As one of the most unique and original acts in metal, one might expect MESHUGGAH to eventually run out of fresh ideas, but fortunately that’s not the case as the band continues to expand and reinvent themselves on their latest masterpiece, Obzen. The appropriately titled “Combustion” start things off like an atom bomb, with the band charging out the gate full throttle mowing down everything in their path. The immediate and infectiously catchy “Bleed” keeps the momentum flowing with its driving, pulsating rhythms. Meanwhile, the slithering “Lethargica” on the other hand, flows like lava, slowly and gradually seeping its riffs in to the listener’s ear. The suffocatingly heavy title track quickly follows, driven by Tomas Haake’s intricate, involved drumming patterns. Haake’s busy and bouncing rhythms also help drive “Pravus” which unleashes a whirlwind of dissonant chaos on the listener. Closing out one monster of an album is the nine-minute plus epic, “Dancers to a Discordant System,” a labyrinth of slabs of monolithic metal so dense, it’s like walking through an ocean of tar. Obzen, as it stands is an engaging and rewarding album offering new layers of substance with each successive listen. MESHUGGAH has once again raised the bar on how original and powerful metal can become. (Nuclear Blast Records)