''I'' is the fifth EP by Swedish

extreme metal Extreme metal is a loosely defined umbrella term for a number of related heavy metal music subgenres that have developed since the early 1980s. It has been defined as a "cluster of metal subgenres characterized by sonic, verbal, and visual tran ...

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 Tomas ...

. It was released on 13 July 2004 via

Fractured Transmitter Recording Company Fractured Transmitter was a record company started by Jason Popson around the time he departed from Mushroomhead in 2004. Bands signed * Pitch Black Forecast * The Alter Boys * American Werewolves * Asleep * Disengage * Integrity * Jeff Walke ...

. A remastered reissue was released on 30 September 2014. The "Special Edition" adds "Bleed" and "Dancers to a Discordant System" live from '' The Ophidian Trek'' and '' Pitch Black''.

Background

Meshuggah drummer

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 Ju ...

said of the EP, "That whole track was written and recorded just on random. Me and

Fredrik Fredrik is a masculine Germanic given name derived from the German name ''Friedrich'' or Friederich, from the Old High German ''fridu'' meaning "peace" and ''rîhhi'' meaning "ruler" or "power". It is the common form of Frederick in Norway, Finland ...

would just jam on something, and when we found something that was kind of cool, he would walk into the control room. I would just record drums and it wasn't a set pattern, I would just kind of stray away from the pattern, but just keep going in that vibe. Then we had to chart everything and go bar by bar to record the guitars afterwards, because it's all just random." Thordendal would later post the chart of the first part of the song on his Instagram account. Haake later commented that the song was "originally recorded for

Jason Popson Jason Jonathan Popson (born November 2, 1971) is an American vocalist and rapper for metal band Mushroomhead taking the stage name J Mann. Prior to his initial departure from the band he was identified by his face paint, which was based on the ...

Fractured Transmitter Fractured Transmitter was a record company started by Jason Popson around the time he departed from Mushroomhead in 2004. Bands signed * Pitch Black Forecast * The Alter Boys * American Werewolves * Asleep * Disengage * Integrity * Jeff Wal ...

record label" and that it was a "'one-off' that

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 ...

gave us the go-ahead for — as we were under contract with them."

Track listing

The original vinyl release has track 1 on side A, and tracks 2-4 on side B while the 2016 re-issue only has track 1

Personnel

– drums *

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 rhyt ...

– rhythm guitar *Jens Kidman – vocals *

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 Hagstr ...

– lead guitar, bass

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:I (Ep) Meshuggah albums 2004 EPs