Top 10 Best Meshuggah Songs

Few bands have redefined heavy music the way Meshuggah has. Since forming in Umeå, Sweden, in 1987, they have pushed the limits of rhythm, complexity, and sheer intensity. Their music isn't just heavy. It's an intricate, mathematical assault on the senses. If you've ever tried headbanging to a Meshuggah song and found yourself completely lost, you're not alone.

Their signature sound revolves around shifting polyrhythms, eight-string guitar riffs that sound like they were forged in a dystopian factory, and drumming so precise it almost feels inhuman.

This list celebrates the songs that hit the hardest, mess with your sense of timing the most, or simply showcase their mind-blowing technical abilities. Some tracks crush you with relentless grooves, others lock you into a trance with their hypnotic repetition, and a few manage to do both at the same time.

Vote for the songs you think deserve the top spots. Which tracks stand as the ultimate examples of Meshuggah's controlled chaos?

The Top Ten

  1. Bleed

    I don't care what old school Meshuggah fans think. This is not only the best Meshuggah song, I believe it's the best song I've ever heard (and I've heard a lot of songs, laugh out loud).

    The only thing that helped me maintain my mental state after being served a burger with almost raw meat at some 'British' pub in France, after having to try to survive on French food for 2 months...

    The drumming in this song is difficult as hell. It took the drummer four months to practice. Genius!

  2. Future Breed Machine

    I've never been able to listen to Bleed all the way through, not because it isn't good, but because it's boring. It's the same thing over and over for 7 minutes.

    Future Breed Machine is everything you could hope for in a Meshuggah song: technicality, brutality, chaos, complex lyrics, and jazz fusion melodies. And this was made in 1995, two months before I was born, three years before System of a Down released their debut, and a year before Tool started to get really good.

    This song is intense, definitely the Meshuggah equivalent of Led Zeppelin's Stairway to Heaven or Sabbath's Paranoid. Might not be the best there is, but definitely what introduces people to the band.

  3. New Millennium/Cyanide Christ

    Such a hard choice with this list. However, I must take this one. The lyrics, time signatures, and all-around aggression of this song are outstanding. Corridor of Chameleons is really good too.

    Some of the most twisted, evil lyrics I've ever heard. The hard-hitting guitars and drums add to the mood, with some pretty messed-up time signatures too.

    Some of the most evil and horrifying lyrics ever. The guitar is so disjointed as well. It's supposed to sound like anything but harmony.

  4. Rational Gaze

    The song that introduced me to Meshuggah. Groovy and bendy. The song pushes you around, disorients you, and the changes between the sections literally make you want to go insane.

    This song just drives me crazy! It makes me want to bash and break everything near me. Most violent song I've ever heard.

    Introduced me to Meshuggah. Best song to headbang like crazy.

  5. Demiurge

    Just Meshuggah at their best. Demiurge is heavy and powerful, a true metal hymn! Can't take it off. Just repeat, listen to some other song, and come back to Demiurge. Catchy repetition and atmospheric aggressive sound.

    The song that got me into Meshuggah. Seriously, it's the most headbang-worthy song in the history of Meshuggah and metal in general. You wonder if there's anything heavier, but no. There isn't.

    Demiurge is the most addictive song I've ever heard. And God knows I've heard many songs before it! Just let the music take control of your head.

  6. Straws Pulled at Random

    The second half, which is mostly instrumental, is probably the best thing Meshuggah has ever written. So heavy, yet so melodic and intensely emotional.

    The riff in the second half of the song can get stuck in my head for days.

    The perfect combination of extremely heavy and beautifully melodic.

  7. Combustion

    The opening song of the obZen album surely gave Meshuggah the credit they deserve after their Catch Thirty-Three experimentation. The intro is unbelievably heavy until it just explodes when Tomas Haake hits the hi-hats.

    This is one of the most adrenaline-inducing songs I've heard. It makes you want to break something or someone.

    This song explodes. It makes you want to punch someone in the face.

  8. I Am Colossus

    This song is so good. The video totally reminds me of a Tool music video!

    Totally ingenious. Rips out the truth about the entity called God.

  9. Corridor of Chameleons

    I'm a huge Meshuggah fan, and I think this song represents everything that's so devastatingly awesome about them. The super-thrash intro, the insanely heavy groove of the main outro riff, and the pummeling weight of that breakdown... This song should be higher on the list.

    Such a magical intro, highly metaphorical lyrics, and beautiful outro. The lyrics indicate human lies, which are indicated with chameleons.

    The outro riff is the catchiest, heaviest riff I've ever heard in my life.

  10. Lethargica

    From the heavy beginning to the interesting leads and heavy vocals, this is probably one of the most distinct Meshuggah songs in my opinion. It makes me feel like I've discovered some ancient dark secret every time I listen to this song. It's dark and menacing.

    11. The Newcomers
  11. ?

    Closed Eye Visuals

  12. ?

    Armies of the Preposterous

    13. The Contenders

  13. Clockworks

    This is a masterpiece. The intro is mind-blowing. It should be in the top 3, and it's by far my favorite Meshuggah song. ObZen (the title track) and Combustion better than Clockworks? Come on. Seriously?

    Couldn't have chosen a better opener. The video is awesome too.

  14. ObZen

    Personally, this was one of the first songs that I heard off the album obZen along with Lethargica. I even had to get the whole album. It was definitely an experience.

    But obZen live off of The Ophidian Trek sounds a bit heavier in terms of vocals and guitar, and the lyrics say numbers about society and its corruption.

    Brilliant song from a brilliant album. The main riff is brutal and well-tamed at the same time. One of my favorite songs ever by Meshuggah.

    Killer intro! Some sick riff in the breakdown accompanied by inhuman drumming makes this song my top choice.

  15. Behind the Sun

    This song and the song SUM are unbelievably underrated masterpieces. I think they are Meshuggah's most powerful songs.

  16. I

    In my opinion, I is the best of all Meshuggah's songs. Firstly, because it is a masterpiece of technique. Secondly, it seems to send you into another dimension, composed of rage and impetuous violence! Special mention to the drummer who plays in an excellent way.

    By far my favorite Meshuggah song. It's extremely random and varied. It has everything that makes Meshuggah who they are in the space of 21 minutes.

    Sure, this one's 22 minutes, but it also perfectly encapsulates so much of Meshuggah's career and is just plain good.

  17. Pravus

    This song really sums up the more evil side of obZen. It's also got this really menacing element to it that Meshuggah often does but never really achieves to such a stage as Pravus does.

    It really lives up to its name as it is such a demonic-sounding song. One of their best easily.

    Maybe my favorite Meshuggah track.

  18. Dancers to a Discordant System

    I love the way he slowly goes from growling and then explodes into an incredible scream. Also, the guitar riff sends shivers down my spine.

    The lyrics alone make this song the best. This song also has the best riffs, and it is just 10 minutes of groove against traditionalism.

    The guitar riffs are insane, and the transition from quiet growls to brutal screams always sends shivers down my spine.

  19. Swarm

    This song is so intense that you just fall into it. The drums are so awesome. Listening to this live was one of my best experiences, and it's one of my favorite Meshuggah songs.

    That solo section was awesome.

  20. Break Those Bones Whose Sinews Gave It Motion

    The flow is mesmerizing. The beat sounds basic at first, but then good luck figuring out the pattern. All aspects of this song are perfect.

    This is one of my most favorite songs by Meshuggah. Great sound and intense!

    Catchiest riff of theirs, in my opinion. It's heavier than osmium.

  21. Sickening

  22. Ritual

    You will forget that Metallica exists.

    I love the guitar solo. Makes my day.

  23. Stengah

  24. Do Not Look Down

    Great song. Really catchy riffs. Seems easy but very complex, like many Meshuggah songs, but has enough metal for a fan of heavier music to get into.

    New Millennium Cyanide Christ is already quite high, so I'm gonna vote for this! I love the Koloss album, and this is the best song on it!

  25. Vanished

  26. Sane

  27. Elastic

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