Warthur Meshuggah are innovators, and Destroy Erase Improve is where they wheeled out many of their innovations for the first time. There's little question that this album is of crucial importance to progressive metal, particularly that odd little strand we call "djent".

At the same time, though, simply because you originate something doesn't mean you've perfected it. The Wright Brothers' first aeroplane was an important innovation, but you wouldn't want to fly such a plane for any reason other than sheer historical interest - there are better planes that give smoother and more comfortable rides and can do more tricks these days. Destroy Erase Improve is kind of like that: I can see why it's important to djent, but I can't help but think that later bands such as Animals as Leaders have actually taken the genre in a much more interesting direction since then. (In particular I find the album to be frequently a little emotionally sparse and cold, and not in an interesting chilly cyberpunk way but more in a dull "these guys are more interested in showing off than emotionally connecting or constructing a meaningful aesthetic" way.)

I say give it a go if you're interested in where the djent craze came from, but don't judge the entire subgenre on the grounds of this shaky early blueprint.

UMUR "Pitch Black" is an EP release by Swedish technical extreme metal act Meshuggah. The EP was released through Scion Audio Visual as a free download in February 2013.

The EP features two tracks and a full playing time of 15:47 minutes. "Pitch Black" is a new studio recording while "Dancers to a Discordant System", which was originally featured as the closing track on "obZen (2008)", is featured here in a live version. If you are familiar with Meshuggah´s distinct sounding trademark style you won´t be surprised when I tell you that "Pitch Black" is somewhat rooted in heavy groove laden thrash, that it features a hypnotic odd metered groove, that the riffs played are downtuned and crushingly heavy and that the vocals by Jens Kidman are raw, distorted and aggressive. The last part is not exactly true on "Pitch Black" though as Jens Kidman sings/talks in the mechanical way he has done before a couple of times in the past. The track is also in the atmospheric end of the band´s repetoire with odd clean guitars and multible solos. Production wise it sounds like "Pitch Black" could be a leftover track from the "Koloss (2012)" sessions.

The live version of "Dancers to a Discordant System" is executed to perfection and yet another example of how relentlessly aggressive and skilled a machine Meshuggah really are. I think the vocals by Jens Kidman could have been slightly better, but it´s a minor issue when listening to the band perform this killer track with a technical precision that seem almost inhuman to me. But as always they groove in a hypnotic fashion that´s completely their own.

"Pitch Black" is a nice free EP, but it´s not exactly the place to start if you´re a new commer to Meshuggah. For that the title track isn´t representitive enough of the band´s usual style. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is warranted.

UMUR The "Meshuggah" EP (also known as "Psykisk Testbild") is a pre-album 12" vinyl EP release by technical extreme metal act Meshuggah. The EP was released through the local Umeå based record store Garageland in 1989. The EP is limited to 1000 copies. The original version is probably very hard to find, but the three tracks from the 19:42 minutes long EP, are available on the "Rare Trax (2001)" compilation.

Meshuggah had a quite different sound in 1989 compared to the techncial extreme metal style they are mostly known for today. The music on this EP is much closer to "conventional" late eighties US thrash metal. There is a very obvious Metallica ("...and Justice for All (1988)") influence on the first couple of Meshuggah albums, "Contradictions Collapse (1991)" and "Destroy Erase Improve (1995)", but on this EP, I also hear a very obvious influence from a band like Testament. Try and listen to "The Debt of Nature" and tell me you don´t hear Testament in that song. "Sovereignes Morbidity" is more in Metallica territory while "Cadaverous Mastication" points toward the style Meshuggah would play on "Contradictions Collapse (1991)".

It´s noteworthy that future drummer Tomas Haake had not yet become a part of the lineup on this EP. Niclas Lundgren who plays the drums on the EP is an excellent drummer too though. Another thing you should notice is the riot gang backing vocals which Meshuggah would also use a lot on "Contradictions Collapse (1991)" but would later abandon. A great nostalgic eighties feature. One last thing I noticed is that guitarist Fredrik Thordendal plays a couple of very melodic solos mixed with his usual Allan Holdsworth influenced jazzy ones which is a thing I´ve never heard him do since. At least not melodic to this extent.

The musicianship is surprisingly good. It´s not obvious that the musicians must have been very young at the time of recording. The technical level is really high. The compositions are sligthly imature but that´s another story. The sound production is pretty strong too which is also a bit surprising when you consider that the EP was released in 1989.

The "Meshuggah" EP is a quality first "official" release by the band. Honestly I imagined a poorly sounding late eighties almost demo sounding recording, but that´s certainly not the case. This is a fully professional product, that might lack a bit in the songwriting department, but otherwise delivers what it promises. A 3 star (60%) rating is warranted.

UMUR "Selfcaged" is an EP release by Swedish technical extreme metal act Meshuggah. The EP was released through Nuclear Blast Records in February 1995. There exists both a US and a European version of the EP. The US version features one more track than the European version. The extra track is "Humiliative", which was also featured as the first track on the 1994 "None" EP.

"Selfcaged" is honestly one of those releases that I´m having a hard time understanding the value of. The three studio tracks on the four track EP, "Vanished", "Suffer in Truth" and "Inside What´s Within Behind", are all present on the band´s second studio album "Destroy Erase Improve ( 1995)". They appear here in slightly different versions but we´re talking minor details that set these versions apart from the versions on "Destroy Erase Improve ( 1995)". The US bonus track "Humiliative" is, as mentioned above, already featuring on the "None (1994)" EP, and therefore doesn´t add much value to this release. The fifth (or fourth if you own the European version) and last track on the album is the track that presents most value for the money as it is a live version of "Gods of Rapture" from the "None (1994)". It´s a decent live version, but nothing too special.

"Selfcaged" was probably released to promote "Destroy Erase Improve ( 1995)" and if that´s the case this is a good teaser of what´s in store on that album, but for those of us who already own "Destroy Erase Improve ( 1995)" and the "None (1994)" EP this is not the most exciting release. In my opinion this is purely a fan release and while the quality of the material is high, I´m questioning the relevance of the EP and I think a 2 star (40%) rating is warranted.

UMUR "The True Human Design" is an EP release by Swedish technical extreme metal act Meshuggah The EP was released through Nuclear Blast Records in August 1997.

The 35:39 minutes long EP features 6 tracks. "Sane" opens the EP. A song that would later appear on "Chaosphere (1998)". So it´s a kind of teaser for the then upcoming new album by Meshuggah. "Future Breed Machine" from "Destroy Erase Improve (1995)" is up next in a live version. This track is pretty good but lacks the legendary intro from the original studio version which is a bit of a shame. The sound quality on this live version is of high quality. "Future Breed Machine" also appears in a so called "Mayhem" version that lasts 8:12 minutes. This version is in an industrial metal style and it´s a very repetitive take on the original song. "Futile Bread Machine (Campfire Version)" is the next track on the EP and it´s an acoustic track with drummer Tomas Haake singing some really silly sounding vocal parts. The last two tracks on the EP "Quant's Quantastical Quantasm" and "Friend's Breaking and Entering" are techno/electronic tracks with featuring sporadic samples. Probably remixes of Meshuggah songs but I must admit that I can´t hear which ones.

"The True Human Design" is very much a fan release and even fans of the band (which would normally include me) should be cautious and take a listen before purchasing this EP. Don´t expect much of Meshuggah´s trademark tech metal madness here. Only the first two tracks fall under that catagory. My personal opinion about this release isn´t too enthusiastic and a 2 star (40%) rating might even be stretching it a bit. For someone less conservative than me this release might be of some interest though. I prefer Meshuggah when they stick to playing crushingly heavy and complex odd-metered extreme metal.

Matt Recorded throughout the tour of their latest album release at the time(Obzen) in 2009 and released in February 2010 on Nuclear Blast which could be the best description of this extreme metal bands music style. Uncompromising,frantic,pounding and hardly a normal guitar solo too be heard, just the scream of the chords played. Drumming as fast and as tight as you can get it. Tomas Haake knows how to keep time and not easy would that be in this outfit. Dick Lovgren on Bass is simply as good as they come in Metal. Jens Kidman of course with his growl style of vocals fronting the band with his own distinct sound.and the two guitarists Fredrik Thorendal on lead guitar and and Martin Hagstrom on rythmn guitar. The majority of the songs are from the albums "Obzen" and "Nothing" which make up nine of the twelve tracks with two from Chaosphere and one from the EP None.

"Perpetual Black Second' is first up with the lyrics pertaining to a second of violence and with the intro of the guitars and the drums the song quickly takes us into that rapid style with the twin guitars, with the drumming not really providing support but stating its own time.Of course we get Fredrik's Thorendal approach to a guitar solo which is such an important component in the bands own sound.The only track within the album that does not seem to gel is Lethargica with its off kilter rythmn but that is more personal taste as the song as usual is tight and played spot on."Bleed" which is one of my favourites off the album Obzen is given the treatment and what a blast it is. The version on the cd is from Montreal whereas the dvd is in New York due to better footage I would guess as the venue and audience provide great material for the clip used. Special mention must go for the version of "Rational Gaze","Pravus","Straws Pulled at Random","Stengah","The Mouth Licking What You've Bled" but others who are fans of this band most likely will have their own list from this great live album.

With over twenty years of experience the band shows exactly that with its extreme and original approach to modern metal and one very tight outfit is the result.Fantastic full on live album even a bit more so than their studio recordings and masters of the extreme they have become. The dvd also provides footage in between songs off the band on the road.Shot in black and white and it gives a nice feel to the down time the band has. Also you get a drum kit and guitar tour as a bonus. The cd song order is not the same as the DVD

4.5 stars but in 12 months I may revisit this review to update this to Five.