It is impossible to talk about experimental or avant garde metal without mentioning long-running metal icons, MESHUGGAH. Since forming in 1987 in Umeå, Sweden, MESHUGGAH has developed into one of the most technically complex and virtuosic groups of players the metal realm has ever encountered, their distinctly unique brand of progressive, groove‐infused extreme metal inadvertently launching an entirely new subgenre. Crowned “one of the ten most important hard and heavy bands,” by Rolling Stone, the band has earned the respect and admiration from fans and musicians alike.
2023 now marks the twenty-fifth anniversary of one of the band’s earliest milestones: Chaosphere. Originally released on November 9th, 1998, MESHUGGAH’s third full-length studio album shows the band toning down some of the thrashier sounds of previous releases in favor of the more technical, polyrhythmic, groove-oriented sound they would go to explore on subsequent albums. The album contains the songs „New Millennium Cyanide Christ,“ “Corridor of Chameleons,” and “Neurotica”, some of the band’s most streamed tracks, among other highlights.
Wrote Revolver of the ground-breaking offering, „From the concrete-crushing opener ‘Concatenation’ to the barbed, apocalyptic ‘Elastic,’ which ends with almost twenty-minutes of feedback and noise, MESHUGGAH presents a relentless mechanical barrage of synapse-frying rhythms and trudging, off-kilter riffs.” Pitchfork concurred, “Paced more evenly than Destroy Erase Improve, the hard-thrashing Chaosphere offers a snapshot of MESHUGGAH at their most fluid, as an unrelenting procession of uptempo riffs swirls in a rhythmic vortex.” Added Sputnik Music, “Chaosphere stands as the band’s most robust statement; a progressive, complex beast that hints at both old and new yet stands out as MESHUGGAH’s most primal, raw and perhaps pure representation of their sound. It may seem contradictory to say this but through all of its contradictions, it becomes all things to all the qualities of good music. Highly recommended.”
To commemorate the album’s quarter-century anniversary, Atomic Fire will unleash a sonically updated version of the album on November 10th. The re-release of this masterpiece comes in hi-def audio remastered by Thomas Eberger and Sofia von Hage at Stockholm Mastering on all streaming platforms, as well as a jewel case CD edition (incl. 8-page booklet), and stunning new vinyl colors (most are limited worldwide to under 1500 of each color, 180 grams, 2cLP in 5 mm Sleeve incl. 2-page insert), to complete every collector’s dream.
