Customer Rating: 
Summary: Definately one of the best metal Cd's of 2008!!
Comment: After three long years after the release of their previous effort 2005's "Catch Thirty-Three", Swedish extreme technical metal powerhousers Meshuggah return with their latest extreme, sonically abrasive powerful offering and sixth studio album known as "Obzen". Being a huge Meshuggah fan myself, I have highly anticipated this release for quite some time, and after hearing "Bleed" a few times prior to this album's release, I knew this album was going to be great, in fact it's the best thing that these guys have done thus far in thier career. This album is just simply brilliant, and not to mention it's already one of the best metal Cd's of 2008 as well. I've been listening to this album since the first day I bought it, and it definately won me over. "Obzen" also marks the debut of bassist Dick Lovgren, as well as the return of drummer Tomas Haake, and this album showcases some of Haake's best drumming in quite some time. His polyrythmic style drumming on here is just powerful, fast, pummeling, and tightly controlled throughout. The guy sure hasn't missed a single beat, and this album proves it. He is truly without a doubt, one of the greatest drummers in metal, even today. Jens Kidman's maniacal howling vocals are just dominating and commanding throughout, and they're just packed with extreme amounts of intensity and emotion. The guitar riffs by Fredrik Thordendal and Marten Hagstrom are absolutely huge, monstrous, and skull-crushing, and Fredrik's jazz-fushion-esque solos are just jazzy, spacey, atmospheric, and insane. The opening track "Combustion" is an absolutely all out blistering, maniacal, high energy thrasher that is highlighted by angry, manaical, menacing howls, fast, heavy thrashing riffs and lightning fast heart-pumping drum beats that will immediately get the mosh pits going in a bloody frenzy. My favorite song on this album without question is track three "Bleed" which features dominating double bass rolls, thrashy drum parts, hypnotic walls of thrash-induced riffs, and mind warping howls and screams from Jens. There's also some clean guitar parts at 4:13 which are followed by a great jazzy, atmopsheric sounding guitar solo by Thordendal at 4:46. The title track is another favorite of mine on here that features heavy, skull-crushing riffs, echoing bass, and merciless double bass drum assaults. Other favorites on here include "Electric Red", "This Spiteful Snake", "Pineal Gland Optics", and of course the furious and demonic closer "Dancers to a Discordant System" which features an amazing, lengthy, all around fushion-esque solo by Thordendal, the best solo on the album in my opinon. Honestly, there is NOT one bad song on this album, every song on here is boss.
Jeremy's song ratings:
1. Combustion (4:08) - 5/5
2. Electric Red (5:51) - 5/5
3. Bleed (7:22) - 10/5 My favorite song on here and one of the best.
4. Lethargica (5:47) - 5/5
5. Obzen (4:24) - 5/5
6. This Spiteful Snake (4:52) - 5/5
7. Pineal Gland Optics (5:12) - 5/5
8. Pravus (5:10) - 5/5
9. Dancers to a Discordant System (9:36) - 5/5 Great closing track
Overall, this album in my mind is indeed a top contender for album of the year, and it's already one of my favorite metal Cd's of 2008 thus far. So if you're looking for a true devastating, abrasive, skull-crushing, extreme metal assault on your senses, as well as one of the best metal albums of 2008, then you my friend, have come to the right place with "Obzen". Get this album now, and prepare to be won over. Meshuggah Rules!!
Customer Rating:
Summary: Incredible!!
Comment: Meshuggah have created something in Obzen that I have yet to fully grasp. The way this record unfolds it's self to me in new ways each time I hear it, makes me feel like I'm trying solve a puzzle everytime it's played. I am transfixed, and maybe even transformed.
Customer Rating:
Summary: "Clarity so brightly shining"
Comment: Like many Meshuggah fans I felt they peaked with their fantastic EP "I" which epitomized everything they were working towards with their polyrhythmic Math Metal approach; and with their highly experimental follow-up album "Catch Thirty Three" I was sure their glory days were behind them. I was mistaken. With "Obzen" there is an amazing infusion of groove added to each and every track, seemlessly infusing this new direction with their already jaw-dropping, calculated Progressive Metal time signatures. Influences from bands like Tool and Mastodon come to mind frequently throughout this recording, the albums "Lateralus" and "Leviathan" most notably. The result is Meshuggah's best and certainly most memorable album yet. Each song sticks with power and precision all the while feeling like parts of brilliant machinery put together into one dynamic creation. Highly recommended.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Won ME over...One of the VERY BEST Metal CDs of 2008
Comment: I never was a Meshuggah listener until I heard a sample track off of this CD. The track was "Bleed". I ordered the CD and found that all nine tracks are consistently as great as that track (though a bit similar - but that does not matter, because it is a terrific metal sound). My only complaint is I wish the vocals were just slightly more-haha!-clearly annunciated - I know, that's a laugh regarding death metal! But it's possible! I can clearly understand In Flames' vocalist, and he screams...but this CD really is a lot harder than In Flames' latest in all ways, as much as I enjoy the new In Flames CD. Surely, Meshuggah's "Obzen" is already one of the Top Five metal CDs of 2008, and will continue to be at year's end. I'm looking forward to what Opeth has up their sleeves in June, though...
Customer Rating: 
Summary: Frustrating metal....
Comment: 4.5 stars, in my mind it's the Swede's best effort to date. Obzen is the signature Meshuggah start stop, up down, side to side, off-beat tempo-changing headache of an album.....But I love it. "Bleed" is my favorite track because of the rolling drum work through out the song. The overall sound and feel of the album are very similar to their past works, but very much unique as well. I guess its just the Meshuggah way to do it. In my mind the group doesn't get the pub they deserve, in todays watered down deathgrind metalcore crap, Meshuggah is one of the beams of hope. Very solid work here....Get it.
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