Choosing None of the Above with Meshuggah’s “Destroy Erase Improve”: Prog Review #42

My tentative entrance into the world of metal has already been documented a bit in another review, and now, more than 4 years later (I have been moving along very slowly on these reviews), I’m at another album testing the limits of my appreciation for the genre.

The metal excursion has been illuminating. I can now put a point on what I like and don’t, and it comes down to a turning point in the late 80s and into the 90s. I’ve gotten a lot of enjoyment from the pioneers of metal, Black Sabbath, Motörhead, and Iron Maiden, for example. And Judas Priest; I was listening to nothing but Turbo for about a week recently after diving into the band earlier this year, and their new album is also good. I don’t like hair metal much, but it fits into the same category. Not really that heavy by today’s standards necessarily, but it’s also pushing the boundaries of the rock sound, and showcasing what guitars can do especially.

And then there’s thrash. I thought I was gonna get into thrash mainly because of a couple songs that are alright, notably Metallica’s “One” and “Master of Puppets,” and Testament’s “Souls of Black,” which I enjoyed playing on Rock Band. And then I listened to more of it and knew pretty quickly that thrash wasn’t going to be my in. I tried again last year when I listened to all the 80s albums from the big 4. I do like Anthrax, who are probably more akin to the pioneers in that they have clearer ties to just classic rock territory. I like a few early Metallica songs here and there, but the only album that I would go back to is Kill ‘Em All; again, more of a rock sound. Megadeath I’d like to listen to more of.

But Slayer? Forget it, not for me.

As I listened to the 80s albums, I wanted to see what other big metal bands had albums in the 80s. And that’s when I realized how important the early 90s were in transforming metal from a branch of rock to a genre in itself. It seems like most of the bands inspired by and sounding like the big 4 started releasing albums only in the 90s – Testament, Pantera, Fear Factory, TOOL, etc. All 90s. There are a few more in the 80s, though – Sepultura, White Zombie. Overall, the movement of metal toward something much more about speed and percussive tones begins in the late 80s but becomes a 90s phenomenon. Ironically, Metallica, who was instrumental in that shift, themselves went for a more melodic sound at the same time.

“Acrid Placidity” is a highlight, I guess.

Which brings us to Meshuggah. A whole lot of yelling, thrashing, pounding. There’s some noodling here and there, but this is all just a lot of noise to me. It’s not as bad as Opeth’s Blackwater Park. I can even get into it here and there, but why bother? I know what I like and what I don’t, and no amount of effort is gonna be worth it. If Slayer wasn’t gonna do it for me, why would Meshuggah?

Well, after Slayer made shock the keyword of metal, later bands could come around and tune it up, take the visceral elements that get people moving and marry it to a stronger sense of melody, even if this is buried in the cacophony. As always with these sorts of albums, I like when Destroy Erase Improve steps away from the screams and deafening instrumentation to play something nice. “Acrid Placidity” isn’t much, but it’s a beautiful moment of respite in the centre of the album that shows off the melodic sensibility that is usually walled off behind the sound on other tracks. There’s a bit more pleasantness on “Sublevels,” especially in the outro, but it’s too little too late.

I haven’t listened to this one as much as I usually like to listen to these albums, but it’s just not worth my while.

Rolling Stone Rankings

1. Pink Floyd - Dark Side of the Moon

2. King Crimson - In the Court of the Crimson King

3. Rush - Moving Pictures

4. Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here

5. Yes – Close to the Edge

6. Genesis - Selling England by the Pound

7. Jethro Tull - Thick as a Brick

8. Can - Future Days

9. Genesis - The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway

10. Yes - Fragile

11. Rush - Hemispheres

12. ELP - Brain Salad Surgery

13. Pink Floyd - Animals

14. Genesis - Foxtrot

15. King Crimson - Red

16. Gentle Giant - Octopus

17. Mike Oldfield - Tubular Bells

18. Frank Zappa - One Size Fits All

19. Premiata Forneria Marconi - Per Un Amico

20. King Crimson - Larks’ Tongue in Aspic

21. Camel - Mirage

22. Rush - 2112

23. Tangerine Dream - Phaedra

24. Magma - Mëkanïk Dëstruktïẁ Kömmandöh

25. The Mars Volta - Deloused in the Comatorium

26. Van Der Graaf Generator - Pawn Hearts

27. Supertramp - Crime of the Century

28. Opeth - Blackwater Park

29. Dream Theater - Metropolis, Pt. 2: Scenes From a Memory

30. U.K. - U.K.

31. Renaissance - Ashes Are Burning

32. Kansas - Leftoverture

33. TOOL - Lateralus

34. Caravan - In the Land of Grey and Pink

35. Banco - Io Sono Nato Libero

36. Harmonium - Si on Avait Besoin d'une Cinquième Saison

37. Marillion - Clutching at Straws

38. Gong - You

39. Porcupine Tree - Fear of a Blank Planet

40. Soft Machine - Third

41. Amon Düül II - Yeti

42. Meshuggah - Destroy Erase Improve

ASK Rankings

1. Genesis - The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway

2. Supertramp - Crime of the Century

3. Genesis - Foxtrot

4. Caravan - In the Land of Grey and Pink

5. Marillion - Clutching at Straws

6. Camel - Mirage

7. Yes – Close to the Edge

8. Renaissance - Ashes Are Burning

9. King Crimson - Red

10. Gentle Giant - Octopus

11. Dream Theater - Metropolis, Pt. 2: Scenes From a Memory

12. Genesis - Selling England by the Pound

13. Harmonium - Si on Avait Besoin d'une Cinquième Saison

14. Rush - 2112

15. Jethro Tull - Thick as a Brick

16. ELP - Brain Salad Surgery

17. Amon Düül II - Yeti

18. U.K. - U.K

19. Rush - Moving Pictures

20. King Crimson - In the Court of the Crimson King

21. Kansas - Leftoverture

22. Banco - Io Sono Nato Libero

23. The Mars Volta - Deloused in the Comatorium

24. Premiata Forneria Marconi - Per Un Amico

25. Gong - You

26. Soft Machine - Third

27. King Crimson - Larks’ Tongue in Aspic

28. Pink Floyd - Animals

29. Porcupine Tree - Fear of a Blank Planet

30. TOOL - Lateralus

31. Frank Zappa - One Size Fits All

32. Yes - Fragile

33. Rush - Hemispheres

34. Tangerine Dream - Phaedra

35. Magma - Mëkanïk Dëstruktïẁ Kömmandöh

36. Pink Floyd - Dark Side of the Moon

37. Can - Future Days

38. Mike Oldfield - Tubular Bells

39. Van Der Graaf Generator - Pawn Hearts

40. Meshuggah - Destroy Erase Improve

41. Opeth - Blackwater Park

42. Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here