ASIN: B000000H2N
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (91 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #140,252 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sonic Giger., December 7, 2002

By 

Lord Chimp (Monkey World) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Destroy Erase Improve (Audio CD)

To the uninitiated, Meshuggah's music is relentless: odd-metered, crippingly heavy power chords (Meshuggah uses 7-string guitars further detuned by a minor second); anti-melodic and seemingly amorphous structural blobs of inorganic noise give the listener no purchase. Bassist Peter Nordins picks monstrous bass lines to layer the guitars about one octave lower -- since the guitars themselves are already detuned to quite a low level, there is little breathing room amidst the storm of riffs, creating a dense, suffocating attack. However, the bass never bleeds into the guitars' own frequencies or gets drowned out by them (as is the case with most metal bands), so Meshuggah's sound has a great sense of sonic expanse. Drummer Thomas Haake usually plays 4/4 on the cymbals and snare drum, subdivided with odd-time signatures on the bass drums. Interestingly, he executes few fills, and those heard are quick and simple. Rather than dexterity, Haake's strength is rhythm and impressive sense of time. The robotic vocals of Jens Kidman are single-note, vicious shouts executed solely for rhythmic effect -- there is no melody in Meshuggah's vocals. The vocals themselves are executed in unusual time signatures as well, generally independent of the guitars themselves. Catchy music Meshuggah is not (Hater of the Human Race's comments notwithstanding, heh). The band's assailments occasionally retreat into haunting atmospheres of chiming arpeggios, and even these seem heavy. The production is distancing and There is pretty much zero emotion in the music -- this is heartlessly intellectual, and virtually inhuman. (This fits with lyrical themes of organisms merging with technology.)

Personally, I barely consider this album "fun". This is the kind of thing I soak up with my brain and leave my heart squarely at the curb.

Yet, to the Meshuggah fan, all the difficult, disagreeable things I described above are key elements in what makes the band distinct and amazing. It's all a matter of perspective.

Meshuggah defines mutation of rhythm, their pulverizing jackhammer rhythms writhing in different time-signatures like a tortured cat. If a metalhead tried headbanging to this stuff he'd probably look like he was in the throes of a seizure.

Frederick Thordendal's unique guitar solos evoke a demented, bizarro Allan Holdsworth. Like Holdsworth, he uses a breath controller for his guitar. With this he accomplishes a tremolo-like staccato effect like a super-computer punching out lines of code. Among the armies of Hammett and Malmsteen imitations in metal, Thordendal is easily one of the genre's most unique soloists.

To get the full Meshuggah experience, it would help to be versed in some music theory. I have to say I can't completely understand the music (but at least I admit it, eh?), but I still love it -- it is unique, powerful, challenging, and unmerciful. Also worth mentioning is the fact that Meshuggah doesn't have any notable imitators -- I think that would trivialize what they do, unless of course someone came along who did it better (good luck!).

As a side-note, I saw Meshuggah open for Tool in October and needless to say I was impressed. Granted, I was a little too far away to get wrapped up in the performance's intensity (if it's a metal show I like to be close), so it was a dull enjoyment. But beholding their flawless execution of this Einsteinian metal was fookin' impressive. Composing and recording it in the studio is one thing, but to play it live...eegah! Such is a testimony of Meshuggah's uncanny talent.

Cold, mechanical, and cerebral, _Destroy Erase Improve_ is high-art out of Sweden...without a doubt one of the best and most original metal albums ever.

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars My synapses hurt., October 3, 2004

By 

spiral_mind (Pennsylvania) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Destroy Erase Improve (Audio CD)

Every genre has its malcontents. Classical music had Beethoven and Stravinsky; jazz had Miles Davis and Jaco Pastorius; rock had Frank Zappa. And starting with this album, Meshuggah did the same thing for metal - stomped eardrums flat, pulled the genre somewhere it probably didn't even realize it could go, and generally served notice that the existing rules & definitions just weren't good enough anymore.

And the result is.. scary stuff. Time signatures and meters are a joke. Gut-punching guitar hits and jagged drum lines tackle multiple time signatures in a psychotic stew that encompasses so many rhythms, you'll need a calculator to figure out how they all go together. Lyrics - visceral and highly cerebral all at once - are shouted in rhythmic patterns that act like another instrument, weaving around the others. (I hate death growls, but I don't mind these tortured screams. Go figure.) Melody is simply a fringe element that may or may not happen along the way, apart from an occasional masterful interlude like "Acrid Placidity" or the loopy bridge to "Future Breed Machine." Frederik Thordendal tops things off with the most innovative guitar work I've ever heard in the metal world. He spins out spidery atonal-but-not-really lead lines that I don't even know how to describe. It's always elusive and trying to remember what you've just heard is nearly impossible.

Chaosphere is much louder, faster and more intense; Nothing is slower, more subtle and heavier. And while those two albums are also brilliant, they're probably easier to wrap your gray matter around if you start with Destroy Erase Improve and then follow their progression. As an alternative, the EP I manages to basically consolidate the sound of these three discs in one 21-minute helping, and it also makes a good introduction for the curious. Just be ready for some good brain-pounding whichever way you go.. it may hurt a little, but nobody said evolving was easy.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars WOW !! This album blows me away TRULY AWESOME, October 2, 2004

By 

disgustipated "disgustipated" (Melbourne, Aust) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Destroy Erase Improve (Audio CD)

I am a jazz musician and I have been getting into bands like Opeth and Tool lately in my never-ending search for new musical sounds and ideas. (And having lots of fun, too !)

I have previewed Chaosphere a few times on Amazon, but still don't know quite what to make of it - I think the poor quality of the Amazon Realaudio/Media Player samples makes it hard evaluate. I always look for good musicianship in all styles of music and I am suspicious of some metal bands whose main aim seems to be as heavy as possible just for the sake of it. Nevertheless, I always try to keep an open mind.

Anyway, since nearly everyone rates this album (DEI) very highly, I felt obliged to give it a try. I picked up a copy, took it home, bravely inserted the CD, cranked up my system and braced myself for the onslaught !!

Well, I must say it brought a tear to my eye (in a good way) - its amazing.

What you get is truly delicious rhythmic complexity, flawlessly executed with brutal intensity. These guys have great chops and a lot of discipline. They are very accomplished players.

My impression of this music is that the emphasis is almost entirely on Rhythm - with very little melody. If you take the time to transcribe some of this stuff, I'm sure you will have an entire encyclopedia of new rythmic ideas at your disposal.

There are a few quiet passages too, with clean guitar chords and guitar solos that sound very similar to Allan Holdsworth (In fact in some parts I could have sworn it WAS Allan playing..). This was also a pleasant surprise for me, being a long-time Allan fan.

Anyway, as others have pointed out, due to the complexity of this album, much of the music might be lost on non-musicians (although anyone can appreciate the 'heaviness' of it.)
To those of you that think that this music is too hard to listen to - you are forgiven - as this is a very potent brew and not for everyone.

However, these guys are doing something very important - they are pushing the envelope and truly creating something new.

Personally, I love it.