Say what you want about artificial intelligence, but there's a time and place for it –– writing assistance, reading reams of text full of em-dashes, or adding to the ubiquitous brain rot you might find floating around Facebook. It might use gallons of water, but this is the modern age and water is so antiquated, don't you think?
But right now, we'd like a simple explanation of what the hell Meshuggah drummer Tomas Haake is playing on his kit during their 2008 track Bleed.
"The drum pattern in Meshuggah's "Bleed" is characterised by a relentless, high-speed herta pattern played on the double kick drums (two 32nd notes followed by two 16th notes or sixteenth-sixteenth-eighth). This pattern is played continuously, creating a 3:4 or 3:2 polyrhythm against a steady 4/4 hand pattern."
There's none of that four-on-the-floor nonsense in one particular rehearsal room in Sweden, then.
The band's album obZen was set to be released in November 2007. They were sure of finishing their sixth full-length release in the summer at their own Fear and Loathing Studio, in Stockholm. So much so, a co-headline tour with The Dillinger Escape Plan was announced, then scrapped soon afterwards.
"There are several reasons for this," explained the band in a statement. "The main one being the fact that the album recording has taken longer than what was originally planned. In light of this we choose to not do a tour that could compromise the outcome of the album as well as possibly delaying the release even more. With this 'album-promotional' aspect of the tour gone, we feel that we should instead focus on the most important thing at hand — the album!"
The album was released in March the following year. It combined everything that was great about this Umeå quintet. Fans were drawn to Bleed, the technical precision and groove helped create their own extreme earworm and would be the subject of many memes and parodies in years to follow.
You could tap your feet to it, but you'll fuck your ankles right up.
The hypnotic seven-minute song, written by guitarist Fredrik Thordendal, had the working title of Aneurysm and if you've looked up any YouTube tutorials on how to play the song, whether on guitar or drums, you're looking at a process which could easily cause carpal tunnel syndrome in students who've neglected to warm up properly.
That's not to say it was easy for those behind the studio glass, though.
“When it comes to stamina, it’s all about rehearsing until we can play it live," Haake told Modern Drummer. "When we started rehearsing [Bleed], everyone was hurting and cursing about their limbs cramping up. We eventually got over it and are able to play the whole thing.”
In fact, the drummer had to change his approach when playing runs on the bass drum and likened the experience to tap dancing.
When we started rehearsing Bleed, everyone was hurting and cursing about their limbs cramping up
Tomas Haake
"I always used to just pummel really hard, mostly with single strokes," he explained during an interview with FaceCulture. "But for this one, I don’t play as hard on the kicks. In some songs, I lean into the pedals and hit really hard, but on this one it’s more about leaning back, keeping your feet lighter – almost like tap dancing. You play it softer, but in a more fluid way. That was the main thing for me – getting that playing down to where I felt comfortable with it."
"As you get further into the song, it’s broken up into different segments, so there’s also a challenge in the different cycles that come later on," he added. "But the main obstacle was learning that basic pattern. I probably spent as much time on that one track as I did on all the other tracks on the album combined – that’s how long it took me to learn how to play it. Luckily, I pulled it off, and it turned into a great song."
The calibre of musicians who have performed their own versions of this 2008 track is telling. Panzerballett, a jazz death metal ensemble from Munich and sitar virtuoso Rishabh Seen have offered thoughtful takes on the song, while The Algorithm recreated the song using samples of rifle sounds from the game Counter Strike. Someone even recreated the hypnotic drum pattern using a PC mouse.
In 2015, Metallica guitarist Kirk Hammett was so enamoured by the band, he invited them to perform at his annual horror festival Kirk Von Hammett’s Fear Festevil and played the solo from Bleed onstage.
I've jammed with a lot of bands, but that was so unique and next level
Kirk Hammett on performing 'Bleed' with Meshuggah
"I could feel the power behind me, and I was thinking about it, and it was kind of like being in front of a locomotive," Hammett told SiriusXM. "And the only way to, like, keep in front of that locomotive is to just play my ass off and keep up with it. I have to say, I've jammed with a lot of people and I've jammed with a lot of bands, but that was so unique and next level."
18 years on, Meshuggah continue to baffle their fans and mesmerise in equal measure. But a word of advice to all aspiring drummers: Tomas Haake is not infallible.
“I still fuck up sometimes!" he laughs. "If you lose your place in Bleed, it’s very difficult to get it back. You have to just smile and wait and then… there you go, I’m back in! I try to play it cool. But if I do fuck up, I just have to keep playing and pretend it’s the other guys."
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