Meshuggah’s Tomas Haake Talks Lyrical Inspiration Behind New Album
Swedish architects of polyrhythmic metal madness Meshuggah will dish out The Violet Sleep of Reason on Oct. 7 through Nuclear Blast. The album is the first in four years, following up 2012's Koloss and is another punishing slab of meaty riffs and head-spinning time signatures, bursting with inquisitive and generally philosophical lyrics.
Drummer and lyricist Tomas Haake swung by the Loudwire studio to discuss the band's new record. In the first part of our interview, the skinsman broke down Meshuggah's writing process, shedding light on how the band attacks new material and even revealed they haven't jammed together to write in over 15 years. Now that we know how the music is crafted, we've turned our attention towards the lyrics on The Violent Sleep of Reason, getting into the nitty gritty behind the album title (it's deep!) as well as songs like "MonstroCity" and "Our Rage Won't Die."
Haake discusses his qualms with right wing extremism in government and monotheistic religions and the often violent and dangerous implications they have on the societies they influence and ultimately control. The drummer also takes on the subject on vengeance and how to deal with the wide range of emotions that come with experiencing any sort of violent trauma while trying to find a personal resolve, giving us the line "run 'til you hit ground then dig."
Check out our interview in the video above and grab your copy of Meshuggah's The Violent Sleep of Reason from Amazon or digitally through iTunes. Catch the band on tour with High on Fire starting Oct. 10 with a list of dates here.
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