This came out in 2002 – or at least that’s when I got it. Here’s what I said about it back then (with some minor editing):
There are louder bands. There are faster bands. There are heavier bands. There are smarter bands. But there aren’t many bands that put it all together as impressively — and as intensely — as Sweden’s Meshuggah.
Ozzy Osbourne’s son Jack knows it — he blasts Meshuggah at the neighbours to shut them up in an episode of The Osbournes. Check out their fourth stunning CD Nothing and you’ll feel their power too. These 10 cuts balance grinding depth-charge basslines, wildly syncopated time signatures, propulsive drumming, electric-shock progressive guitars and firebreathing vocals, generating a disorienting, unforgettable wallop that’s a little bit like Jesus Lizard on steroids and smart drugs — if they were playing Zappa covers with Steve Vai on guitar. If that combo doesn’t shut up the neighbours — and damn near everybody else — then nothing will.
