Review by Shadowdoom9 (Andi) for Meshuggah - Destroy Erase Improve (1995)
After the technical thrash sound of Contradictions Collapse, Meshuggah had their breakthrough success with their second album Destroy Erase Improve. They DESTROYED and ERASED their original sound from their first album and IMPROVED it into a more industrial-influenced progressive thrash style with more guitar strings attached. Destroy Erase Improve is what many metalheads believe to be one of the best metal albums in 1995 along with Fear Factory's Demanufacture, and with this album, Meshuggah has packed much more of their brutal technical force. Pretty much every song here has the off-meter alien-like guitar playing of Fredrik Thordendal, precise drumming of Tomas Haake, and Jens Kidman shouting like an arrogant drill sergeant.
Unlike later albums which have each song seamlessly blend to another constantly and have a thick groove, Destroy Erase Improve is, a little like Contradictions Collapse, still focused on thrash metal. That does NOT mean this band is thrash! Well they used to be thrash before this album, but this is the start of the sound that would later be djent. The guitar tone and soloing here is never really parallel to thrash but still masterful progressively.
The chaos begins with "Future Breed Machine" which starts with a bit of an apocalyptic atmosphere that sounds like robotic machines taking over the world; industrial noises for almost 30 seconds, then a piercing siren over a total headbanging onslaught. "Beneath" starts with a brief ambient intro, and the rest of the song is nothing too special but still enjoyable. "Soul Burn" begins with some pounding groove before leading you into a wild direction of furious guitar riff-wrath. Jens Kidman sounds great here especially in the chorus where his syncopated vocals give the song more rhythm. Nice solo after the midway point!
"Transfixion" has more thrash and less groove than most other songs in the album, continuing the brutal riffs and heavy lead work. That song, along with "Vanished" have amazing drum work rolling like a bullet-train. However, the speeding bullet-train hits an unexpected halt with the instrumental "Acrid Placidity". Wow, an incredible ambient interlude! You might expect Kidman to sing nicely like Burton C. Bell in some Fear Factory ballads, but nope. I guess Kidman just wanted to stay shouting in the other tracks.
"Inside What's Within Behind" continues the chaos, beginning with a pulsating rhythm then kicks in some crazy drum rhythms that would be an essential part of the band's career. Then after the midway point, a soft yet spooky break comes in before the heavy ending. "Terminal Illusions" is just filled with thrash within the riffs and drums that would cause you to head-bang until your head gets flung off. "Suffer in Truth" is the most cohesive track of the bunch. There isn't as much staccato as the previous songs, and it is more of a groove track with steady rhythm. "Sublevels" is softer and has less of Kidman's vocals but also has the spoken monotone of Tomas Haake. There's a good soft guitar solo towards the end of the first half, and the song ends with the last bit of heavy strength from the screams and the riffs.
This is an excellent album, and many of its moments are more vile and twisted than most death metal albums, though still lyrically clean. It's a nice balance of thrash/death metal aggression with the thick, heavy atmosphere of progressive metal, leaving you struggling through a huge riff and rhythm exchange. The djent sound is rising!
Favorites: Future Breed Machine, Transfixion, Inside What's Within Behind