''Koloss'' is the seventh album by Swedish metal band

Meshuggah Meshuggah () is a Swedish extreme metal band formed in Umeå in 1985. Originally, the band's name was Metallien. The band's current lineup consists of lead vocalist Jens Kidman, guitarists Fredrik Thordendal and Mårten Hagström, drummer To ...

, released on 23 March 2012 in Germany, on 26 March in the rest of Europe, and on March 27 in North America, by

Nuclear Blast Nuclear Blast is a record label and mail order record distributor with subsidiaries in Germany, the United States and Brazil. The label was founded in 1987 by Markus Staiger in Germany. Originally releasing hardcore punk records, the label mov ...

Background

Tomas Haake Tomas Haake (born 13 July 1971) is a Swedish musician and the drummer of the extreme metal band Meshuggah. Known for his polymeters and technical ability, Haake was named the fifth best "Modern Metal" drummer by MetalSucks.net in 2012. In the J ...

stated, "As always, we try to take our music in a slightly different direction with each album and with ''Koloss'', we feel that we really nailed what we were going for. Organic brutality, viscera and groove all crammed into a 54-minute metalicious treat, best avoided by the faint of heart!!" The Koloss album was different from others in terms of cooperation and making music together. Fredrik and Mårten worked together in creating a couple of songs together. Jens Kidman who retired from guitar playing since the album '' Contradictions Collapse'' composed "Behind the Sun".

Release

The album was released on 23 March 2012 in Germany, 26 March in the rest of Europe and on March 27 in North America. It was released as a standard compact disc, as a

digipak Optical disc packaging is the packaging that accompanies CDs, DVDs, and other formats of optical discs. Most packaging is rigid or semi-rigid and designed to protect the media from scratches and other types of exposure damage. Jewel case ...

version featuring a bonus DVD, as a limited edition boxed set "magic cube" (a mock-

Rubik's Cube The Rubik's Cube is a 3-D combination puzzle originally invented in 1974 by Hungarian sculptor and professor of architecture Ernő Rubik. Originally called the Magic Cube, the puzzle was licensed by Rubik to be sold by Pentangle Puzzles in t ...

featuring the album artwork, available only through Nuclear Blast mail-order), and a double-LP pressed on brown vinyl. The album debuted at number 17 in the United States, with first week sales of 18,342 copies, the band's and record label's highest position on the charts. ''Koloss'' also debuted at number 27 on the

Canadian Albums Chart The Canadian Albums Chart is the official album sales chart in Canada. It is compiled every Monday by U.S.-based music sales tracking company Nielsen SoundScan, and published every Tuesday by ''Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding ...

Reception

''Koloss'' received generally favorable reviews. Kory Grow of

Spin Magazine ''Spin'' (stylized in all caps) is an American music magazine founded in 1985 by publisher Bob Guccione, Jr. Now owned by Next Management Partners, the magazine is an online publication since it stopped issuing a print edition in 2012. History ...

called it "the first real contender for the genre's album of the year".

Track listing

I Am Colossus EP

"I Am Colossus" was released as a two-track EP. The stop-motion video for the song was compared to similar videos created by the band

Tool A tool is an object that can extend an individual's ability to modify features of the surrounding environment or help them accomplish a particular task. Although many animals use simple tools, only human beings, whose use of stone tools dates ba ...

Personnel

Jens Kidman Meshuggah () is a Swedish extreme metal band formed in Umeå in 1985. Originally, the band's name was Metallien. The band's current lineup consists of lead vocalist Jens Kidman, guitarists Fredrik Thordendal and Mårten Hagström, drummer Toma ...

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vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or witho ...

Fredrik Thordendal Fredrik Thordendal (born 11 February 1970) is a Swedish musician, best known as the lead guitarist and backing vocalist for the extreme metal band Meshuggah, of which he is a founding member. Along with Meshuggah's rhythm guitarist Mårten Hagst ...

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lead guitar Lead guitar (also known as solo guitar) is a musical part for a guitar in which the guitarist plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs and chords within a song structure. The lead is the feature ...

Mårten Hagström Mårten Hagström, (born 27 April 1971) is the rhythm guitarist for the Swedish extreme metal band Meshuggah. He joined the band after the release of their first album, which allowed Jens Kidman to focus on his vocal performances and give up rhy ...

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rhythm guitar In music performances, rhythm guitar is a technique and role that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with other instruments from the rhythm section (e.g., drum kit, bass guita ...

Dick Lövgren Dick Lövgren (born 11 November 1980) is a Swedish musician. He is the bass guitarist for extreme metal band Meshuggah, which he joined in 2004. Biography In his early days, Lövgren was particularly impressed with the Metallica bass guitarist ...

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bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gu ...

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drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair of matching drumsticks ...

* Luminokaya – artwork

Background

Release

Reception

Track listing

I Am Colossus EP

Personnel

Charts

References

Further reading