Riff Analysis 033 - Meshuggah "In Death-Is Life"

[@stcmattb]

You and Yogev are doing the Meshuggah world a wonderful service. Thank you!

[@UncleRJ]

This madlad had been planning this entire series all along, making 32 analysis vids so he could make the iconic song of C33 on 33rd video. The dedication is maddening. Also, I like the outro. It's absolutely hilarious. I could imagine you just click around for an effect or something and just go with it without question.

[@metalmusictheory5401]

haha I'm glad someone enjoyed that, I had too much fun making it

[@zachgilbert3815]

@@metalmusictheory5401 your vids are great!

[@dan.j.boydzkreationz]

I've loved these double tracks for a decade straight

[@misomor3149]

You can tell if someone is a hardcore Meshuggah fan if their favorite album is Catch 33

[@AggieTreed]

100%. C33 and Nothing are just the purest form of Meshuggah imo

[@BM-is5ei]

The breakdown in Sum is some of the most world ending riffs i have ever heard.

[@rinzfxp]

kinda want to get the graphic at 0:33 as a tattoo

[@digikaininja5]

This is just like morse code but vertically......amazing....

[@choronzon69]

I remember the first time I heard this song and having my mind blown. Never heard anything like it before.

[@ryehlb]

Man, that riff is friggin' crazy. I tend to visualize Meshuggah's riffs just the way you do but they give me migraine. 😄 I'm also subscribed to Yogev and you both make it easier for us Meshuggah fans follow through the journey in Meshuggah's riffs and timing. Hats off.

[@yellowsaurus4895]

Ah yes, another video about a riff from a song i gave up on 😅 hands down my favorite part of catch 33, maybe even of the band's entire discography. Also cool to see that other fans also highly rate this riff; i always felt it didnt get enough love for some reason.

[@christopheroneal1179]

Shoutout to Borges on the shelf ✊

[@ilu9033]

I just love how your face always represents the pain that is understanding the insanity that are these riffs.

[@UnexpectedAmy]

I love listening to how you talk about all this! Had the same experience with first/last riff, it took so long to learn, and had to draw a similar diagram to yours. But now it just rolls off and wait for it more than most riffs in the playthrough, if I can get the first note on time. The first note, in the third riff here, when it's repeated in In Death - Is Death, defo the most transcendent note for me, just hits hard after the kind of emotional section. Great vid again dude!

[@metalmusictheory5401]

Thank you so much! Super psyched to really dig into IDID-love that return there!

[@FreepowerUG]

This is phenomenal, you're doing a great job of presenting deep analysis content and adding your humour and personality. Thank you for your channel, you're one of my favorite creators across all media 💪💪💪

[@metalmusictheory5401]

Aw, you're making me blush and making my day! Especially coming from one of my favorite channels! Anyone reading this, check out Daniel's stuff for a lot of sick riffs and insightful lessons!

[@bazdesh]

oh yeah. just a few videos away from Sum. cant wait for that being overanalyzed, hehe

[@cmloegcmluin]

great idea to hook into the speech-like nature of the riff by mapping words to it as a mnemonic device. here's my crack at it: gentle gentle gentlemen gentle gentlemanly gentle gentlemen gentlemanly gentle gentle gentlemen gentle gentleperson gentlemanly gentlemanly genderized gentle gentlemanly gentle gentlemen gentlemanly gentle gentlemen gentlemanly gentlemen gentle gentlemanly gentlemanly gentle gent magenta has been genderized gentlemanly gentle gentlemen ladies and gentlemen have been gentlemanly genderized gentle gentlemanly gentle gentlemen gentlemanly gentle gentlemen gentlemanly

[@metalmusictheory5401]

haha as the first comment to attempt this, you get the prize!

[@roseredflechette-vidya]

I made a (sort of) ternary representation of the "infamous riff" and noticed there's a pretty significant segment that is reused nearly symmetrically: This is how it was broken up in Yogev's diagram: # 2210 221210 212210 22_-- # 212120 221210 21210 2110 # 22121221120 21210 _--110 # 12120 221210 21210 21 And here is a rearrangement that makes the repeat more obvious: # 2210 221210 212210 22_--2 *_# 12120 221210 21210 21_* # 10 22121221120 21210 _--110 *_# 12120 221210 21210 21_* There's no logical demarcation to it but its nearly 1/4 of the riff and it repeats precisely, and almost symmetrically in the overall structure. i.e. 1st segment goes up to just after the 'walk-up' and then the 3rd has that (incredibly FUN) extra staccato extended cell... _Then, nearly exactly within the 2nd and 4th segments, there's this "12120 221210 21210 21" piece._ Granted, its very easy to miss using just your ears because this piece - as you pointed out with a few other riffs - sits against the backbeat differently the second time around than it does the first. As someone that does a lot of composing in DAWs, my hunch (and that's all it is, mind you) is that they had half a dozen (give or take) of these segments of the riff in the sequencer which they then overlapped/shuffled against eachother. When you do this you get interesting results with certain pieces of the riff truncating eachother, or maybe one is "masking/unmasking" the other. _Let's say for instance you have segment/cell 2 truncating segment/cell 1 by, idk... 1 bar. When they repeat, segment/cell 2 is moved back (later) by 1/2 note, unmasking or "revealing" more of segment/cell 1._ The telltale sign of this in my experience is a pattern/rhythm or riff that changes midway through itself on a given repeat, with additional notes/beats being inserted or removed before it continues with the expected remainder/whatever is left over, which gives the impression that everything after that change was originally its own separate cell or segment. SO... what's the point? Again, just a hunch, but I think this repeating segment was originally separate, and "segments" 1 and 3 might have originally been a contiguous piece. Then they dropped this other segment OVER it at two different points. The underlying piece could have been even more fully patternless, or maybe it was actually cleanly symmetrical and we can't tell anymore b/c this repeating piece is masking it at ever-so-slightly uneven points. You can achieve identical results by just having a pattern in mind and sequencing it out manually, but then you're locked into that particular permutation. The nature of sequencers unlocks a lot of additional possibilities when it comes to arranging pieces of riffs against eachother and I think that's whats happening here. I very much see a "scattered jigsaw" in this riff ;) (getting ahead of myself here, but the riffs in the first half of "Dehumanization" feel also strike me as having been composed with this technique or something similar. The difference (I think) is that in that track the permutations each get their own 4/8/16 (can't remember off the top of my head which) bars).

[@roseredflechette-vidya]

I know none of this makes the riff appreciably less "patternless" - but I figured I'd share just b/c it seemed like a reasonably likely insight into how they might have made the riff from a composition standpoint. You could hypothesize that while the riff is patternless, the method used to compose it is not, or at least, it has a logic to it.

[@metalmusictheory5401]

Absolutely! And I think that's one of the main tensions on this album, these almost patterns, or these systematic things that yield random results, and the like "calculated but not quite" way they probably composed a lot of it. Thanks for the insights, really cool way of thinking about it and very well explained!

[@Bennick323]

As a fellow English major (which I seem to remember you saying at the end of the last video), really appreciated the lyrical analysis here!

[@metalmusictheory5401]

Almost an English major (I did music and physics), but I'm glad I have the stamp of approval from an actual English major!

[@Bennick323]

@@metalmusictheory5401 Well, now you have another stamp from an actual English major! ;)

[@MrGul]

Aww, you even made the background yellow. Thank you!

[@metalmusictheory5401]

I remembered! Also I haven’t forgotten about our conversation, I plan to have something out with it in October!

[@pablomontesinos6852]

This is one of my favorite Meshuggah riffs ever! Thank you for this video!

[@ElazarY]

these meshuggah analysis videos are amazing

[@digikaininja5]

I see METAL MUSIC THEORY I click. Am cool like that. I saw your MESHUGGAH videos and Yogevs too. Both r brilliant in your epic content. I don't know what else to say, am looking at Konnokal metal (Indian ragas fused with metal) and now looking up similar stuff. Doesn't your head explode with so much clarity and in-depth knowledge of meshuggah riffs which are complex, to begin with? Low-Key Bass Demon.

[@TheApostleofRock]

The second AMP riff is probably my favorite riff of all time from any band. It just grooves so hard. The bends in the C section really are the icing on the meshuggah cake here

[@KreatorOfDeath1985]

This was the Riff that got me into Meshuggah, I thought they were just "Meh" before I heard this song.

[@rhino202]

One of the best albums ever. Thanks for breaking it, down. Love the shirt

[@Mu3mm3lm4nn]

that hips don't lie outro was gosh darn great

[@metalmusictheory5401]

Haha thank you! I was wondering if anyone would notice that

[@alirezabayat6388]

The visual pattern thing is music's return to monke and it's beautiful. Btw im the 34th comment so yeah it was me :)

[@TheBoglodite]

This is awesome. Would love to see you do Spirit Crusher or something off of Sound of Perseverance in the future.

[@metalmusictheory5401]

Did an Instagram post about Spirit Crusher back in the days before I started on KZbin, will definitely make that into a KZbin video eventually! Been listening to a lot of Death recently.

[@TheBoglodite]

@@metalmusictheory5401 hell yeah! Looking forward to that!

[@benpatterson9249]

Another excellent video. Great reads of the lyrical content as well. You had me rolling with "in death....is life?"

[@christophertorra5313]

I came on to try to get an idea of how to play this riff because I thought it may have been one of the easier ones... looks like its one of the most random longest ones haha

[@rmr5044]

Just listened to the whole album today. Total masterpiece

[@growlandroll]

The visual cues makes it easier to understand the riffs, thank you for submitting these amazing videos!

[@joshua9482]

This is so cool thx! Not to mention you brought out a cool bass to show it!

[@hermesbandofficial8551]

This video is 33ception

[@ventor11225]

You’re absolutely mad dude, really incredible stuff!

[@kuisma8]

Cool beans 🖤 Amazing interpretation of the lyrics too. Well done, sir!

[@OHBJJ9634]

That random riff from in death is death i have not figured out. Right noe im just waiting for your vid so you can explain it

[@nikhilt9671]

Amazing as always!

[@michaeldeel1592]

This is awesome dude

[@supermot34]

Great video! I could never figure out that first riff, I always assumed there was a pattern but I just couldn't see it

[@KadeKalka]

Great vid and explanation, as always!

[@Blackerer]

Silly question: since you mention Yogev, you could make a speech just by reading it konakol style, couldnt you? :D 12:55 Talking about the lyrics, it could be the classic issue of too few constraints being surprisingly similar to too many, in how boring the result is, with the greatest variety found in balance. As I am someone with computer science education, the first thing that comes to mind is the Satisfiability Problem aka SAT. It is a task that tells you to find a solution to a boolean logical expression, which is composed of variables and basic operations like AND, OR, NOT etc, or show that there is none. With a solution being in a form of assigning true/false to each variable that would evaluate to true, or show that there is no such assignment. The difficulty of the problem tends to be reflected in the number of conditions relative to the number of variables. Too few constraints, and there are likely too many solutions, too many constraints and there are likely to be none and you can go through those options fairly quickly because constraints keep limiting your options. The hardest are those with a middling number of constraints relative to the number of variables, because there is likely to be the largest number of options.

[@metalmusictheory5401]

Nice analogy! That idea of the sweet spot shows up again and again in music criticism and analysis, too-Brad Osborn calls it the golidlocks phenomenon when he talks about Radiohead, where the idea is there's just enough experimentation to be interesting but not so much that it's overwhelming. But it's also worth remembering that it depends on the listener-Catch 33 is right in that sweet spot for me and probably most people watching these videos, but what's exciting and salient for me might be overwhelming (and therefore sound repetitive or noisy) for people who aren't into metal, etc. Thanks as always for your thoughtful comments!

[@Blackerer]

@@metalmusictheory5401 Thank you :D. I guess this is valid for most creative endeavors. The same is true for video games (my area). If you dont limit yourself, you can end up having trouble settling on one idea, or end up getting into feature creep - adding features and improvements to make a perfect game. You can never finish a game like that. You cant finish a game you have 0 time/money for either, or even end up with a good game if you let only outside influence and perceptions drive it. Personally, I dont know if Catch 33 is in my sweetspot. It is definitely in my sweet interval though :D. I love how it plays with me, exactly because of what youve mentioned about predictability and randomness. I would say Portal or DsO tend to test that even further, or one can just try some appropriate jazz or even electronica to get there. I find that the metric modulation training we get from metal is actually very helpful in parsing those ;).

[@bl00dy_c4p3]

I remember trying to learn a bunch of meshuggah songs, from Sickening to I, thought I’d have this riff in the bag. I did not have it in the bag at all

[@metalmusictheory5401]

Even when you "know" the rhythm, all those little extra notes that go in between everything make it tricky-but once you get the hang of it this one isn't too bad!

[@steveb3924]

Wow I spent a few hours last night trying to get the I think 4th section of in death is death and I ended up making very similar big and small lines because I just couldn't crack how to count it

[@digikaininja5]

ALIEN MATH METAL

[@goldenhotdogs3991]

Nice carbomb shirt 🤘🏽

[@adrianthornton-mark3219]

You are awesome

[@Sagalusss]

awesome video once again. would you consider making a video on extra life's "i dont see it that way" riffs? sort of remind me of this song, mainly because the lack of repetition in a very similar sounding riff

[@metalmusictheory5401]

Ooh I hadn't heard this, this is super fun!

[@pdvirus]

Nice t-shirt!!!

[@juanborjas6416]

Please do some some Voivod, Coroner or Sieges Even.

[@rajeshhkkapoor8549]

Dude, I have subscribed. So am a noob at 53. Play bass Just getting into DAW, audio digital interface and deciphering Meshuggah and put my take on it. You n yogev r the only guys and a few rare, know Meshuggah inside out. My request is to show us Meshuggah for noobs. So please take any scale.. minor, phrygian, diminished in any key and do a meshuggah using it... Please

[@dan.j.boydzkreationz]

It needed two more comments

[@masterchain3335]

"Thirdsy." I approve.

[@metalmusictheory5401]

Thirdsy thirdsday

[@dceptcn]

My grandmother couldn't ramble on for as long as this guy.

[@cookedrums1044]

Video didnt come up in subscriptions bow, only in notifications :( maybe mention this next video

[@theolinwox]

1:18 6:34 7:56

[@michaeljohnston8891]

Do a video on the band Ulcerate

[@rajeshhkkapoor8549]

Gets easy? Internalise it? Then it just rolls off? This is what Einstein said about his relativity theory and other concepts or Ron JARZOMBEK explaining his 12 tone brutality....

[@icipher6730]

Ah yes, CAR BOOB

[@digikaininja5]

what key is this song n notes??? whats meshuggahs go to key???

[@metalmusictheory5401]

I think set theory is more useful than thinking in terms of a key; Daniel Crawford has a series of videos about their note choice if you want a deeper dive

[@megleyd]

HAHAHA

[@ThathousecatSHC]

Did you put death buckers in the beast? Also this doesn't sound like Frontierer

[@HexFent]

thanks

[@dan.j.boydzkreationz]

It needed two more comments