Meshuggah

On Catch Thirty-Three, Meshuggah's latest, the music occasionally quiets or slows, but it doesn't lapse for over 45 often deafening yet frequently exhilarating minutes. In that sense, the disc mirrors the band, which shows no signs of stopping, either. The group was founded in Sweden circa the late '80s and has gone through numerous lineup tweaks, which may explain why the assorted players have issued only five full-lengths to date. Fortunately, complex, impassioned albums such as 1998's Chaosphere proved to be worth the often-extended wait between releases, and the same can be said of Catch. Vocalist Jens Kidman, guitarists Mårten Hagström and Fredrik Thordenthal, bassist Dick Lövgren and drummer Tomas Haake have impressive range, as is demonstrated by the contrast between "Imprint of the Un-saved," a 104-second roar from the id, and "In Death -- Is Death," an intricate prog soundscape that stretches out over thirteen minutes. These tracks and eleven others bleed together to form a single, relentless composition that will test the mettle of metal fans weaned on predictability. They'd better get used to it, though, because Meshuggah, which is touring alongside God Forbid, the Haunted and Mnemic, keeps going and going and going