Early this month, Meshuggah re-issued its 2022 album, Immutable, through Reigning Phoenix Music. The band’s most recent album, it was originally released through Atomic Fire Records and named by Metal Hammer magazine as one of the best albums of the year at the time of its release. Coming literally three years after its release, this re-issue is an intriguing presentation. That is because in its new presentation, it is anchored by a trio of live performances recorded during the band’s tours in 2023 and 2024. There is no other extra content to speak of, which is what leads to the intrigue. All three songs – ‘Kaleidoscope,’ ‘Ligature Marks,’ and ‘God He Sees in Mirrors’ – are also all included as tracks in the album’s original body. They will be addressed shortly. The rest of the album’s body is of its own interest and will be addressed a little later. The production rounds out the whole of Immutable. It will also be discussed later. Each item noted is key in its own way to the whole of the album’s presentation. All things considered they make the recent re-issue of Immutable a presentation worth hearing at least once.
Reigning Phoenix Music’s recent re-issue of Meshuggah’s Immutable is an intriguing new presentation of the band’s 2022 album. Its interest comes in large part through its bonus content. The bonus content in question is a trio of live tracks. The songs in question are all tracks included in the original album and the band’s performance of each is solid in its live setting. Very little is added to each performance in the way of content, too. This as the run times of the original songs and the live performances are within only seconds of each other in regard to run times. Keeping that in mind, the live performances are a nice way to help promote the band’s current tour schedule, but otherwise only add but so much to the presentation. What’s more, there is video footage of at least one of the clips but no video clips added to the re-issue so it kind of detracts from the recording more. Either way, the added live tracks are at least something of a bonus, albeit a minimal bonus.
Knowing that the bonus content is at least somewhat positive, looking at it in the bigger picture with the rest of the album’s body, it extends the listening experience for audiences that much more. The studio tracks offer their own interest. Case in point is ‘They Move Below.’ The nearly 10-minute composition blends elements of prog-metal a la TesseracT with the band’s extreme metal leanings for its own unique presentation. One could even argue that the use of the keyboards makes for some comparison to works from Dream Theater, if Dream Theater’s work was heavier than it already is. The whole is a fully unique work that is sure to engage and entertain audiences. ‘Phantoms,’ which comes a little earlier in the album’s run, is another example of the strength of the album’s primary content. The heaviness in this song’s arrangement is incomparable to anything else on Meshuggah’s new album. The wall of sound that it presents blends elements of Djent, death metal, and deathcore for another presentation that is unique in the band’s catalog and in comparison to works from any other band. ‘Black Cathedral,’ which comes late I the album’s run, is another notable addition to the record. The guitar riff featured here is full on black metal at its finest. Even though the song barely tops the two-minute mark, it is just so intense. It is another track that holds its own easily against the rest of the album’s entries. When it and the other songs examined here are considered alongside the rest of the albums’ entries, the whole therein makes the primary body of Immutable the real anchor of this re-issue.
Rounding out the most important of the re-issue’s elements is its production. As has been noted, this record is heavy and intense from beginning to end. From the screaming vocals to the wall of sound approach used throughout each song, there is so much going on. There are albums out there past and present that have clearly required painstaking attention to detail. This album is no exception to that rule considering how much is going on. Thankfully every vocal performance and every instrumental performance is expertly balanced, ensuring the fullest, richest presentation in each track. On that same note, the audio production of the live performances is just as clear. To that end, the aesthetic impact of the production is positive both in regard to the album’s primary and bonus content. When this is considered along with the record’s primary body and the minor addition of the three live clips, the whole therein makes the recent re-issue of Immutable a work that audiences will find worth hearing at least once.
Reigning Phoenix Music’s recent re-issue of Meshuggah’s 2022 album, Immutable, is an intriguing presentation. Its primary selling point is its three live performances, makes for some appeal. The issue though, is that the trio of live audio recordings is the only bonus content featured in the re-issue. So it is a good addition, but not something to write home about. That makes the album’s primary body its main anchor, and that anchor is solid because of the general presentation of the arrangements. The record’s production puts the finishing touch to the presentation. That is because of the aesthetic impact that it has on the recording. Each item examined is important in its own way to the whole of the recording. All things considered they make Immutable’s re-issue a presentation that the band’s most devoted audiences will appreciate.
Immutable (Indelible Edition) is available now. More information on the record is available along with all of Meshuggah’s latest news at:
Website: https://meshuggah.net
Facebook: https://facebook.com/meshuggah
Twitter: https://twitter.com/meshuggah
