The Violent Sleep of Reason
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The Violent Sleep of Reason is the upcoming eighth full-length album by Swedish metal band Meshuggah, scheduled for release on 7 October, 2016 on Nuclear Blast.[3] The band announced the new album, its title, and track list via Blabbermouth.net and Revolver magazine on 5 August, 2016.[4]
Background
The album's title was loosely inspired by The Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters, an etching by Spanish painter Francisco Goya. The album's title and lyrical themes are a commentary on terrorism, extremist views on ideals and religious dogma, as well as the violent implications of "being asleep, so to speak, or not reacting to what's going on in the proper way".[5] Concerning the album artwork, Tomas Haake stated:
"It was a hard one in the sense that you don’t immediately have a visual to the title The Violent Sleep Of Reason – how do you portray that?
“So when discussing this with Keerych Luminokaya, who also did the artwork for our 25th anniversary box set along with the artwork for Koloss, we just let him loose on that idea and how to portray that.
“What you’re seeing on the artwork is basically a human being that’s been in stasis for a long time. The vines were the original idea – they’re growing into him. But it’s a body that’s been asleep for so long that it’s been taken over something else."[6]
In an attempt to depart from the production on previous albums like Koloss and ObZen, this album was recorded live. According to Haake, this allowed the band to capture their sound more "honestly" and to capture the "rawness" of albums from the 80s and early 90s that "inspired us when were growing up." Haake elaborates:
"If you put it all together using computers then you often have to fix problems after the fact. I’ve gone back to records where I’ve not known every drum part. And once you do that you can start with drums and then just add layers of guitars and then bass and it all sounds perfect.
"Obzen and Koloss are great albums but, to me, they are a little too perfect. It didn’t really capture what we sounded like honestly.
"But where we recorded live you get to hear the push and pull, one person might be a little ahead and the other might be a little behind. If you kill that, you can kill the energy."[7]
Track listing
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Clockworks" | Tomas Haake | Haake, Dick Lövgren | 7:15 |
| 2. | "Born in Dissonance" | Haake | 4:34 | |
| 3. | "MonstroCity" | Haake | 6:13 | |
| 4. | "By the Ton" | Haake | 6:04 | |
| 5. | "Violent Sleep of Reason" | Haake | 6:51 | |
| 6. | "Ivory Tower" | Mårten Hagström | 4:59 | |
| 7. | "Stifled" | Haake | 6:31 | |
| 8. | "Nostrum" | Haake | 5:15 | |
| 9. | "Our Rage Won't Die" | Haake | 4:41 | |
| 10. | "Into Decay" | Haake | 6:32 | |
| Total length: | 58:55 | |||
Personnel
- Meshuggah
- Jens Kidman – lead vocals
- Fredrik Thordendal – lead guitar
- Mårten Hagström – rhythm guitar
- Dick Lövgren – bass
- Tomas Haake – drums, vocals
- Production
- Luminokaya – artwork
- Tue Madsen – engineer
References
- ^ https://www.amazon.co.uk/Violent-Sleep-Reason-Meshuggah/dp/B01JZN3XQ0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1472215578&sr=8-1&keywords=violent+sleep+of+reason
- ^ "http://www.rollingstone.com/music/premieres/hear-meshuggahs-mind-bending-new-song-born-in-dissonance-w435710 Born in Dissonance"
- ^ "MESHUGGAH: 'The Violent Sleep Of Reason' Album Details Revealed". Blabbermouth.net. August 5, 2016. Retrieved August 5, 2016.
- ^ "Meshuggah Announce New Album, 'The Violent Sleep of Reason'". Revolver. August 5, 2016. Retrieved August 5, 2016.
- ^ "Meshuggah on Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved 2016-08-29.
- ^ Munro, Scott. "Meshuggah talk The Violent Sleep Of Reason inspirations". TeamRock.com. Retrieved 29 August 2016.
- ^ "Meshuggah recorded Violent Sleep Of Reason live". 2016-08-19. Retrieved 2016-08-29.