Destroy Erase Improve

Destroy Erase Improve is the second full-length album by Swedish metal band Meshuggah. It was released on 12 May 1995 by Nuclear Blast. This is the first studio album to feature rhythm guitarist Mårten Hagström and the final to feature bassist Peter Nordin, as he left the band during the supporting tour due to vertigo.

Destroy Erase Improve
Studio album by Meshuggah
Released	12 May 1995
Recorded	February 1995
Studio	Soundfront Studios (Uppsala, Sweden)
Genre	Progressive metal groove metal thrash metal avant-garde metal
Length	46:31
Label	Nuclear Blast
Producer	Daniel Bergstrand, Meshuggah
Meshuggah chronology
Selfcaged (1995) Destroy Erase Improve (1995) The True Human Design (1997)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]
Pitchfork	7.9/10[2]

Legacy

Describing the record as "one of the 90's definitive metallic works", Kevin Stewart-Panko argues that Destroy Erase Improve's unique fusion of genres amounted to a new "watermark" for heavy metal upon its release.[3] Metal critic Martin Popoff regards Destroy Erase Improve as the first clear demonstration of what would become the quintessential Meshuggah sound, wherein "stutter gun" riffs and "upset apple cart time signatures" are featured alongside "bone-breaking" percussion, an approach which resulted in considerable influence in the development of genres like mathcore and djent.[4] Popoff suggests that Destroy Erase Improve is the clear linchpin of Meshuggah's particular style, a "specific, nearly absurd proposal that only this band has dared to own."[5]

The album was ranked number 42 on Rolling Stone's 50 Greatest Prog Rock Albums of All Time list.[6] In 2017, Rolling Stone ranked Destroy Erase Improve as 77th on their list of 'The 100 Greatest Metal Albums of All Time.'[7]

Track listing

All lyrics are written by Tomas Haake, except where noted; all music is composed by Fredrik Thordendal, except where noted.

No.	Title	Lyrics	Music	Length
1.	"Future Breed Machine"			5:48
2.	"Beneath"			5:38
3.	"Soul Burn"		Haake Thordendal	5:17
4.	"Transfixion"		Hagström Thordendal	3:33
5.	"Vanished"			5:04
6.	"Acrid Placidity"	(instrumental)	Hagström	3:15
7.	"Inside What's Within Behind"		Kidman Thordendal	4:30
8.	"Terminal Illusions"	Kidman		3:47
9.	"Suffer in Truth"	Kidman	Kidman	4:19
10.	"Sublevels"			5:14
11.	"Humiliative" (Japanese bonus track)		Kidman Thordendal	5:15
12.	"Ritual" (Japanese bonus track)	Kidman	Kidman	6:15
13.	"Gods of Rapture" (live, Japanese bonus track)			4:55

Personnel

Meshuggah

• Jens Kidman – lead vocals
• Fredrik Thordendal – lead guitar, rhythm guitar, synthesizers
• Mårten Hagström – rhythm guitar
• Tomas Haake – drums, voices
• Peter Nordin – bass

Production

• Daniel Bergstrand – mixing, engineering, production
• Fredrik Thordendal – mixing
• Meshuggah – production, cover design
• Peter In De Betou – mastering (at Cutting Room, Stockholm)
• Stefan Gillbald – cover artwork

References

1. https://www.allmusic.com/album/destroy-erase-improve-mw0000174601
2. https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/22142-25-years-of-musical-deviance/
3. Stewart-Panko, Kevin (2009). Mudrian, Albert (ed.). Precious Metal: Decibel Presents the Stories Behind 25 Extreme Metal Masterpieces. Da Capo Press. p. 213. ISBN 9780306818066.
4. Popoff, Martin (2003). The Top 500 Heavy Metal Songs of All Time. ECW Press. p. 342. ISBN 1550225308.
5. Popoff, Martin (2004). The Top 500 Heavy Metal Albums of All Time. ECW Press. p. 305. ISBN 1550226002.
6. "50 Greatest Prog Rock Albums of All Time". Rolling Stone. 17 June 2015. Retrieved 31 August 2015.
7. http://www.theprp.com/2017/06/21/news/rolling-stone-share-choices-100-greatest-metal-albums-time/