Djent-ified

Four years have passed since Meshuggah released the album “obZen.” In that time, the microgenre of djent has become either a blessing or a plague in the heavy metal scene, depending on where you stand.

With the release of “Koloss,” Meshuggah shows both where these bands came from and how most of them have fallen short.

What Meshuggah remembers, but what many of its followers have forgotten, is that repetitive palm-muted riffs cannot build an entire song.

Meshuggah makes sure its odd time signatures are supplemented with clever math metal hooks and solos.

If nothing else, “Koloss” is an aptly titled album. This is a record that sounds big. It has a doom metal feel without any actual doom metal instrumentation.

With the exception of the fast-paced “The Hurt That Finds You First,” the rest of the album is a relatively slow yet thundering experience.

While Meshuggah takes the blame for swarms of mediocre djent bands in the market, “Koloss” serves as a reminder that no matter how many imitators there are, nothing surpasses the original.