Live Review: Meshuggah – Royal Albert Hall

It’s not every day you get the chance to witness a metal band take siege of London’s Royal Albert Hall however that was exactly what fans of Meshuggah were treated to recently. Bringing Zeal & Ardor along as support only added to the excitement that filled the surrounding area on the Jubilee weekend. Here is what went down when Meshuggah took over one of the UK’s most iconic venues!

Something about the Sigil of Satan hanging over the Royal Albert Hall on Jubilee weekend is quite fitting and as Zeal & Ardor took to the stage, it was clear they were not here to mess around. Kicking their set off with ‘Church Burns’ quickly got the crowd moving. Delivering a set full of Satanic imagery and heavy-as-hell riffs, the band seemed a perfect fit for the fans in attendance. Their performance was top notch with tracks such as ‘Run’ and ‘Devil Is Fine’ being my personal highlights of the set. As far as stage presence goes. The band utilised its natural charisma to keep the fans entertained as well as get a majority of the audience to mimic their symbolism during their closing track ‘Baphomet’. It’s safe to say the crowd was extremely warmed up and ready for their Main Event!

Meshuggah kicked things off in a big way with their track ‘Broken Cog’ before exploding into ‘Light The Shortening Fuse’. The crowd in attendance were instantly hooked on what they were hearing and the room was bouncing. ‘Rational Gaze’ would follow and see the first proper pit get underway of the night as fans started to loosen up which was amplified when ‘Pravus’ came in swinging. The acoustics in the Royal Albert Hall is exceptional which allowed Meshuggah to really deliver a set that packed a serious punch and songs like ‘The Hurt That Finds You First’ really benefited from the near-perfect sound quality generated in the room.

As the set went on, the energy in the room only grew bigger! ‘Ligature Marks’ had the entire room headbanging along to its behemoth of a beat while ‘Born In Dissonance’ went down as a fan favourite on the night. Following that was ‘Mind’s Mirror’ (Played over tape) which transitioned nicely into ‘In Death – Is Life’ and ‘In Death – Is Death’ which was a nice inclusion from the Catch Thirtythree album. As the set drew to an end, the band really pulled out a lot of the stops. Closing their set with both ‘The Abysmal Eye’ and ‘Straws Pulled At Random’ before returning to the stage for a mighty encore of ‘Demiurge’ and ‘Future Breed Machine’ to send the die-hard fans home happy.

Despite a noticeable absence of the band’s hit song ‘Bleed’, Meshuggah proved they are more than a one-trick pony. The music spoke for itself on the night with a discography-spanning set which showed just how consistent the band has been over the years. As a whole, the night was something truly special that will live on in the hearts and minds of every fan in attendance for many years to come.