Immutable, Colossal, and Indestructible:  Meshuggah Give Best Performance of 2022 in Los Angeles

October 9th, 2022

            Opening this Metal thumping affair, Sludge Metal/Punk long-time Floridians Torche.  Certainly, standing out mostly on this tour compared to the other two bands, and while not being familiar with their material at all, the looseness and slamming heavy riffing made for head-nodding vibes, and an appreciation to their ‘noise’ approach.  With the volume turned up high, and the bass tone of Eric Hernandez overtaking the musical theme on-stage, the Punk music energy and tempo from Torche, channeled the riffs on an aggressive, musical plain.

            Animated, powerful snare hits, and syncing with those 3-beat guitar riffs opening “Pirana”, Rick Smith’s jolly drum play kept the tempo exciting for Torche, and a grand live spectacle to gaze upon.  Despite Torche’s songs clocking in around 2-minutes, there was this ‘Mastodon-like’ instrumental aspect that I enjoyed hearing:  music taking over the song, and becoming lost within it.  The vocals would pop in, but they didn’t take over much of what was occurring.  Instead, the suffocation low-end volume resonated with many of the fans, acknowledging the heaviness present, particularly in “In Pieces”, with only a few vocal lines, and just 3-minutes of chugging chords and cave-collapsing musical waves.  Having a blast performing, and this nonchalant, yet absorbed focus from frontman Steve Brooks, distributed these Bluesy, hard-hitting bending note solos.  Jon Nunez, the more active guitar player on stage, engaged with the crowd, matching the rhythm sections from Brooks, creating for a flaring dynamic to watch. 

            Torche had the spastic energy of an old-school Punk band, and also wielding the sharp sword of a booming, Sludge-based Metal group, leaving for a 40-minute set that was played with an edge, and this ‘Noise/Punk Metal energy’, that was entertaining to see and listen to.       

1. From Here

2. Pirana

3. Sandstorm

4. Slide

5. In Pieces

6. Minions

7. Reverse Inverted

8. Charge of the Brown Recluse (Floor cover)

9. It Never Began

10. Undone

11. Annihilation Affair

12. Harmonslaught

13. What Was

14. Infierno

            One of the ‘Big 3 Gothenburg Metal’ bands that inspired Melodic Death Metal as we know it today, In Flames’s monumental presence was felt by the consistent mosh pit in attendance, as well as several groups in the crowd slinging the horns in glorious tribute. 

            It was fascinating to hear the different eras, tracks, and sounds of In Flames, as you hear “Cloud Connected”, from their 2002 new era starting record, Reroute to Remain, to the classic, powerful early work of Lunar Strain in “Behind Space” and “Graveland.”  There’s no question in my mind, and many others, that the first 4-5 records were the band’s absolute prime.  I would say though, for example, Come Clarity is an album from their modern era, I put high on my list, watching “Leeches” performed on-stage, was quite the rare feat.  Björn Gelotte nailing all the leads, with such economical picking and a tight rhythm play.  From performing an insane amount of solos in Megadeth, to mainly a rhythm guitarist in In Flames, Chris Broderick’s passionate faces while moving all around was a pleasure to watch.  Hoping on the new record next year, his incredible guitar abilities will be fully utilized. 

            The crowd was interesting during In Flames, to say the least.  I would had thought their name, as well as doing quite well in the states generally, would have been an exciting warmup for them.  Perhaps it was the drums a tad bass heavy, drowning out some of the higher tempo riffs, but it took Anders Fridén more times than it should have, to get the audience going.  Even with Meshuggah headlining, I was expecting a fired-up crowd for In Flames, especially in California.  By their closing track, also from the underrated Come Clarity record, the slamming, musical motions of “Take This Life”, finally showed the strongest life from the floor, of their set.  The crowd definitely threw me for a loop.  While it wasn’t the greatest In Flames show I’ve attended, the song selection and energy from the band, made it still a fun watch.  I will say, after seeing In Flames’s headlining tour at The Observatory OC a few years back, it was a larger difference, and with Foregone released next year, I believe the headlining element will make for an even better show.     

1. The Great Deceiver

2. Cloud Connected

3. Behind Space

4. Graveland

5. Only for the Weak

6. Leeches

7. Foregone Pt. 1

8. State of Slow Decay

9. The Mirror's Truth

10. I Am Above

11. Take This Life

            “Me-shug-gah!” chants reigned in the halls of the Hollywood Palladium.  After a rescheduling of this tour from March, we’re all just thankful it went through.  Meshuggah doesn’t tour the ‘once a year’ route, which makes the immaculate presence on-stage and the stunning lightshow, that much more appreciative to witness.

            By a country mile the best lightshow at a Metal show you can see, using a variance of strobe colours, angles, shifting motions, all synchronized to the rhythms of the ‘metronome’ himself, Tomas Haake.  They can seen randomly place at first glance, but paying attention to the changing sounds and beats to each live track, and they’ll match up together, into one astounding spectacle.  The gorgeous crimson red lights in the opener “Broken Cog”, visually coloured the songs from Immutable, a severely crushing introduction to the record, a full-track introduction if you will.  “Light the Shortening Fuse”, highlighted by the skin-raising and pressure felt bass volume and tone from Dick Lövgren.  Being up front picture wise, quite difficult to describe the building collapsing-weight of how loud, and beautifully overwhelming it was.  Being this was my first time seeing Meshuggah at a venue of this size, the sound level was crystal clear, and at a high distribution of clarity, all in a musical tornado of destruction.  Sound alone, this was the best I heard Meshuggah, and if this size of venue will continue to bring that to be, let’s get that written in and approved.

            A well-placed, unique setlist, considering the 3 EPs and 9 LPs from the band’s 33-year history, I felt tonight had a flavor for everyone to choose from.  “Rational Gaze” brought the Palladium literally jumping and running circles in the pit, one of their most well-known tracks, and 20-years since Nothing was released, that opening hook of a riff is still timeless and influential.  The first time not seeing “Bleed” played, and although that’s the majority of Meshuggah fans’ favourite song, including myself, I love the bold approach to switch up a setlist, given the immense popularity of the song.  The quickly-sounding intro to “Pravus”, with Haake’s double/triple snare beat slightly off-time to the riff, erupted the flow of movement, invoking mini-mosh pits all across the back side of the venue.  Take the melting, scorching lava from Meshuggah’s impactful sound, and the chaotic waltz of lights to absorb, and you have one sensational concert concoction.

                    Always interested in the vocal dynamics and brooding stage presence of Jens Kidman, who performed guitar duties on their earliest work for a time.  Using his signature bark and sustains more as an instrument, often with a numerous number of effects and vocal concepts, it’s one of the underrated aspects of what makes Meshuggah stand tall.  The green lighting had Jen’s vocal lines, in the form of a robot speaking through light, something immensely cool to experience through the PA intro to “Mind’s Mirrors”, setting up “In Death – Is Life” and “In Death – Is Death”, the fantastic and most memorable part of Meshuggah’s 80-minute set.  Hearing any song from Catch Thirtythree, is a genuine honour.

            Closing this magnificent Cereberus-sizzling fire of a night, “Demiurge” set up the most chaotic crowd surfing and movement the entire show, with that signature 3-note sonic assault from the Koloss album.  And not to be forgotten, “Future Breed Machine” could be one of the more introductory songs you let a new fan hear, to show them the genre Meshuggah created, and how cerebral Destroy Erase Improve was in 1995.  Fredrik Thordendal’s beautiful rendition of the ending guitar solo, was a symbolic reminder of how far Meshuggah has come, their lasting impact on Metal and the countless bands they influenced.  Even Jens and the group seemed happily shocked by the end, feeling the extremely warm welcome back to performing here.  Hopefully it won’t be another 3.5 years for another North American tour.

           This was not only the strongest Meshuggah set I’ve seen life, it also happened to be the Performance of 2022.  I understand the year isn’t over just yet, but it’s going to take a colossal tour or show these next few months, to top the sheer weight and magnitude of what Meshuggah played tonight.

1. Broken Cog

2. Light the Shortening Fuse

3. Rational Gaze

4. Pravus

5. The Hurt That Finds You First

6. Ligature Marks

7. Born in Dissonance

(Mind's Mirrors)

8. In Death - Is Life

9. In Death - Is Death

10. The Abysmal Eye

11. Straws Pulled at Random

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12. Demiurge

13. Future Breed Machine