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MESHUGGAH

w/ Alchemist

The Palace – Melbourne, 15th October, 2008.

***View more gig photos by clicking here!***

Capping off a huge international touring week in Australia/New Zealand, which saw Down and Carcass playing to massive crowds, the mind blowing experience that is Meshuggah were up on the Melbourne stage on Wednesday night at The Palace, supported by the well respected Alchemist.

Early in the night a large contingent of ticket holders made their way to the venue to check out the supporting Aussie Progressive Death metallers, and Alchemist delivered with a powerful set with tracks played mostly from the bands latest album ‘Tripsis’, and also a personal favourite of mine, the song ‘Chinese Whispers’, complete with ear-piercing screams. But as good as Alchemist were, it was clear who the crowd at the venue to see.

After what seemed an eternity of waiting between sets, Meshuggah finally graced the stage to one of the biggest responses I’ve seen at a gig. And they did not for one second let the crowd down. The amazing tightness in a live setting that I was promised by many people trying to convince me to head along and see them was a completely founded prediction, with the entire band performing what I’m sure was beyond everyone’s expectations.

Having not heard/seen the band much before, the one aspect that shone out was the performance of the band’s drummer Tomas Haake. His drumming was one of the most amazing performances I’ve witnessed, and deservedly he is ranked very close to the top as one of metals greatest drum machines! Following on from Haake’s display in body shaking pulses, the rest of the band were equally as tight in delivery. The guitarists worked as one, ably underpinned by some bassy delights. Front man Jens Kidman stirred up action in the pit all night long, and the crowd responded in turn.

Extra kudos must go to the person in charge of lighting for Meshuggah’s set. At a guess I’ll say it was probably a preloaded lighting system on the computer, for to keep in time perfectly with the time signatures of Meshuggah is a task indeed! But the co-ordination of the stage lights throughout the whole set truly added that extra feeling of enjoyment to the sold out crowd.

The only real downside to the night’s proceedings was the very short set length by the headliner, with the band only just playing past the hour mark. While normally I would be highly critical of a band hardly raising a sweat, the sheer class or music delivered more than made up for it. If you missed out on seeing them live, be sure to take your chance next time!

MESHUGGAH MELBOURNE SETLIST: Wednesday 15th October, 2008
Perpetual Black Second
Bleed
This Spiteful Snake
Stengah
The Mouth Licking What You’ve Bled
Suffer In Truth
Electric Red
Rational Gaze
Pravus
Straws Pulled At Random
Future Breed Machine

Reviewed by Brendan Amos.
Photos by Scott Boelsen.

Thanks to Blue Murder Touring.