''Måsstaden'' (
Swedish
Swedish or ' may refer to:
Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically:
* Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland
** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...
: ''"The seagull town"'') is the debut album by Swedish metal band
Vildhjarta
Vildhjarta is a Swedish progressive metal band from Hudiksvall, formed in 2005. The band plays in a Meshuggah-influenced musical style employing heavily down-tuned seven-string guitars, as well as harmonic minor chord progressions, jarring stacc ...
. Released on 28 November 2011,
the album peaked at 37 on the US
Top Heatseekers
Top Heatseekers are "Breaking and Entering" music charts issued weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. The Heatseekers Albums and the Heatseekers Songs charts were introduced by ''Billboard'' in 1991 with the purpose of highlighting the sales by new an ...
chart.
This was the first release to feature co-lead vocalist Vilhelm Bladin and the last to include founding member (and third guitarist) Jimmie Åkerström, before he was asked to leave the band in April 2012. Åkerström was never replaced and thus left Vildhjarta without a third guitarist since his leaving.
''Måsstaden'' was a breakthrough success and led to positive reviews and an expanded international fanbase. The musical style found on the album, often described by fans as "thall", would continue to influence multiple bands and artists within the
djent
Djent () is a subgenre of progressive metal characterised by its use of off-beat and complex rhythm patterns. Its distinctive sound is that of high-gain, distorted, palm-muted, down-tuned strings. The name "djent" is an onomatopoeia of this s ...
scene.
For the album's tenth anniversary a special remixed/remastered edition, titled ''Måsstaden (forte)'', was released on 28 January 2022 on both compact disc and
vinyl
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Chemistry
* Polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a particular vinyl polymer
* Vinyl cation, a type of carbocation
* Vinyl group, a broad class of organic molecules in chemistry
* Vinyl polymer, a group of polymers derived from vinyl m ...
.
Reception
The album received generally positive critical reviews. Natalie Zed of
About.com
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gave the album 3.5/5 and said that "For fans of djent, this is definitely an album to pay attention to", describing the instrumentation as "dense as a forest of thorns, the songs are constructed in such a way that the listener has room to explore, to wander, and to eventually get lost and caught within the sound."
Nina Saeidi writing for Metal Injection was very positive about the album, and concluded that "Måsstaden is stunningly beautiful and filled with a dark energy that is often hard to find in the copycat genre in which Vildhjarta are boundary pushers. This album is perfect for those in need of a fast and furious djent fix with the occasional unexpected interlude that will take you by surprise."
While Metal Underground were still on the whole positive about the album, they were critical that "for as good as the music is, Vildhjarta don't do much to step out of the shadow of their main inspiration, making comparisons to Meshuggah at times a bit too accurate", though they concluded the review by saying "''Måsstaden'' is a good album from a new band that's more of a taste of what's to come, rather than a fully evolved sound. The clean vocals on "Traces" are a promising sign and hopefully, with time, Vildhjarta will evolve into something much greater. They have the talent; it's now just whether or not they have the creativity."
''Forte'' edition
A remixed/remastered edition of ''Måsstaden'' was released on January 28, 2022 for the record's tenth anniversary. The reissue was titled ''Måsstaden (forte)'' and it features revamped/redone drums and bass guitar. Most production and mixing was done by the band's current drummer Buster Odeholm, with assistance from
Sworn In
Traditionally an oath (from Anglo-Saxon ', also called plight) is either a statement of fact or a promise taken by a sacrality as a sign of verity. A common legal substitute for those who conscientiously object to making sacred oaths is to giv ...
drummer Chris George.
Vildhjarta To Release Revised Editions Of “Måsstaden” & “Thousands Of Evils” In January
PRP
Track listing
Personnel
Vildhjarta
* Daniel Ädel – vocals
Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...
* Vilhelm Bladin – vocals
* Daniel Bergström – guitar
The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...
* Calle-Magnus Thomér – guitar
* Jimmie Åkerström – guitar
* Johan Nyberg – bass
* David Lindkvist – drums
A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...
Production
* Jens Bogren
Jens Peter Daniel Bogren (born 13 November 1979) is a Swedish record producer, mixer and recording engineer specializing in heavy metal music. He has worked on albums by Opeth, Dimmu Borgir, Sepultura, Arch Enemy, At the Gates, Katatonia, Babym ...
– mastering
* Lance Grabmiller – additional production
* Jared Howe – additional production
* Sebastian Krawczuk – additional production
* Rickard Westman – album art
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Masstaden
2011 albums
Vildhjarta albums