Destroy Erase Improve
1995 studio album by Meshuggah
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Destroy Erase Improve is the second studio album by Swedish extreme metal band Meshuggah. It was released on 12 May 1995 by Nuclear Blast. This is the first studio album to feature rhythm guitarist Mårten Hagström and the final to feature bassist Peter Nordin, as he left the band during the supporting tour due to vertigo.
| Destroy Erase Improve | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 12 May 1995 | |||
| Recorded | February 1995 | |||
| Studio | Soundfront Studios (Uppsala, Sweden) | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 45:57 | |||
| Label | Nuclear Blast | |||
| Producer | Daniel Bergstrand, Meshuggah | |||
| Meshuggah chronology | ||||
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Legacy
Describing the record as "one of the 90's definitive metallic works", Kevin Stewart-Panko argues that Destroy Erase Improve's unique fusion of genres amounted to a new "watermark" for heavy metal upon its release.[7] Metal critic Martin Popoff regards Destroy Erase Improve as the first clear demonstration of what would become the quintessential Meshuggah sound, wherein "stutter gun" riffs and "upset apple cart time signatures" are featured alongside "bone-breaking" percussion, an approach which resulted in considerable influence in the development of genres like mathcore and djent.[8] Popoff suggests that Destroy Erase Improve is the clear linchpin of Meshuggah's particular style, a "specific, nearly absurd proposal that only this band has dared to own."[9]
The album was ranked number 42 on Rolling Stone's 50 Greatest Prog Rock Albums of All Time list.[10] In 2017, Rolling Stone ranked Destroy Erase Improve as 77th on their list of 'The 100 Greatest Metal Albums of All Time.'[11] Two tracks from the album appear in the shockumentary film series Traces of Death with "Vanished" in the third installment and "Future Breed Machine" in the fourth.
Track listing
All lyrics are written by Tomas Haake, except where noted; all music is composed by Fredrik Thordendal, except where noted.
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Future Breed Machine" | [a] | 5:48 | |
| 2. | "Beneath" | 5:38 | ||
| 3. | "Soul Burn" |
| 5:17 | |
| 4. | "Transfixion" |
| 3:33 | |
| 5. | "Vanished" | 5:04 | ||
| 6. | "Acrid Placidity" | (instrumental) | Hagström | 3:16 |
| 7. | "Inside What's Within Behind" |
| 4:30 | |
| 8. | "Terminal Illusions" | Kidman | 3:47 | |
| 9. | "Suffer in Truth" | Kidman | Kidman | 4:20 |
| 10. | "Sublevels" | 5:14 | ||
| Total length: | 45:57 | |||
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11. | "Humiliative" |
| 5:15 | |
| 12. | "Ritual" | Kidman | Kidman | 6:15 |
| 13. | "Gods of Rapture" | 4:55 | ||
| Total length: | 62:22 | |||
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11. | "Vanished" (demo) | 5:34 | ||
| 12. | "Suffer in Truth" (demo) | Kidman | Kidman | 4:19 |
| 13. | "Inside What's Within Behind" (demo) |
| 4:10 | |
| 14. | "Gods of Rapture" (live) | 4:53 | ||
| 15. | "Aztec Two-Step" | Meshuggah | 10:43 | |
| Total length: | 75:44 | |||
Personnel
Meshuggah
- Jens Kidman – vocals
- Fredrik Thordendal – lead guitar, keyboards, backing vocals
- Mårten Hagström – rhythm guitar, backing vocals
- Tomas Haake – drums, voices (tracks 7, 9-10), backing vocals
- Peter Nordin – bass
Production
- Daniel Bergstrand – mixing, engineering, production
- Fredrik Thordendal – mixing
- Meshuggah – production, cover design
- Peter In De Betou – mastering (at Cutting Room, Stockholm)
- Stefan Gillbald – cover artwork
Charts
| Chart (2018) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[13] | 43 |