Mårten Hans Hagström (born 27 April 1971) is a Swedish musician, best known as the

rhythm guitar In music performances, rhythm guitar is a guitar technique and role that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse (music), pulse in conjunction with other instruments from the rhythm section (e.g., d ...

ist for the

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 1987. Since 2004, the band's lineup consists of founding members Jens Kidman (lead vocals) and Fredrik Thordendal (lead guitar), alongside rhythm guitarist Mårten Hagström, drumm ...

. He joined the band after the release of their first album, which allowed Jens Kidman to focus on his vocal performances and give up rhythm guitar duties. He and fellow Meshuggah guitarist

Fredrik Thordendal Fredrik Carl 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 ...

are known for their complex

playing. Hagström has cited Rush,

James Hetfield James Alan Hetfield (born August 3, 1963) is an American musician. He is the lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist, co-founder, and a primary songwriter of heavy metal band Metallica. He is mainly known for his raspy voice and intricate rhythm playi ...

, Squarepusher,

Autechre Autechre ( ) are an English electronic music duo consisting of Rob Brown and Sean Booth, both from Rochdale, Greater Manchester. Formed in 1987, they are among the best known acts signed to UK electronic label Warp Records, through which all o ...

, Strapping Young Lad, and GISM as influences. In a Metal Injection interview he has said, "You can't play an instrument for the technicality of it. It's a tool you use to get what's in here and here eart and mindout there." He has also stated that when he first started learning guitar, the prevailing trend was for increasingly virtuosic lead playing, and that he decided to focus on developing his intricate rhythm guitar style instead. Although Thordendal plays most of Meshuggah's guitar solos, the two of them share songwriting duties more or less equally, with Hagström notably contributing "Nebulous" from ''

Nothing Nothing, no-thing, or no thing is the complete absence of ''anything'', as the opposite of ''something'' and an antithesis of everything. The concept of nothing has been a matter of philosophical debate since at least the 5th century BCE. Ea ...

'', "Acrid Placidity" from '' Destroy Erase Improve'', and "Neurotica" from '' Chaosphere''. Hagström has also stepped out of his role of playing exclusively rhythm guitar with the release of Meshuggah's ''

obZen ''obZen'' is the sixth studio album by Swedish extreme metal band Meshuggah. It was released in Europe on 7 March 2008, and in North America on 11 March 2008 by Nuclear Blast. Tomas Haake made his return as a studio drummer for the record after ...

'' album by playing the slower, melodic leads on the songs that he wrote, such as "Electric Red" and "Pravus". In addition to this, he has contributed lyrics to some of the band's later releases, co-writing '' Catch 33'' with Meshuggah drummer Tomas Haake and penning the entirety of the words for their abstract EP '' I''. Hagström and Haake have been playing music together since they were nine years old. Hagström, along with Thordendal, was rated #35 by

Guitar World ''Guitar World'' is a monthly music magazine for guitarists and fans of guitar-based music and trends. The magazine has been published since July 1980. ''Guitar World'', the best-selling guitar magazine in the United States, contains original a ...

in their top 100 of the greatest heavy metal guitarists of all time.

Equipment

Guitars

Hagström's main guitar is an

Ibanez is a Japanese guitar brand owned by Hoshino Gakki. Based in Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture, Aichi, Japan, Hoshino Gakki was one of the first Japanese musical instrument companies to gain a significant foothold in import guitar sales in the United Stat ...

Custom 8-String M8M which feature RG-shaped

alder Alders are trees of the genus ''Alnus'' in the birch family Betulaceae. The genus includes about 35 species of monoecious trees and shrubs, a few reaching a large size, distributed throughout the north temperate zone with a few species ex ...

or Iceman-shaped swamp ash bodies with 5-piece maple/Bubinga neck-thru necks (29.4" ), rosewood fingerboards (no inlays), fixed bridge (actually an Ibanez FX-Edge fixed tremolo), one volume, one tone, and one Lundgren Model 8 pickup. He uses .9-.70 gauge strings, tuned down half a step. Up until the late '90s, both Hagström and Thordendal used Ibanez 7-string guitars (initially

Universe The universe is all of space and time and their contents. It comprises all of existence, any fundamental interaction, physical process and physical constant, and therefore all forms of matter and energy, and the structures they form, from s ...

models, then single-pickup variations of the RG7620 and RG7621 for Thordendal and Hagström respectively) before moving to Nevborn 8-string guitars during the ''Nothing'' era. The group found the Nevborns to be somewhat unstable while touring and when Ibanez communicated a desire to try building them 8-string guitars they accepted the offer. Marten Hagstrom got his custom 8 string to be modded to accommodate some arthritis issues to his shoulder. His new custom Ibanez M8M is 28" scale length with semi-hollow body facilitated easy stage performance and studio recording. He also got a production model 27" scale guitar (Ibanez Iron Label ARZIR28 8 String) for the other half of the stage time. Guitar Strings:
DR Strings, Tite-Fit, LH-9 "Lite & Heavy" set:

009 – .011 – .016 – .026 – .036 – .046 9 (nine) is the natural number following and preceding . Evolution of the Hindu–Arabic digit Circa 300 BC, as part of the Brahmi numerals, various Indians wrote a digit 9 similar in shape to the modern closing question mark without the bot ...

.052, .070 (''stock gauges on the Ibanez M8M signature guitar'') DR Strings, Tite-Fit, TF8-10 "8 String Medium" set: .010 – .013 – .017 – .026 – .036 – .046 – .056 – .075 Guitar Picks:
Jim Dunlop 1mm Nylon Standard

Amplifiers and effects

*Fortin Amplifiers "Meshuggah" custom amplifier heads *Fractal Audio Axe-Fx Ultra (as of the ''

'' tour) * Line 6 Vetta II Head Units * T.C. Electronic effects *

Mesa Boogie Mesa/Boogie (also known as Mesa Engineering) is an American company in Petaluma, California, that manufactures amplifiers and other accessories for guitars and basses. It has been in operation since 1969. Mesa was started by Randall Smith as a ...

.50 Calibre ('' None'' era) *Mesa Boogie Dual Rectifier ('' Destroy Erase Improve'' and '' Chaosphere'' era) *Line 6 Pod Pro (''

'', '' I'' and ''

Catch Thirtythree ''Catch Thirtythree'' is the fifth studio album by Swedish extreme metal band Meshuggah. It was released on 16 May 2005 in Europe and on 31 May 2005 in North America, through Nuclear Blast. ''Catch Thirtythree'' entered the ''Billboard'' 200 ch ...

'' era)

References

External links

Meshuggah
official website
Meshuggah
at

Nuclear Blast Nuclear Blast Records is a German record label with subsidiary, subsidiaries located in Germany, the United States and Brazil. It was founded in 1987 by Markus Staiger in Donzdorf. Originally releasing hardcore punk records, the label moved on ...

Europe
Meshuggah
at

USA {{DEFAULTSORT:Hagstrom, Marten Living people Swedish heavy metal guitarists Meshuggah members Avant-garde guitarists Eight-string guitarists Seven-string guitarists People from Örnsköldsvik Rhythm guitarists 1971 births Progressive metal guitarists Swedish experimental musicians Musicians from Västernorrland County