High on Fire/Meshuggah

High on Fire has always been a favorite of mine. The doom metal genre isn’t, but I always appreciated Matt Pike’s lyrical ability and musicianship. This evening he wowed the crowd playing tracks such as “The Black Plot”, “Rumors of War”, “Turk” and “Fertile Green”.

My second favorite Swedes. Who are the first you may ask? Click the link to find out. But yes, Meshuggah are definitely a close second. To appreciate a Meshuggah performance, you might need to get plenty of rest beforehand. Not because they are boring, oh no. Instead, it’s because the hard driving rhythms, killer riffs, and time changes will exhaust the hell out of you. Mind you, I wasn’t in the pit. I was off to the side with other press people, taking in the sight and having some libations, watching the melee unfold while the band were on stage playing their asses off. To say the crowd wasn’t totally into it would be wrong. They were, and although the performance was on the same night as the Cubs playing a world series game at home, the people in attendance cared little about what was going on in the outside world and gave all their energy and attention to Meshuggah.

And rightfully so. They played quite a few of their best songs as well as some off of their latest disc Violent Sleep of Reason which, in my opinion, was the best album of 2016. Meshuggah’s performance was one for the ages, cementing their place as one of the top bands in metal right now. The show and the disc will be talked about for years to come.

SETLIST

Clockworks

Born in Dissonance

Sane

Perpetual Black Second

Stengah

The Hurt that Finds You First

Lethargica

Do Not Look Down

Nostrum

Violent Sleep of Reason

Dancers to a Discordant System