the last meshuggah full length for this first run of re-issues. the third album from 1998 released on nuclear blast. on this album the band strayed almost completely from their thrash roots. they really began to evolve their groove-laden and polyrhythmic progressive metal for which meshuggah is known and loved for. also it is one of the most seeked after in the vinyl format.
there was no vinyl pressing in the first place. it was 1998 and already a dark time for the format. nine years later night of the vinyl dead from italy pressed 333 copies on grey splatter vinyl. a copy on discogs once sold for three hundred goddamn euros. apart from that and the super pricey "25 years of musical deviance" box set, there was simply no alternative if one desired a reasonable priced vinyl copy.
so thankfully for newer and older fans who missed out until now, nuclear blast brought us a fine re-press on which the alternative artwork is closest to the original. for the most limited colour-way of the run, nuclear blast pressed another marble edition. i would probably call it clear orange with black smoke but who cares anyway? housed in a gatefold sleeve and looking sharp. 300 copies pressed. nuclear blast. 1998/2018.
