Meshuggah @ The Ritz (Manchester, England) on January 19, 2017 [Photos]

Tech-metal titans, Meshuggah, released their eighth studio album, The Violent Sleep of Reason, on Nuclear Blast records in October 2016 and the opening weeks of 2017 sees the Swedish 5-piece rounding off a UK and European tour before packing up and heading to Australia for some shows.

With a fourteen song set lasting just shy of two hours, there is only one word to describe Meshuggah’s performance, ferocious. They power through the set with little crowd interaction, backed up by a light and laser show that needs to be seen to be truly appreciated and with a live sound that comes as close to perfect as I’ve heard in quite some time. Meshuggah have always sounded good on their records, but it’s when they’re in a live setting that they truly get to show what they are capable of.