To tide fans over until their next anticipated onslaught, Swedish juggernaut, MESHUGGAH, have unleashed the 21-minute epic EP, I. Fans that were turned off by the slower, almost doom-like quality of the band’s previous album will find much to like with this EP as the band comes in fast and furious, pummeling away aggressively much as they did on fan favorites such as Destroy Erase Improve and Chaosphere. The song shifts from crushing, thick-as-an-Oak tree’s foundation to a blasting barrage reminiscent of the band’s former tourmates, STRAPPING YOUNG LAD. Bizarre PCP-inspired moments offer brief interludes throughout the song but the attack continues and the band hasn’t sounded better; delivering catchy, punishing riffs with off-time syncopation and dissonance with such force that blatant copycats such as A LIFE ONCE LOST (amongst others) will be sent scrambling back to the drawing board to figure out what to do next. Fredrik Thordendal continues to perfect his bizarre Zappa-meets-metal leads on top of the crushing foundations built by rhythm guitarist/bassist Marten Hagstrom and drummer Tomas Haake as Jens Kidman’s anguished screams cut through with intensity. It may be excessive to ramble on about one song but at whopping 21 minutes, there’s a lot here to digest. If I is any indication of what we can expect on MESHUGGAH’s upcoming full-length, be ready for one monster of an album. (Fractured Transmitter Records)