Meshuggah’s Tomas Haake about “Immutable”: “You tend to think more about the songs and how they go together when you come older”

Swedish djent masters Meshuggah dropped their highly anticipated ninth studio album “Immutable” on April 1st via Atomic Fire Records. The band has always been way ahead of the game and plainly without peer. Six years on from the band’s most recent full-length, The “Violent Sleep Of Reason”, 2022 brings a fresh and fearsome revelation from the band. Shattering even the highest of expectations, the band’s ninth album, “Immutable”, showcases just how far ahead of the pack the band continues to be.

The album is a significant departure from the relentless riffing and monochrome churn of “Koloss” or “The Violent Sleep Of Reason”. With vocalist Jens Kidman recording his own vocals in his home studio and lead guitarist Fredrik Thordendal manifesting his solos at his own Studio 33, “Immutable” is a true team effort and another triumph of resourcefulness and meticulous attention to detail. Meshuggah had never felt more inspired when they found themselves in a new environment at Studio Sweetspot. “Dick pitched Sweetspot to us,” guitarist Mårten Hagström recalls. “They have lots of experience but mainly with other types of music. It was out in the sticks, in a big shed in the middle of a field! We had no tours going on and we rented a tour bus for cheap. We drove it down there and we lived in that. So basically, we went on tour to record the album [laughs], and we worked our brains into pieces! But it was also really free. We went for comfort and quality and a working situation where we didn’t feel stressed at all. That was awesome, and the strongest parts of this album are because of that.” As Hagström explains, fans should prepare themselves for the unexpected. “This album is more melodic. It’s longer, and in my opinion, it’s more dynamic than most of our albums,” he states.

Gifted with the opportunity to spend more time than ever on the fine details of their new material, the Swedes have effectively reconstructed their trademark sound on Immutable, imbuing every last moment of this epic record with irresistible power and ingenuity. “We wanted to go for air and for dynamics, and lo and behold, that actually makes it sound way more like a band, from my perspective,” says Hagström. Destined to be one of 2022’s most hailed and talked-about releases, “Immutable” once again showcases Meshuggah’s collective brilliance, including some of the most jaw-dropping ensemble performances they have ever executed.

Immutable. “The title fits perfectly for where we are as a band,” Hagström concludes. “Even though we’ve been experimenting all along, I also think we’ve been the same since day one. The way we approach things and why we still make new albums, and why we still sound the way we do, it’s immutable. Humanity is immutable, too. We commit the same mistakes over and over. And we are immutable. We do what we do and we don’t change.”

“Immutable” was recorded at Sweetspot Studios in Halmstad, Sweden, mixed by Rickard Bengtsson and Staffan Karlsson, and mastered by multiple Grammy award winner Vlado Meller (Metallica, Rage Against The Machine, Red Hot Chili Peppers, System Of A Down).

Chaoszine had the opportunity to catch up with the band’s drummer and lyricist Tomas Haake on Thursday March 31st and we discussed about the album, the situation of the eczema Tomas has in his hands preventing him to play drums for a year and what can the fans expect from the setlist when the band hits the road in May to support the magnum opus. You can check out the entire video interview below:

If you like the content we do on Chaoszine subscribe also on our YouTube channel. You can do it here. For behind the scenes video footage and pictures from interviews check out our Instagram page here. You can start following our Twitter page here.

You can listen to “Immutable” album in full below: