Meshuggah Release Crushing New Song ‘Born in Dissonance’

It's been four years since we last heard from Meshuggah and their polyrhythmic madness, but they're back! With The Violent Sleep of Reason slated for release on Oct. 7, the Swedes have served up the first offering of new music from the record by way of "Born in Dissonance."

Keeping true to its name, the Meshuggah track opens up with plenty of dissonance found in the recklessly thrashing rhythm and an endless stream of cymbal bashing. Jens Kidman's signature, white-eyed screaming quickly enters the fold and it's classic Meshuggah through and through. Cumbersome and complex rhythms collide in wondrous cacophony, sometimes lingering with sustained disharmony, increasing the tension. Around halfway through "Born in Dissonance," a chaotic tapping melody takes over, descending into more dizzying depths.

Speaking about the song's themes, drummer and lyricist Tomas Haake told Rolling Stone, "It ties in with the biblical apocalypse, the idea of a deity coming back to undo it all and taking to heaven the ones who are righteous. It's about a monster that's coming for us, or maybe an asteroid hurtling towards the earth. It's always been a weird conundrum for me how some people, even devout people, fear the Apocalypse whilst others welcome it. I've never understood that."

As for the album's title, Haake offered, "Basically, the whole idea of why we chose the title is it kinda connects with the lyrical content of the album. Which is to a fair degree about current events and what you see is going on as far as terrorism today, extremist views on ideals, and religious dogma and the violent implications that you get from being asleep so to speak and not acting/reacting to what is going on in the proper way."

Pre-order your copy of The Violent Sleep of Reason at the Nuclear Blast webshop or digitally through iTunes. A variety of options are available, including three vinyl variants, a deluxe edition CD box set that comes with a mask and even more choices.

Catch Meshuggah on their headlining North American run with High on Fire. The tour will kick off on Oct. 10 in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. (no High on Fire on the first date) and come to an end on Nov. 5. A full list of stops can be found at our 2016 Guide to Rock + Metal Tours.

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