It's kind of hard to label a Meshuggah album as underrated as the band has their fanboys who slobber over virtually everything they have ever done, but notice the word "virtually". Now, I have made clear that Meshuggah is not one of my favorite bands, they did not rate at all on my Top 100 list, nor were they mentioned in my honorable mentions post. But this album is an exception to that as well.
This album has only been reviewed once on the Encyclopedia Metallum, as opposed to at least ten on each of their other albums. It is certainly an overlooked album in Meshuggah's catalog. Perhaps this is because it came before the band really achieved their trademark sound. But it is almost criminal.
Controversial opinion: This is Meshuggah's best album.
At the time of this album, Meshuggah was more of a technical thrash metal band, rather than the more groove-oriented technical sound they have popularized. It is the riffs that really drive this album. It is not as impressive from a musical theory standpoint as their later work with the drum polyrhythms and all that other stuff, but the guitar riffs are simply incredible. Guitarist Fredrik Thordendahl is the big star of the album, able to switch from riff to riff with ease.
In addition, this is the rawest the band has ever sounded. It is not nearly as mechanical-sounding as their later work and actually sounds like a group of humans have produced it rather than a machine.
In short, I am not the biggest Meshuggah fan in the world. Some readers may discount my opinion because of it, but this is definitely my favorite album by the band. And it is unfortunate that it is so obscure.
