Dick Lövgren (born 11 November 1980) is a Swedish musician. He is the bass guitarist for

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 ...

, which he joined in 2004.

Biography

In his early days, Lövgren was particularly impressed with the Metallica bass guitarist

Cliff Burton Clifford Lee Burton (February 10, 1962 – September 27, 1986) was an American musician who was the bassist for heavy metal band Metallica from 1982 until his death in 1986. He performed on ''Kill 'Em All'' (1983), '' Ride the Lightning'' (1984 ...

. He said that Burton "was probably the main reason why I became a bassist". Lövgren is a schooled jazz musician, influenced by

Dave Holland David “Dave” Holland (born 1 October 1946) is an English jazz double bassist, composer and bandleader who has been performing and recording for five decades. He has lived in the United States for over 40 years. His extensive discography r ...

John Scofield John Scofield (born December 26, 1951), sometimes referred to as "Sco", is an American guitarist and composer whose music over a long career has blended jazz, jazz fusion, funk, blues, soul and rock. He first came to mainstream attention in the ...

Medeski Martin & Wood Medeski Martin & Wood (or MMW) is an American jazz fusion band formed in 1991, consisting of John Medeski on keyboards, Billy Martin on drums, and Chris Wood on bass. The band is influenced by musical traditions including funk and hip hop and ...

Miles Davis Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26, 1926September 28, 1991) was an American trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th-century music. Davis adopted a variety of music ...

and

Brad Mehldau Bradford Alexander Mehldau (; born August 23, 1970) is an American jazz pianist, composer, and arranger. Mehldau studied music at The New School, and toured and recorded while still a student. He was a member of saxophonist Joshua Redman's Quar ...

. He always preferred playing with fingers; however, in his main band,

, he plays with a pick exclusively, stating that the exact sound from the pick and distortion is strictly what Meshuggah wants to extract from the bass guitar. Before joining Meshuggah, Lövgren performed with a vast array of bands in his native Sweden, first with the neo-classical metal/melodic power metal band Time Requiem, then the melodic/progressive metal band Last Tribe, the death metal band

Cromlech A cromlech (sometimes also spelled "cromleh" or "cromlêh"; cf Welsh ''crom'', "bent"; ''llech'', "slate") is a megalithic construction made of large stone blocks. The word applies to two different megalithic forms in English, the first being an ...

and the power metal band

Armageddon According to the Book of Revelation in the New Testament of the Christian Bible, Armageddon (, from grc, Ἁρμαγεδών ''Harmagedōn'', Late Latin: , from Hebrew: ''Har Məgīddō'') is the prophesied location of a gathering of armies ...

(alongside Arch Enemy guitarist Christopher Amott). In the late 1990s, Lövgren held the enviable assignment of touring bass guitarist for both

Arch Enemy Arch Enemy is a Swedish melodic death metal band, originally a supergroup from Halmstad, formed in 1995. Its members were in bands such as Carcass, Armageddon, Carnage, Mercyful Fate, Spiritual Beggars, The Agonist, Nevermore, and Eucharist. ...

and

In Flames In Flames is a Swedish heavy metal band, formed by guitarist Jesper Strömblad in Gothenburg in 1990. Alongside At the Gates and Dark Tranquillity, In Flames pioneered the genres known as Swedish death metal and melodic death metal. During t ...

. Lövgren joined Meshuggah in 2004 after the band lost their bass guitarist, Gustaf Hielm, in 2001. In the same year, they released their EP ''I'', that contains just one track of the same name, that lasts twenty-one minutes. However, Lövgren did not play in Meshuggah's recording sessions until their highly successful album, ''

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 through Nuclear Blast. Tomas Haake made his return as the studio drummer for the record ...

'' (2008). This was due to the album finish deadline while recording ''

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 ...

'', so the drum and bass tracks were recorded digitally. He also released a highly acclaimed fusion-jazz album, ''Lounge'', with the Swedish Nica Group ensemble. All tracks were composed by Lövgren, and the album shows his creativity as well as jazz-styled playing skills. In September 2010, Lövgren was accepted into the Gothenburg Music University to study improvisation and composition with Anders Jormin, the Swedish jazz double bass player, arranger and bandleader who has worked with numerous jazz artists, such as

Bobo Stenson Bobo Stenson (born Bo Gustav Stenson; 4 August 1944) is a Swedish jazz pianist. The Bobo Stenson Trio, formed in collaboration with Anders Jormin (bass) and Jon Fält (drums), has been in existence for four decades. Career Stenson studied with We ...

, Charles Lloyd,

Tomasz Stańko Tomasz Ludwik Stańko (11 July 1942 – 29 July 2018) was a Polish trumpeter and composer. Stańko was associated with free jazz and the avant-garde. In 1962, Tomasz Stańko formed his first band, the Jazz Darings, with saxophonist Janusz Munia ...

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Kenny Wheeler Kenneth Vincent John Wheeler, OC (14 January 1930 – 18 September 2014) was a Canadian composer and trumpet and flugelhorn player, based in the U.K. from the 1950s onwards. Most of his performances were rooted in jazz, but he was also active ...

and

Jon Balke Jon Georg Balke (born 7 June 1955) is a Norwegian jazz pianist who leads the Magnetic North Orchestra. He is the younger brother of saxophonist Erik Balke. Career Balke started playing classical piano but switched to blues at 12, though he pe ...

. He said that it was a huge honor and a great opportunity, emphasizing that it would not jeopardize anything with Meshuggah. "I will be able to do the tours and come back to classes. But this does mean that I will be playing and writing a lot of jazz in the next few years between Meshuggah tours."

Discography

* Nica Group — ''Lounge'' (2002) *

Time Requiem Time Requiem is a Swedish neoclassical power metal band created by Richard Andersson in 2001.Time Requiem
" Encyclop ...

— ''

Time Requiem Time Requiem is a Swedish neoclassical power metal band created by Richard Andersson in 2001.Time Requiem
" Encyclop ...

'' (2002) *

— ''

'' (2008) * Meshuggah — ''

Alive Alive may refer to: *Life Books, comics and periodicals * ''Alive'' (novel), a 2015 novel by Scott Sigler * '' Alive: The Final Evolution'', a 2003 shonen manga by Tadashi Kawashima and Adachitoka * '' Alive: The Story of the Andes Survivors'', ...

'' (2010) * Meshuggah — ''

Koloss ''Koloss'' is the seventh album by Swedish metal band Meshuggah, released on 23 March 2012 in Germany, on 26 March in the rest of Europe, and on March 27 in North America, by Nuclear Blast. Background Tomas Haake stated, "As always, we try to tak ...

'' (2012) * Meshuggah — '' The Violent Sleep of Reason'' (2016) * Meshuggah — '' Immutable'' (2022)

References

External links

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

Meshuggah
official website
Meshuggah
at

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 ...

Europe
Meshuggah
at

USA {{DEFAULTSORT:Lovgren, Dick Death metal musicians Swedish experimental musicians Swedish heavy metal bass guitarists Living people Meshuggah members 1980 births Progressive metal bass guitarists 21st-century bass guitarists