Jazz drummer reacts: Thordendal & Ågren-Sol Niger Within-2001

[@josuastangl7140]

Frederik casually taping the 3 high strings like "we don't need those".

[@Pierrot110194]

Haha, outstanding move.

[@MFKR696]

Actually, that's more of a recording trick than anything. Fredrik is Meshuggah's lead guitarist, so this is obviously not something he does all the time.

[@josuastangl7140]

@@MFKR696 I know, it's actually a really useful trick for muting strings you don't need when recording.

[@MFKR696]

@@josuastangl7140 Indeed.

[@metalheadpolack]

Nah man it’s an 8 they’d potentially ring and it’s on tv!

[@dimitriid]

How do you truly define Rhythm guitar? You add Lead drums of course!

[@snick420]

hah!

[@villhelmromero]

That's how Don Caballero do...

[@rickc2102]

Comping, metal-style.

[@matthewgodding777]

One thing i like about this is the dude who makes his living playing with Thomas Haake looking over like 'where the fuck is this going? I'll just play this and hope for the best'

[@chilesuicmez]

touche

[@MrFedX]

Fun fact: this is a show from a particular dry bransch of public-access television in sweden called ”the education radio” (yes, I know. It’s not radio anymore). A friend of my produced this show and told me that one day his boss told him to do a show about learning to play drums, probably expecting a dry ”this a how you play a 4/4 beat”. Instead the producer called Morgan Ågren and the rest is swedish television history. They invited friends from meshuggah and Mats Öberg for jams. Other episode started with Morgan showing something ”simple”, then he showed it up to speed and it was insane. Then it ended with Morgan doing a signature one hand drum roll. And this album is amazing. It still blows my mind when I listen to it, even though I listened to nothing else for 6 months when it came out.

[@betongkonsultivastab5553]

The show Knesset was on ZTV at the same time. They had some well known drummers on the panel once and talked about "Trum" as an educational program and they were just laughing out loud on set, because none of them could keep up with any of the things Morgan showed. Wish I could see that episode again. I return to trum on youtube every once in a while and it makes me feel good. Probably the best ever produced by UR.

[@MrFedX]

Mats Björklund It sure is! :D

[@martinroland]

Heja Sverige på den gamla goda tiden!

[@Savignylol]

But can you PLEASE bring back the Skrovmål on the Max menu, ffs!!!

[@tonyrauls1941]

I was just browsing Morgan Agren's youtube page..The last thing he did was 'like' this video. Congrats dude!

[@jerkerjansson386]

My mom actually have the album they released with the music from this tv-show. And she is 68 years old.

[@ZolFox]

That’s random and awesome. I’d definitely chill with your mom because of that. And I’m in my 30s…DONT READ ANYTHING INTO THAT. I’m into dudes. Actually I wonder what’s stranger…a gay dude who also owns this album and does guitar covers of meshuggah songs and even did a nearly complete drum cover of this album who plays 7 and 8 string guitars and also does normal vocals and metal vocals? Because I don’t think I’ve ever come across either of those things before now (and other than myself).

[@weaponizedwinnebago]

You should check out Mats/morgan Band which is Morgan Ågren and his Friend Mats Öberg who is a jazz pianist (he is much more than that, he sings and is just incredible). They started when they were really young, and got to play with Frank Zappa, who called them "unbelievable", which was super nice :) Fun fact: Both Mats and Morgan are from the same town as the guys from Meshuggah (Umeå Västerbotten). Must be something in the water there, they got the syncopated polyrythm juice going!

[@Egoblivion]

😆

[@leinbajr]

I saw Mats/Morgan Band at the NJ Proghouse in the mid-‘00s and they were excellent! Amazing playing and so much fun and joy.

[@MrSandieman666]

I approve, that shit is insanely zappa level intricate song writing. Used to watch those shows on swedish kanal4, loved it♥️♥️♥️

[@Bebopopotamus]

One from Mats/Morgan Band, I believe there's a clip of it from this show, called "En Schizofrens Dagbok" or something like that. Amazing song and fucked up rhythms.

[@Wilbenhof]

Yes please!

[@KiraPlaysGuitar]

"He is a drummer." - Okay, I'm in.

[@Josephhof]

When is the "Where's 1?" Shirt coming out?

[@mouldeck]

hahaha it needs a couple exclamations marks ;) like "Where's 1 !?!"

[@para_bellum_1984]

@@mouldeck And the exclamation marks should resemble drum sticks! 100% lame but I'd buy it :)

[@mouldeck]

@@para_bellum_1984 XD totally!!

[@gargaj]

#WheresOne #BeatTheShitOutOfAChina

[@susrev88]

@@gargaj two rides

[@MaglorMusic]

Thordendal is Meshuggah’s guitarist. Check info also on his father who played with Holdsworth.

[@marcissobadass]

Holy Shit!!!! No wonder he has that shit down so well!!!! Now I'm going straight to Spotify!!

[@emptycloud2774]

Name of father?

[@romelric]

Sir do you have the link? Thanksss

[@renzorevilla1210]

Ooooooohhh, so that's why a lot of his playing sound very Holdsworth influenced

[@mvunit3]

What!? Is that TRUE??? I'm a HUGE Holdsworth and Meshuggah/Thordendal fan, never knew that Oo.

[@Fenixsweden]

Morgan is a GOD when it comes to technical drumming! He shreds it like no one else and practically never misses a beat.

[@paljohnson1]

Morgan Ågren is also a great jazz drummer.....

[@andrerouellette]

Indeed, I would love to see a react video to mats and morgan.

[@darkkroastt]

Yes! Garrett should totally check out Mats & Morgan!

[@RicoLee27]

Jazz drummer going metal. We need more music like that. He should make songs with Meshuggah

[@jameswilson2268]

“Hey wait where you going?! Get back here!” 😂😂 love it

[@brianhunt4335]

That had me cracking up!!

[@jeremygunkel]

My mother is super excited about this!!!

[@phylazen5649]

i watched this ten or more years ago in high school and just... my jaw was like bottomed out cuz i had never heard a drummer drive the rhythm this hard before

[@lashmar667]

Thordendal to his friends : "Yeah a garage band - Nothing like Meshuggah, Just something fun & easy to play . . . . "

[@MAAF808]

ah ah ah ah

[@HelixNebuIa]

This is Swedish TV? I’m moving.

[@jonaseriksson9794]

Helix Nebula the show was on swedish national tv, UR (Utbildningsradion) and was called ”Trum”. You can find a fem clips on youtube. I love the ones with the spoon man.

[@jonaseriksson9794]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/gYbIoqp-bJ6bgK8

[@akvariekillen]

Here is the whole series, in good quality and sync. kzbin.info/www/bejne/n2a2oZedjNyDn9k

[@patrikkarlsson9463]

Don't, TV is sadly not like this here anymore. The state TV channel has turned to shit since then. They put most of their old programs online though, and that's a freaking treasure trove, such an immense collection of culture with awesome live gigs and stuff from 60's, 70's, 80's and 90's, lots of really obscure things to be uncovered. But now they mostly do useless dramas, cheesy comedy and family entertainment shows.

[@Spellfork]

UR in the early 2000's was the best thing on Swedish TV, it was like the youtube of today and had all kinds of strange and interesting things. Sadly it was all canceled and now they just air mostly the same crap as any other TV station :/

[@Ledjent]

Sol Niger Within By Fredrik T is by far my favourite piece of music - a concept album that was released in 1997 and it was waaay ahead of its time. Thordendal is a pure genius and he asked his genius drummer friend to join this incredible project and oh boy, oh boy... You just have to listen to the entire thing if you have 40 minutes and you want to listen to some extreme avant-garde metal-jazz fusion! ;)

[@King-Gilamashur2758]

It remains ahead of its time. And that may remain the case for a long time. Unless the aliens show up.

[@ProggyRainy]

That was unbelievably good, I never heard a full song from Fredrik Thordendal's Special Defects, I gotta listen to Sol Niger Within now. Great video.

[@WebsterA]

The Album is a masterpiece. It literally has everything there is to like in music.

[@ProggyRainy]

@@WebsterA I can say the exact same thing about Bjork, and Dir En Grey.

[@yrrol14]

OEMR Tomas did the spoken vocals, Fredrik the ”lead” vocals.

[@hakkenarsk]

@@yrrol14 ehm, well, there are multiple people doing the vocals on SNI, sure, Fredrik is one but I wouldn't call it "lead". :)

[@syntheticvoid]

I truly enjoy your reactions to this stuff. I've loved that video (and Car Bomb) for ages, and it's really cool to see you react so enthusiastically to them

[@t3hgir]

This is a medley of Thordendal's Sol Niger Within album, which Morgan plays on. One of my favorite albums ever :D

[@rremmy72]

Such an underrated album

[@NickSandt]

I was gonna recommend this video for you to watch! That’s so cool that someone else did it. I wasn’t sure to do this one, or Marco Minnemann Extreme Drumming or a Virgil Donati or a Richard Christy but I’m sure glad you saw this!

[@AsmodeusClips]

One of my favorite music bits ever uploaded to YT, nice to see you listening to it :D

[@PixelatedSpirit]

The tv channel it's shown on is UR "Swedish Educational Broadcasting Company (Swedish: Sveriges Utbildningsradio or Utbildningsradion, UR) is a public-service corporation dedicated to serving the needs of the Swedish general public by providing educational programming on radio and television." I do feel educated.

[@Cynips]

Actually, that explains a lot.

[@sarakaster]

YEEEEES! Finally someone did it and discovered this insane performance. Almost 20 years old and still ahead....

[@facepalmjesus1608]

Frank Zappa approved this drummer

[@Abacorn]

fact.

[@salmonero6472]

When he was like 13 btw 😅 absolute beast!

[@ThePentosin]

Devin Townsend too

[@mopoucco2092]

@@salmonero6472 20

[@devildriver9615]

Approved an played.

[@tmscesar]

I didn't even start the video and i'm already commenting..... saying thank you for finally someone pick up the most groovy heavy riff video out there!! I've listen to that video more than 500x, this jam session needs more exposure! Note that this is only a guitar and drums and is damn rich. Thanks and great reacts

[@Acklack]

You just watched the peak of Swedish state financed TV

[@XxMETALJAREDxX]

Holy crap!!!! This video was one of the most impactful bits of music for me growing up as a young drummer/musician. On top of incredible hand technique, it showed me what was possible using a single pedal rather than always relying on the double kick. This whole album was about 20 years ahead of its time and still feels incredibly fresh when listened to. Absolutely mind-bending stuff. 5:55 is still one of my all-time favorite drum passages and probably always will be.

[@WebsterA]

This whole album is the epitome of jazz metal. It's all about aliens and transcendence etc. It's literally one of metal's polyrhythmic masterpieces and should be given any musician's attentive ear. Seriously. Garrett , ya gotta check it for the jazz roots displayed constantly!

[@vigneshkarthikeyan8174]

I didn't even know people liked this video. This is awesome.

[@JimDarkmagicThe4th]

I cant believe you havent done The Dillinger Escape Plan yet.

[@JM-ll6hd]

Jim Fear or 43% burnt

[@poorlake8107]

I second that

[@JimDarkmagicThe4th]

@@JM-ll6hd Id be okay with something from their later albums too. Prancer is a hell of an opener.

[@para_bellum_1984]

Or at least one of Pennie's solo's where he does the perpetual 5/8 thing with his feet. One of the most inspiring things I ever saw when learning to play drums so I'm biased.

[@deadmanwithpitchforkarms8376]

I love "When I lost my Bet", it would be cool if he did that one too

[@Wheelfall]

YES ! It is one of my favorite videos on youtube for sure, the alchemy between the two musicians is astonishing

[@devinguy]

oh damn, please react to Sol Niger: Within, Fredrik Thordendal's solo album that this is essentially a medley of.

[@marcissobadass]

That's what I'm saying!! That is one of the coolest albums ever. I think they are working on another one now.

[@coloripple]

@@marcissobadass damn i hope so! Def one kf my fave albums of all time!

[@ZetroDrummer]

He is... In fact that's why he is not touring with meshuggah. He's been working on the album for a long time so I guess it's gonna be some crazy shit.

[@JesseKennedydrums]

This video is a classic! Every time I come back to it I’m blown away!

[@Unearthlywhales]

oh yas boiss. I still watch this on the regular.

[@celestialaeonproject]

So glad you got around to watching it and had a blast! Morgan is one of those players who manages to roam "freely" even in the craziest stuff without making it feel and sound too mechnical and "drum machine" like, it flows and stays in the realm of human expression and chaos in a good way. I personally admire especially his wonderful touch and skill with which he can take the craziest singles and just scale them down in volume to this tiny small almost unheard level of quietness and still make it shred like no end. Just beautiful

[@celestialaeonproject]

In many ways especially with drums there is a valid question: "can you play it quiet as well"? And Ågren for sure can

[@mcmlxxxviimcmxcvi8641]

What you watched there is only rhythm guitar and drums. On the original record there's much more going on. 🙂

[@o-REDBEARD-o]

Like torture noises! Fun for the whole family!

[@danielkoster8510]

@@o-REDBEARD-o how ignorant hahaha. Although that may be right to some extent, those vocals only make about 3% of the whole musical experience that is Sol Niger Within

[@o-REDBEARD-o]

@@danielkoster8510 its a joke bro i love the album. but the torture noises are 100% there.

[@jayess7350525]

@@o-REDBEARD-o I've read turtoise and I was confused

[@MichaelAE]

A friend of mine showed this to me when it came out. I was as blown away by it then as I am now.

[@tarkenton3895]

If you haven't listened to the full Sol Niger Within album, do it now

[@oicutle3314]

I did 6 times this week already... Please, god, spare me!

[@eidolon2226]

Just got done listening to another run-through of Sol Niger Within and then this popped up on my feed. Great timing!

[@gabemccall3523]

Thanks for this one! More Morgan and more Meshuggah!

[@MeAmSmack]

Metal-focused guitarist here. Never played drums in my life, but I’m hooked, dude. I dig your whole “thing” and I appreciate your... appreciations? Influence is everywhere if given the chance. You definitely won me over. Keep it up, dude.

[@chrisrea374]

Dude, yes, follow up on him. Pretty sure he's a jazz drummer by trade. His solo vids are pretty solid.

[@projectAcy]

bless whoever rec’d this, one of my favorite jams

[@primordials0und]

Morgan is incredible. His work with Devin is amazing; check out 66Samus's recording vlog with Devin, at the end Morgan plays some Zappa with Mike Keneally (Morgan was at one point in a Zappa cover band) and jams a bit for what I believe is his section in Singularity and it's mind melting.

[@chickenblaster]

Holy hell, what a brilliant drummer!! In awe of his chops!!

[@markbonafede]

Check out some cymbal work by Darkside of MGLA in Exercises in Futility V from Brutal Assault 2019.

[@geise69]

I like Funfetti cake. And I fucking love your channel! Awesome man! Had this album since 97 and I'm so happy that people got you to finally watch this. Morgan Agren and Mats Oberg are my favorite musicians. Keep doing these awesome videos!

[@MaglorMusic]

This is parts from Thordendal’s solo album.

[@chilesuicmez]

MaglorMusic rumor say sd2 is coming out

[@neitsabesreihtuor8861]

Thank you sir for this!! Loved your reaction again!

[@WarmthandMischeif]

You have to react to Sean Reinert drumming in his old band Cynic.

[@JM-ll6hd]

No way he wouldnt love Reinert.

[@jasonbanks7082]

I told him that too

[@TheAbsorbant]

Agreed.

[@efphy6219]

Big agree

[@daniellopez-oz8ip]

How could i

[@00Dakka]

no kidding seeing this video on youtube when it was first uploaded like 10 years ago changed the way I thought about music

[@kylemisch6761]

What a fantastic review! The whole album is Sol Niger Within. It's a bomb-ass album I would give it a listen anytime you can! Any ability to do Travis Orbin?

[@garrettmillerdrums]

Orbin is in progress, will be posted later this week or next.

[@kylemisch6761]

@@garrettmillerdrums Woohoo!! You're the best!

[@kylemisch6761]

garrettmillerdrums Second question if you’ll allow it, I’m not sure if anyone has ever asked you or if you’ve addressed it, but do you take students?

[@_CoasterNinja]

So happy you reacted to this!

[@WebsterA]

While I love Chris Pennie's DEP contributions, I'd like to see a reaction to Billy Rymer playing Prancer.

[@efrainmendoza5223]

WebsterA yes duuuude!! Chris Pennie or Billy Rymer for sure!

[@seanclements3783]

Ditto!

[@underscoreisnotvalid]

Chris pennie x100000000 also Gil Sharone’s reggae grooves

[@Enthalpiste]

Billy is a beast, would surely like to see one reaction on his stuff.

[@DimitriFantini]

crazy throwback to my childhood watching Drummerworld - love Morgan Agren!

[@mrwinged9833]

its a jam over thorrendals solo album riffs, fking amazing

[@paulodandrea4247]

Agren it's in that record as well

[@nOise_Ton]

Amo os seus videos e aprendo muito contigo, Obrigado!!!

[@Ryguypie17]

Please react to Baard Kolstad from Leprous playing "Moon" or "Coma" when you can! Great stuff.

[@Bethrezen78]

Or mirage :D

[@scosstard3542]

Any playthrough from from Baard Kolstad will do :P Illuminate, COMA, Rewind, Moon, The Price, Mirage

[@bassheadjazz2708]

Yes! The price or Mirage

[@freezingmoon5663]

Yes please hehe

[@haake7137]

Amazing work as always.

[@nissyenarts]

Aric Improta is a must. He's a true virtuous on the drums. Including amazing synthie elements.

[@snshinethewerwlf]

Second this.

[@davsan3570]

Thank you to everyone who pushed for this one. Man his reactions were fantastic. I was anticipating a reaction at 3:40 and his was perfect.

[@davsan3570]

:(( hehheh what? like exactly.

[@willpestka2745]

You should do a supplimental video after each reaction where you attempt to learn a part of the song. Would be awesome to see!

[@EyeAmMyOwn777]

So awesome to see you review this! Those single (one-hand) rolls are a mixture of singles and gravity rolls, if I'm not mistaken. His control with those, coupled with incredible independence is what left me speechless the first time I saw it.

[@manifestgtr]

Dude, I TOTALLY understand your “where’s one?!” then being annoyed at those who “can’t possibly fathom” the idea that this stuff sounds really wild to people who don’t listen on a regular basis.

[@PallesWorld6309]

I`m a SWEDE and we are a tricky people😁😂 this was on a education channel on TV called Utbildningsradion (UR)...pretty cool.

[@Krapvag]

he's touring Europe with Devin Townsend where they're going to be improvising every show

[@masensmith4226]

Wait so hes ok the whole DT tour?

[@Krapvag]

yep, he's the drummer for the dt tour

[@MaxwellBergen]

Thanks for reacting to this!

[@RagnarRipper]

Morgan played a show with Zappa in his teens, when Zappa toured Sweden once. Definitely check out his project Mats Morgan where he plays with a blind keyboarder. Also, if you ever feel like doing Meshuggah again, check out either New Millennium Cyanide Christ or Dancers To A Discordant System ❤️

[@barianiluca]

Sol Niger Within is a kind of music without time. Something like classic music. Music that still forever. And ever. And ever. And ever. Another level.

[@LpGruto]

Please react to Jamie Saint Merat from Ulcerate: ULCERATE - Dead Oceans [Live Drum Playthrough]

[@tacklemcclean]

Fun fact, this was a part of the drum program TRUM on UR (Utbildningsradion - education radio), on SVT Sveriges Television - the equivalent of NPR basically (but on TV of course). The show is a mix of performances and drum school lessons. Which is kinda funny with Morgan Ågren as the host who'll do something like "ok kids this is a one handed drum roll".

[@Farrahtinsley218]

I remember when this video came out on KZbin and all the commenters were pissed about how Fredrik’s top three strings are taped having no idea that he’s one of the most interesting and compelling lead guitarists in metal. He can shred with the best of em yet shows here that just because you’re not raping your fretboard doesn’t mean you aren’t doing something complex and amazing. Speed isn’t everything. Although here in Morgan’s case it is!

[@hakkenarsk]

Yeah, and this vid has nothing (pun intended) to do with Fredrik, it's all about Morgan and his excellence. It's a show about drums, not guitar. Those discussions were awful and showed how little people understand about true brilliance.

[@human3442]

amazing

[@juancarrasquel1610]

They are not just 2 people, they are aliens from out space.. 👽

[@beaverdammed4594]

This is the best reaction video...... period

[@Schatje79]

Garrett: I'm about to find one!! Thordendal: Agren, he says he's about to find one... Agren: Fuuuuuck yo couch!!!!

[@LaniakeaLeathercrafts]

I love this series you're doing! Glad it popped up in my feed. If you're looking for more suggestions, Aaron Stechauner of Rings of Saturn is pretty nutty and has a couple playthroughs that destroy!

[@noonenow8515]

If I remember correctly, this was with a single kick pedal.

[@harveytrevino2257]

These two are seriously machines in human flesh. Morgan is absolutely insane with his approach to timing, but seems to just be the breed that people around the bubble of Meshuggah seem to possess.

[@seanm1233]

Check out Eloy Casagrande (Sepultura) playing “Manipulation of Tragedy”. Insanely good drummer with interesting rhythms🤘🏼

[@bassmania84]

this is from the album sol niger within and its a medley of a bunch of tracks specifically arranged together and yes they did learn that, other than some of the drum solo stuff, the guitar and the timing and sequences are 100% set in stone.

[@kevinkuypers9445]

"On a scale from 1 - 10, how good is Morgan agren?" - "Yes."

[@fifthfloorwanker]

About tree fiddy

[@gregerkihlstrom915]

All of them...

[@8man943]

yes yes yes yes YES!!!

[@PurpleDreki]

I really like your analysis of these types of rhythms! I have learned a lot from watching, even though I am a guitarist! Thank you brother!

[@jungobungo327]

Billy Rymer- when I lost my bet

[@giuartista2911]

You know the reaction is gonna be hardcore when the drummer says "Where is 1" 😈😈😈

[@TheDwuetyloamid]

Please react to Alex Rudinger - Fast Worms (Intronaut)

[@DEATHMETALRUST]

I haven’t seen this video he is watching in a long time. Its a classic.

[@TheTrveMothlord]

Gonna keep recommending Jamie Saint Merat of Ulcerate. Absolute necessity!

[@jaysonmerritt6666]

Dude is a beast on drums

[@DrMurdercock]

I never met a non musician that liked this album, if you are a non musician and see this and like it, please let me know. Seems like this album is a album for musicians

[@samvelpoghosyan5806]

wrong

[@andreasjohansson1952]

I actually saw this particular episode on TV when it was aired. This session was "Exercise of the day" lol.

[@mrwinged9833]

WOOOOOAHHHHH incredible video, morgan agren is god

[@extirpatebabel]

That was dope! I remember watching this video on an internet cafe during my high school years because we had no internet at home. It still makes me feel like I am watching it only for a second time. So fresh and heavy and technical. Thank you. Let's do Archspire next 😁

[@bleh8789]

You should definitely react to John Longstreth or Darkside from Mgła! Preferably both, these 2 are great

[@Ryo7_7]

That's been one of favorite vids for awhile. 🤘🏾

[@mylessterrett]

“The frame rate was not high enough.”

[@Achielezz]

"I was just about to pick it up and they just came along and kicked it out of my hands." Perfectly describes the situation :D

[@RazZoswe]

For anyone curious: Ågren sounds more like "oh-gren". What Garrett is saying is more like Ögren. Though Morgan should probably consider a name change, I like Garrett's version better ;D

[@peppepop]

Ya, - or "aw-grehn"

[@francesboy2]

When I was learning Swedish I was taught å is pronounced like 'oar' without the R. :)

[@VergaHumeante]

Instant like. Gold stuff here.