Meshuggah

Yiddish word for "crazy") is a five-piece extreme metal band from Umeå, Sweden whose style features extended polyrhythmic passages, complex drum patterns, odd time signatures, smooth, melodic lead guitar solos, and harsh, atonal vocals.

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Statistics

Genre: Technical metal, death metal, thrash metal
Country: Sweden
Status: Active
Time: 1987-

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Biography

Meshuggah formed in Umeå in 1987; two years later, the band released their first imprint, an EP entitled Psykisk Testbild (which can roughly be translated as "psychological test picture", perhaps in reference to a Rorschach Test image). This recording displayed a straight-forward thrash metal influenced sound along the lines of Metallica's concurrent releases. What made the band unique, however, were hints at the more complex musical elements that the band would later develop into their signature sound. As the group progressed through time, they further refined the technicality of their musicianship and songwriting. They also began recording more and more extreme music, influenced by both death metal and thrash metal, yet not similar to or categorizable as either. Among the band's most recognizable qualities are lead guitar player Fredrik Thordendal's smooth, clean solos, melodically simple and nearly atonal rhythm guitars, the constant use of unconventional time signatures, and long polyrhythmic passages.

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