MESHUGGAH's FREDRIK THORDENDAL Talks Next Album

Guitar World magazine recently conducted an interview with guitarist Fredrik Thordendal of Swedish experimental extreme metallers MESHUGGAH as part of the regular "Dear Guitar Hero" feature (using fan-submitted questions).

When asked about whether MESHUGGAH has been working on new music and if he has any new gear he is using, Fredrik said, "Yes, we are working on a new album and have been for a long time. I'm so excited about this one. We've always tried to change how we write songs to keep it exciting, but on recent albums we've also been moving further away from working together as a band. On this album, though, everyone is working together. Every day that we're in the studio, we'll play whatever song we're working on, record a demo version of it to analyze at home, and then come back the next day, talk about it and try to make it better. I think because of this, it's going to be our best album yet.

"We don't have a title yet, but when it comes to new gear, this one is going to be special, to say the least. I'm working with DAR Amplification to make this ridiculously powerful guitar amp. It's got 100 watts of true Class A power. The tubes are from Russian MiG 25 fighter planes; they're designed to survive a nuclear blast and keep the plane flying. It will be the world's most advanced modern tube amp. But most importantly, it's designed from beginning to end for the ultimate metal tone, and it sounds awesome. Can't wait for you to experience it!"

MESHUGGAH drummer Tomas Haake married bassist Ida Evileye (real name: Ida Stenbacka) of the Swedish all-girl hard rock band CRUCIFIED BARBARA in January in Las Vegas, Nevada.

In an interview with Decibel magazine, Haake spoke about the progress of the songwriting sessions for MESHUGGAH's follow-up 2008's "obZen".

Regarding the approach to the new music, the drummer said, "Maybe not try to be as anal about every single little hit [that] has to be super-tight but be more focused on the vibe of a track and let some of those tiny errors slip through. I think that kinda breeds a bit of life into a song."

Released in March 2008, "obZen" album debuted at No. 59 on The Billboard 200 chart and at No. 14 on the iTunes Top Rock Albums chart.

"obZen" was nominated in the "Best Hard Rock" category at the Swedish Grammis awards, which was held January 7, 2009 at Hovet in Stockholm.

MESHUGGAH's first DVD, "Alive" sold around 3,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 8 on the Top Music Videos chart.

Fan-filmed video footage of MESHUGGAH's performance at this year's Metaltown festival, which was held June 17-18, 2011 in Gothenburg, Sweden, can be seen below.