Contradictions Collapse

Contradictions Collapse is the debut studio album by Swedish extreme metal band Meshuggah. It was released on 1 May 1991 by Nuclear Blast.[citation needed]

Contradictions Collapse
Studio album by
Released1 May 1991
RecordedUmeå, Sweden
Genre
Length56:19
LabelNuclear Blast
Meshuggah chronology
Meshuggah
(1989)
Contradictions Collapse
(1991)
None
(1994)

Release history

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A promotional cassette of the album was titled (All This Because of) Greed and included Qualms of Reality and We'll Never See the Day.[1]

Four tracks from the None EP were included as bonus tracks on the 1999 reissue,[2] in addition to the 2008 reissue,[3] which was released by Nuclear Blast in 2008 as the Reloaded edition.[2]

Music

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The album leans more towards a thrash metal sound than the band's later works,[4] featuring "heavy riffs", as well as "industrial dance in the drum patterns."[5] It is the only album to feature Jens Kidman on rhythm guitar, as well as Fredrik Thordendal on lead vocals in some tracks.

Reception

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Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal8/10[6]
The Encyclopedia of Popular MusicStarStarStar[7]
Pitchfork5.2/10[8]

AllMusic critic Steve Huey wrote: "Although it's not quite as accomplished as their later work, it's certainly a worthwhile listen, especially for devoted fans."[5]

Track listing

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No.TitleLyricsMusicLead vocalsLength
1."Paralyzing Ignorance"Jens KidmanKidman, Fredrik ThordendalKidman4:27
2."Erroneous Manipulation"Kidman, ThordendalThordendal, Johan SjögrenThordendal6:20
3."Abnegating Cecity"Tomas HaakeKidman, Thordendal, HaakeThordendal6:28
4."Internal Evidence"KidmanKidman, ThordendalKidman7:26
5."Qualms of Reality"HaakeKidman, ThordendalThordendal7:02
6."We'll Never See the Day"KidmanKidman, Niklas LundgrenKidman6:02
7."Greed"Kidman, ThordendalKidman, ThordendalThordendal7:05
8."Choirs of Devastation"Haake, ThordendalHaake, ThordendalHaake3:59
9."Cadaverous Mastication"Kidman, ThordendalKidman, Thordendal, LundgrenKidman7:29
Total length:56:19

1999 reissue

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No.TitleLength
10."Humiliative"5:17
11."Sickening"5:46
12."Ritual"6:16
13."Gods of Rapture"5:09
Total length:78:48

Personnel

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Meshuggah

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  • Jens Kidman − rhythm guitar, backing vocals, lead vocals (tracks 1, 4, 6, and 9)
  • Fredrik Thordendal − lead guitar, backing vocals, lead vocals (tracks 2, 3, 5, and 7), sitar (track 6)[9]
  • Peter Nordin − bass guitar, backing vocals (track 3)[10]
  • Tomas Haake − drums, backing vocals, spoken vocals (track 8)
  • Mårten Hagström – rhythm guitar, backing vocals (tracks 10, 11, 12 and 13)

References

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  1. "Contradictions Collapse - 1991". Meshuggah. Archived from the original on 22 August 2008. Retrieved 29 March 2026.
  2. 1 2 Pardo, Pete (14 October 2008). "Meshuggah: Contradictions Collapse-Reloaded". Sea of Tranquility. Retrieved 28 March 2026.
  3. Henderson, Alex. "None Review by Alex Henderson". AllMusic. Retrieved 28 March 2026.
  4. Cory, Ian (23 July 2015). "Twenty Against Ten (years later) – Meshuggah from Destroy Erase Improve to Catch Thirtythree". Invisible Oranges. Archived from the original on 29 March 2016. Retrieved 30 March 2026.
  5. 1 2 Huey, Steve. "Contradictions Collapse/None Review by Steve Huey". AllMusic. Retrieved 28 March 2026.
  6. Popoff, Martin (2007). The Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal: Volume 3: The Nineties. Burlington, Ontario, Canada: Collector's Guide Publishing. p. 274. ISBN 978-1-894959-62-9.
  7. Larkin, Colin, ed. (2006). "Meshuggah". Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 5 (4th ed.). MUZE. p. 722. ISBN 978-0-19-531373-4.
  8. Reyes-Kulkarni, Saby (1 August 2016). "Meshuggah – 25 Years of Musical Deviance". Pitchfork.com. Retrieved 1 August 2016.
  9. "Meshuggah - Making of Contradictions Collapse 1991 Studio Recording Footage". YouTube. 3 May 2022. Retrieved 30 March 2026.
  10. "Meshuggah - Making of Contradictions Collapse 1991 Studio Recording Footage". YouTube. 3 May 2022. Retrieved 30 March 2026.
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