Search - Meshuggah :: Nothing (Bonus Dvd)

A Unique Album Made a Little More Common

N. Levens | 11/02/2006

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Being a huge fan of the original release of Nothing, I was a bit skeptical of these new remix of the album. Packaging it with a DVD and a hologram card made me even more skeptical. To some extent, this was well founded.



Obviously, it's the same record, but not really. There were a TON of subteleties added by the effect of having a really low-tuned, floppy set of 7 stringed guitars when making the record, as opposed to 8 strings designed for the F tuning...honestly, it sounded a lot more evil, wicked, and harsh. This harshness, and synthetic guitar sound really stood the album apart from the banal nu-metal coming out around that time. The whole sound was new, different, and disturbing to listen to. The muddiness, floppiness, and sludge just made it more interesting to listen to, if not more discernable.



With the reissue, the guitars are crisp, clear, and have a lost all of those subtleties. In their defense, the new version sounds HUGE, much heavier and denser, but not darker. You can hear the notes and transitions a lot better, but some of the mistakes and flops are lost, which made the album very chaotic. Two major points is the second riff in "Stengah", which has none of the little atmospheric twangs, and the transition from clean to heavy in "Obsidian" is sudden, without that great little feedback to pull you into the Hell about to be unleashed.



The vocals are vastly improved. Hellish. Jens sounds like a daemon. Although I'm a fan of DFH and use it extensively, the sampled drums don't sound all that great. The snare is too sharp, without resonance. The cymbals are a little too low, and too compressed. If you lower the cymbals in the mix, it makes the guitars seem bigger, but lowers the heaviness of the whole sound.



This record is really designed for two people...ravenous Meshuggah fans who will buy anything, and people fascinated with audio production. I'm a little from column A, mostly column B (I hope, anyway). If you're into audio, you'll appreciate some of the techniques and differences, but this reissue was pretty much a letdown. The original Nothing is just more dynamic, sludgier, heavier, more menacing. It's great to hear these two interpretations side by side, and I'm not urging you not to buy this, but be wary unless you have the extra $20 laying around."

Brilliant.

Benjamin T. Pennington | 11/07/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Honestly, I was completely against this re-recording at first, that was until I my curiosity got the best of me. Brilliant. Brilliant. Brilliant. I now understand why Meshuggah went to the trouble re-recording the guitars and re-mixing the album. Clarity. Clarity is the key to this re-recording and I say that because for the first time (without headphones) all of the dissonant intervals come out so much cleaner as they were intended to be heard. In fact, there's more clarity in all of the rhythms and the drums seem to be a little more distant which is not a bad change. There are several areas where the guitars use different punctuation/accents to shorten/lengthen notes or phrasing. This is a GREAT IMPROVEMENT on an already great album!!!!"

DAMN!

M. Raguz | 03/22/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Okay, this IS my very first Meshuggah CD, so keep that in mind as you read this review. I am blown away by this band. Hearing this CD has become a LISTENING EXPERIENCE for me. 4 days and 12 plays since my purchase, this is the best metal I've heard in YEARS. I'm looking forward to more Meshuggah CD's in the future, but as far as this release of Nothing goes, here are some highlights for me:



1) The most obvious thing is experiencing the deepest and heaviest rhythm guitar sounds I've ever heard. The bottom end is so intense, I had to stretch my hearing a bit. 8-string guitars??? HELL yeah!



2) Very tasteful guitar solos. I'm a guitar player, and a big fan of Allan Holdsworth's playing. His influence on Fredrik's leads is apparent here. Very warm tone, with an unusually wise note choice. I'm particularly impressed with how well the leads compliment the ultra-low-end doom-crunch.



3) Great musicianship. The overall feel of Meshuggah is a very organic thing. Not really machine-like, like some metal bands I've heard. The odd-meter and jumpy rhythmic accents in the songs really show their skill as a BAND. These guys are extremely tight.



4) Solid, consistent metal vocals throughout the album with thought-provoking lyrics.



I'm having a blast discovering Meshuggah. I'd particularly recommend this album to metal guitarists, and to any music fan who is open to something extreme and sophisticated. Good stuff."