Meshuggah - Contradictions CollapseNone (13 tracks) +Album Reviews

3.5-star average? Oh, hell no!

Wheelchair Assassin | The Great Concavity | 10/23/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Maybe it's hard for me to be objective since Meshuggah are my idols and all, but I don't think this release gets enough credit. First of all, it combines their debut album "Contradictions Collapse" and the jaw-dropping EP "None" for about an hour of solid destruction, but you knew that already. This reissue lets you hear how Meshuggah evolved from a hugely talented band of Bay Area Thrash impersonators to a hugely talented band with a sound and vision all their own. However, I recommend this album unreservedly for way more than any historical value. I recommend it because it rules, especially the concluding four songs that comprise "None." "Contradictions Collapse," the band's first full-length release, starts things off with nine tracks from Meshuggah's early days. Although this album's sound is nowhere near as distinctive as that of "Destroy Erase Improve" or "Chaosphere," as it displays more than a little influence from the likes of Metallica, it still rocks as hard as anything they've ever done. It actually features some of their more memorable riffs, and at times it's even *gasp* catchy. Still, though, you can see Meshuggah starting to trace the path that would eventually become their own through such devices as call-and-response vocals, complex arrangements, and the occasional wacky time signature. It's on "None" that you can hear Meshuggah really developing into the greatest band of all time. Even before looking at the CD case, I could tell that "Contradictions Collapse" ended after track nine because there was such a dramatic change in the overall sound. With "None," the riffs became tighter, the drumming more technical, the song structures more complex and less predictable, and Jens Kidman's growls much more powerful and assured. Those polyrhythms that you hear so much about? They started here. The songs become less catchy, but far more inventive and substantial. In the end, I find this CD to be almost as essential as everything that came after it. You get about an hour of tunes, you get some background on a great band, and, well, it's Meshuggah. Need I say more? If you consider yourself a Meshuggah fan, this album is an essential purchase."

Not for everyone

Tom Z | USA | 07/25/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"When I saw this I was confused at first, only 3 1/2 stars for Meshuggah? After reading all the reviews I began to understand what the problem was. People like Meshuggah for alot of different reasons and some of those reasons aren't apparent on Contradictions Collapse. If you like Meshuggah solely for the complexity, Melodicness, or Weirdness of their later albums you should probably steer clear of this. If you enjoy the heavyness and intensity of Meshuggah or are just a thrash fan in genral I recommend picking this up today. Jens Kidman rules with his kind of James-Hetfeild-meets-death-metal vox. The guitars are crushingly heavy and hold your interest unlike alot of thrash stuff. The drums are some of the best I've heard and the bass is cool too. Basically, as long as you recognize that this is thrash and not cyber-futuristic-million polyrhythem stuff like their later efforts you will like this as long as this kind of music is your thing. 4 stars for what this is, 5 stars to counter the undue negative press."

Too bad the reissue is terrible...

pkummerfeldt | Miami, Florida USA | 10/03/2002

(1 out of 5 stars)

"This album is spectacullar. Heavy as ..., catchy, technical and just makes you proud you listen to metal. This release contains the debut full length "Contradictions Collapse" which displays the band at their thrashiest, it is also thir most straighforward release (by no means does this imply that the album is "accesible", it is still Meshuggah and their crazy rythms, riffs and drums!). The second part of this release is the "None" e.p., but whithout the closing song (Aztec Two Step), but that song was just weird industrial noise, so you won't miss it.Every song on this album is awesome, from the brutal openner "Paralysing Ignorance", with its catchy chorus and awesome lyrical content. The next song "Erroneous Manipulation" is very heavy, with a slow paced groove. Next highlight is "Internal Evidence", which has one of the best verse riffs i've ever heard, and the riff is complemented by Thomas Haake's wierd dumming, sounds like the band are completely out of pace, but close listening proves you the awkward sounding rythm is a deliberate attempt to play with your min!, and they aren't out of synch!! The fifth song "Qualms of reality" breaks into an all out assault on your senses near the ending, this song also has some huge backup vocals (think huge choruses ala 80's). Excellent debut. The same goes with the "bonues tracks", which are from None, and sound like their follow-up release, "Destroy Erase Improve"The reason I gave this 1 star is because the reissuing is ..., you get no liner notes, no lyrics, no info on the line-up (they were a 4 piece, and the picture they show on the packaging, is a picture of a different line-up!!!!). It is also a digipack, and those things decompose and deteriorate very fast. I appreciate Nuclear Blast reissuing these long out of print releases, but they can do a better job. BEWARE: almost every NB re-release is a ... digipack, this goes for the Hypocrisy reissues, the Therion reissues, Sinister reissues etc. etc. whiuch I think is an embarasment to metal fans and consumers! , ... metal fans who never purchased the originals, and instead are forced to buy unproper and mediocre re-releases ."

Meshuggah back when they resembled Metallica with a twist of

Logan Peterson | Wichita, Kansas | 07/07/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"
If you have heard this album and then listened to Destroy Erase Emprove, then you already know there was a big jump there musically. Contradictions Collapse is a great Technical Thrash album. Not anything like what Meshuggah puts out today. Well, maybe with the exception of the tone of the guitar solos. Anyway, this album sounds alot like Metallica with Anthrax's back up vocal yells...but done in a Swedish way. Which makes for a great listen. From the very start of the album you'll be able to see what I mean. Very Bay City Thrash like. If you heard Meshuggah's newer stuff before you heard Contradictions Collapse then you're in for a surprise.

This album is undeniably a must have. And if you truly want to know Meshuggah's roots then you have to have it. Its also nice to have the None EP tracks on here as well. You get to see the start of some of the transition in sound and style. Simply great.

"

Not as far-removed as many people claim.

Barry Dejasu | Rehoboth, Massachusetts | 06/08/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Meshuggah have always held a unique niche in metal. Their full-fledged "cyber metal" style wouldn't really begin until later in their career, but that is not to say that these Swedes weren't already churning out music with a similar technical flair. Sure, the songs on _Contradictions Collapse_ have obvious melodies, gang shouts, and rawer vocals - all the makings of Meshuggah are here. The huge amounts of technically-driven riffs and barrages of shifting precision polyrhythms are plentiful; even as far back as 1991, Meshuggah had all the power and intelligence that makes their style so good. Just listen to some of the guitar solos - weird, looping notes, courtesy of a 21-year-old Fredrik Thordendal, were already far ahead in the evolutionary plain of technical metal shreds. And although the guitars were still played with six strings then, and Mårten Hagström had yet to join the band, there was a certain extra punch to the crunch, so to speak, which was only to get even better in the years to come.

Granted, there are moments on this album that would never be played by Meshuggah again (namely the ACOUSTIC guitars on "Qualms of Reality" and "Choirs of Devastation"), but this was just Meshuggah's way of identifying what worked and didn't work for themselves. Even though I personally like what they did here, and think it did work quite well, it was their later styles that really pushed the proverbial envelope and made their music something special.

I've heard all sorts of comparisons to Bay Area thrash when this album is brought up, and although there is a certain amount of thrash to their sound, the technicality and brutal onslaught of heaviness is prevalent, making for some seriously powerful metal.

Then the _None_ EP came out in 1994, and Meshuggah proved that they would never be the same. Blocks of heaviness, a mechanical, droning bass in the background, stacks of increasingly unusual rhythms, and trippy tech-solos are in abundance. Even though there are still a few uneven moments (namely in Jens Kidman's vocal performance, which still has signs of organic origins), _None_ shows Meshuggah have evolved into a very different kind of beast, segueing directly into the cyber-thrash of their mighty 1995 album _Destroy, Erase, Improve_, which would of course open entire vistas of creativity which Meshuggah are so well-known for.

And here are both releases, together on one neat CD! So why did I only give this less than five stars? It's because of Nuclear Blast's shoddy packaging job. You get a tracklist on the back, a photo of the band's lineup from sometime after 1994, and lots of Scandinavian articles about the band from the time period. Lyrics? Nope. Recording info? Uh-uh. And the fifth track from None, "Aztec Two-Step" - a great track, by the way - was omitted, but this is slightly understandable due to the 80-minute time constraints of CDs. Why can't Nuclear Blast just reissue BOTH albums, SEPARATELY, with all lyrics, all info, all tracks, and maybe expanded liner notes? They'd make a ton of money, because lots of fans like me would buy them in a heartbeat. Oh well. It's a minor complaint about an otherwise terrific chronicle of the beginnings of one of the most unique and powerful metal bands of all time."

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