Meshuggah

Photo: Andreas Lawen, andreas.lawen@wikipedia.de / Wikimedia Commons, CC0

CountrySweden
Formed1987
StatusActive
GenreGroove metal, Progressive metal
LabelAtomic Fire Records, Nuclear Blast

Meshuggah are the Swedish band from Umeå whose complex, polyrhythmic riffing helped create the djent sound in modern metal. Formed in 1987, they have released nine studio albums, most recently Immutable in 2022.

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Meshuggah was formed in Umeå, Sweden, in 1987. Vocalist Jens Kidman and guitarist Fredrik Thordendal were among the founding members. Drummer Tomas Haake joined in 1990, and the band signed to Nuclear Blast for its debut album, Contradictions Collapse, released in 1991.

Mårten Hagström took over rhythm guitar when Kidman chose to concentrate on vocals, and bassist Dick Lövgren joined in 2004. Destroy Erase Improve (1995) was followed by Chaosphere (1998), Nothing (2002), Catch Thirtythree (2005), obZen (2008), Koloss (2012) and The Violent Sleep of Reason (2016). Their syncopated, polyrhythmic style is widely credited with inspiring the djent movement.

Thordendal stepped back from touring in 2017, and Scar Symmetry guitarist Per Nilsson filled in on tour. At the 2018 Grammy Awards, “Clockworks” was nominated for Best Metal Performance. In March 2021 the band announced that Thordendal was back full-time.

Immutable, the band’s ninth studio album, was released by Atomic Fire Records on 1 April 2022.

Current line-up: Jens Kidman (vocals), Fredrik Thordendal (lead guitar), Mårten Hagström (rhythm guitar), Dick Lövgren (bass), Tomas Haake (drums)