MESHUGGAH - Rare Trax
September 18, 2001, 23 years ago
(Nuclear Blast)
It's always interesting to trace back a band's roots, and it's even more intriguing if that group is notorious mathmetal freaks Meshuggah. Ever wondered how the band almost single-handedly pioneered the 'start-stop-and-then-chug-again' sound? It's all here on Rare Trax, an oddities collection encompassing the band's demos and early recordings. Also included in the package is 1989's famed Psykisk Testbild EP, previously limited to 1000 vinyl copies and, among other things, an absolute bitch to find (I know firsthand -- I looked and looked and looked to no avail.). Capping off the CD are three mpeg video tracks: 'New Millennium Cyanide Christ', recorded in (and this a direct quote) 'a recreation vehicle' in Ohio sometime in 1999, 'Elastic', filmed live in the band's native Sweden in 2000, and 'Tour and Studio Clips' shot in Ô98, Ô99 and Ô00. If your interest still isn't piqued by the depth of the material contained, then new track 'War' will take that lacking interest and ravage and savage it into a mess of speed-infested brutality before you even know what hit you. Translation? 'War' alone makes this multimedia romp worth the cash. Despite the absolutely mundane title of this record, it really is an unparalleled Meshuggah listening and visual experience, and ranks even higher than both Destroy, Erase, Improve and Chaosphere in my books. Let the flames (roasting me Rare) begin.
