Meshuggah is a Swedish five-piece experimental metal band formed in 1987. Meshuggah's line-up has primarily consisted of founding members vocalist Jens Kidman and lead guitarist Fredrik Thordendal, drummer Tomas Haake, who joined in 1990, and rhythm guitarist Mårten Hagström, who joined in 1993. The band has gone through a number of bassists, but the position has been held by Dick Lövgren since 2004. Meshuggah first attracted international attention with the 1995 release Destroy Erase Improve for its fusion of fast-tempo death metal, thrash metal and progressive metal. Since its 2002 album Nothing, Meshuggah has used eight-string guitars and downtuned, groovy riffs. Meshuggah has become known for innovative musical style, complex, polymetered song structures, polyrhythms and precise musicianship. It was labeled as one of the ten most important hard and heavy bands by Rolling Stone and as the most important band in metal by Alternative Press. Meshuggah has found little mainstream success as yet, but is a significant act in extreme underground music.
Nothing and the albums that followed have all charted on the Billboard 200. In 2006 and 2009, the band was nominated for a Swedish Grammy Award. Meshuggah's most commercially successful album, 2008's obZen, peaked at No. 59 and sold 11,400 copies in the first week and 50,000 copies six months after its release in the United States. Since its formation, Meshuggah has released six studio albums, five EPs and eight music videos. The band has performed in various international festivals, including Ozzfest and Download, and embarked on the obZen world tour in 2008.
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