When someone comes up with a unique idea, it is expected that people will catch on and copy that idea to death. That results in each copy being less and less special and typically waters down the concept. Then you end up resenting those who were responsible for said movement for spawning the garbage that followed. Sorry, Pearl Jam. You didn’t mean to give way to Creed. Same to you Anthrax/Public Enemy. It was a cool idea, and then we got nu-metal, the worst era in metal history.

So now that we’re neck deep in this Djent thing, and wow, does it suck. See, the style is one of those things that if you practice the palm mute deal enough, you can make the noises happen at home. But that doesn’t mean you’re making interesting or good music. So really, don’t blame Meshuggah for all of this shit, because surely they didn’t intend for this thing to devolve into the hundreds of bands that are marring the sound they had a giant hand in crafting. Truth is, for all the imitators out there, no one does it better than Meshuggah. I’d say that, while that’s an opinion, it’s pretty close to a fact.

The Swedes have been making mind-bending, head-titling metal for more than two decades now, debuting with 1991’s “Contradictions Collapse” and making standard-bearer albums such as heavily influential “Destroy Erase Improve,” “Chaosphere” and “Catch 33,” an album so complicated the fellows were hard-pressed to recreate the songs live. Yeah. They definitely have a signature sound, and you always know it’s Meshuggah when you hear them. That includes lead barker Jens Kidman, the lover of wacky faces whose stream-of-consciousness delivery always seems loose yet forceful. No matter what Meshuggah do from record to record, they always maintain that identity even if some of the backgrounds are slightly different.

Same goes for the band’s new, seventh record “Koloss,” the follow-up to 2008’s “obZen” and another new step for the group. See, they keep wrinkling your brain like you’d expect, but for the first time ever, they pull back on the madness and make things a little more streamlined. Don’t get me wrong, they didn’t exactly do a “Black Album” thing like Metallica did. They haven’t lost their balls, their intensity or their focus, and trust me, this isn’t a pop album or something. A listener new to the machine still will be perplexed and have to take some time to figure out what’s going on. For those who have been along for their journey, you’ll find the easiest Meshuggah record to digest and figure out ever. That’s certainly not a bad thing, and if anything, it proves how adaptable they are.

The record opens with “I Am Colossus,” a hammering first salvo that rips right into you, with Kidman howling, “I decide your fate!” as guitarists Fredrik Thordendal and Marten Hagstrom pull together riffs that are equally muddy and spacey. “The Demon’s Name” has a tech death aura, with pulsating drumming from Tomas Haake, and some of the out-there guitar soloing gives the song a bit of a sci-fi bend. “Behind the Sun” lets in some jazz influences, and I swear I hear horns in the background. Maybe that’s just an audio illusion. “Swarm” opens like one, with a frantic pace, a punishing assault, and some cartoon-like string histrionics that remind you the guys can still boil your senses when the need arises. “Demiurge” has some weird things going on beneath, with oddball noises and some gothic melodies, but it also fully levels you when you least expect it. Closer “The Last Vigil” is a floating, heady instrumental that’s eerie and calming at points. It’s a nice breather as the record draws to its conclusion. The only song that doesn’t really do it for me is “Marrow,” a groove-heavy cut that goes a little too close to nu-metal territory. But that’s one minor chink in otherwise sturdy armor.

Meshuggah easily could have floated on Djent’s choppy waves and simply capitalized on the movement they set into motion. But they don’t do things that way. They pushed themselves by dialing things back. They got back to basics, though their basics are light years ahead of everyone else’s. “Koloss” is a super-solid collection that’s as fun to hear as anything they’ve put out since the close of last century. But that doesn’t mean you should get comfortable with this sound. They’ll likely blow the whole thing up next time and do something completely different. But you’ll still know it’s Meshuggah.

For more on the band, go here: http://www.meshuggah.net/

To buy the album, go here: http://store.nuclearblastusa.com/Search/meshuggah

For more on the label, go here: http://www.nuclearblastusa.com/en/