Well, I did list the two other albums first. "Rational Gaze" and "Straws Pulled At Random" would be on my list of "accessible Meshuggah," but you're right about Nothing being a little more of a challenging sit. It was just "the new one" at the time I was first hearing them, and it's what was in the bin at Amoeba. I do…

Yeah, the last 2.5 minutes of "Straws Pulled At Random" is my favorite bit of Meshuggah music. I think for me it's because it's as "melodic" as they've ever been, but without losing any of their typical crushing intensity. It's the closest they've come to "beauty" and I'm really grateful it exists.

Obzen, Destroy Erase Improve, Nothing, and this new one. Catch 33 is near the bottom of my list for "first" Meshuggah. The first one I got was Nothing, which I picked up after seeing them open up for Tool. I'd never seen anything like it, but seeing a band like that in a cavernous arena was not an easy way to absorb…