Meshuggah – The Fillmore – Minneapolis MN – December 1st, 2023

Meshuggah with In Flames and Whitechapel The Fillmore Minneapolis – December 1^st, 2023

Review and photos by Kate Klaus

Swedish metal overtook the Fillmore in Minneapolis for a raging night of heavy music with headliners Meshuggah on their Immutable tour, supported by In Flames and Whitechapel, on December 1^st, 2023.

Knoxville deathcore band Whitechapel opened the night with a roar, from the screams of lead singer Phil Bozeman to the thunderous drums and crazy guitar riffs from the explosive 6-piece.     Pioneers of the deathcore genre, they blew away the crowd and blasted off with an intense start to the night.

In Flames carried that momentum on with a flawless set led by lead singer Anders Friden’s powerful energy and growling vocals.  Guitarist Bjorn Gelotte hypnotized with rich, dark tones and intense riffs matched with a great stage presence and interaction with the crowd. Their performance was as tight as it was powerful, and when they ended their 11-song set with “Take This Life” off of their 2006 album “Come Clarity”, they definitely left the crowd with on eof the most commanding metal performances out there.

Then Meshuggah took to the stage and brought that intensity to a seemingly impossible higher level.  Entering the dimly lit stage to plumes of smoke, a deep red glare, and cavernous foreboding tones, it was on ominous and mysterious entry, setting the stage for the depth of the show that was to come, both sonically and visually.  Their sound was deafening, and yet haunting and precise, and the lighting on stage, lacking in spotlights or fill light, created visions of shadowy figures emerging in between waves of sound and deep growls and roaring beats that all together made for a completely mesmerizing opening. Later in the set, the light show intensified, shooting out beams into the theater with flashing and jarring effects perfectly matching the haunting dissonance.  Their set covered their expansive discography, opening with “Broken Cog” of their newest album Immutable, followed by “Rational Gaze” and “Perpetual Black Second” off of 2005 album “Nothing”.  And then after a few more songs off of Immutable,  they blasted all the way back to 1991’s “Humiliative” and 1995’s “Future Breed Machine”.  They ended the night with an encore including “Bleed” and “Demiurge”, closing an intense night of metal and impeccable sonic assault.