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WHAT DO YOU THINK OF FELLSILENT?

 Monday, March 9th, 2009 at 1:57pm by

fellsilentThere are a LOT of Meshuggah rip-off bands these days. Tons of ‘em. But accusing a band of sounding like Meshuggah is a pretty damn fine compliment, and if you asked the lads in Fellsilent what they thought of this comparison they’d likely have an answer similar to Airbourne’s Joel O’Keefe when we asked him about being constantly compared to AC/DC:

It doesn’t matter who you are, you are going to get compared to somebody. To be compared to the best rock and roll band in the business, who are still going today and are about to release another album, there is no higher compliment. I could list a thousand bands that I would not want to be compared to. There are a handful that any band does [want to be compared to]. If you get compared to a band like AC/DC or Motorhead or Rose Tattoo or Iron Maiden or Metallica, you can’t be doing anything wrong because that’s real rock and roll.

Meshuggah certainly don’t have the legacy of AC/DC but in certain circles they’re just as revered. So, that brings us to Fellsilent, the latest in a large stable of excellent new bands signed to Sumerian Records (one band excepted).

They sound like Meshuggah. A LOT like Meshuggah, but with some occasional melodic / God Forbid-like parts sprinkled in here and there for a little variety. They’re certainly quite competently skilled musicians and what I’m listening to on their MySpace page right now sounds damn good. Because, ya know, Meshuggah does it damn well too. So do Fellsilent get a hall pass because they so expertly emulate a band so revered, or does this kind of emulation get a “fail” no matter who it is simply because it isn’t original? You tell us.

-VN

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  • http://www.myspace.com/1033metal Jackson

    Good, but I’d rather just listen to Meshuggah and I have no problem with two vocalists but I think it hurts them. I’m sure just like every other sumerian band they will be (at least here in MN/mid west) way over hyped and made out to be a 100x better then they really are.

  • http://www.myspace.com/whiskeyrambleproject x101whiskey_ramble101x

    so….. didn’t crazytown have two singers…. or was that just shuvel and linkin park? I fucking hate stupid shit…love meshuggah but HATE stupid shit

  • ajihadonmymom

    Not an automatic fail, but kind of disappointing. I like my meshuggah riffs sprinkled with allan holdsworth goodness.

  • http://www.myspace.com/whiskeyrambleproject x101whiskey_ramble101x

    soooooo, I’m back…just listened to what I thought was gonna be whoreable but it tured out to be worse than I thought… the vocals are shitty fucky dude! I think Serj pulls that off by himself…. weak! music isn’t bad but wow, they sure do have 2 shitty vocalists

  • justin

    this band is even worse than abacabb. my old band played a show with abacabb a few years back and they were even worse then than they are now. i’ll take meshuggah 1000:1 over this.

  • benbag

    good u.k band
    also like the arusha accord, tesseract (another meshuggah-esque band), sylosis, viatrophy, traces etc

    u.k metal is finally stepping up in the metal world

  • nice

    Not bad. You guys should take a look at conducting from the grave. Best and most original sumerian band imo

    • meshugga < fellsilent

      dude your opinion sucks. I checked them out, they were fucking awful!!! stock 6 string C minor Open to 8 to 10…. open 8 to 5…. open 8 to 10… blah blah. stock stock.. fucking lame. Stole born of osiris;s cover as well. fellsilent is better that meshuggah just btw.

  • HagstromSpeed

    The high pitched vocalist sounds like a dying witch going through a divorce, choking her soon to be dead husband lol

  • Polska

    @ nice
    agreed about conducting from the grave. their Trials of the Forsaken EP was superb.

  • Sammy

    Not…gonna…say…it….

    Okay fuck it! I’ll be the d-bag to do it. I wish they would fall silent.

  • http://img120.imageshack.us/img120/82/image1llrk5.jpg Revrant

    Aww, they look like a little metalcore Jonas Brothers, aren’t they adorable, they play so well too, man, such a good effort, I’d urge them into a nice rock motif, you know, give a few BJs for a spot on MTV’s countdown show, get back to just general blowjobs for shows, and then sit on a fat load of a cash wondering if you’ll ever get the taste out of your mouth.

    That sort of thing would be good for them.

  • joshc

    sounds like they couldnt find a vocalist with any range so they just got two guys with no range. two vocalists is cool if it adds to it, if you need it just to be at par its a little dumb.

    music is pretty cool though, if unoriginal. obviously talented dudes.

  • josh

    I think textures do it better but these guys aren’t as bad as some of the other bore core going around these days

  • Seth

    Meshuggah are kings. In my opinion, it’s idiotic to play music that even sounds like it’s influenced by Meshuggah – they are so in their own world/league, it’s just pointless to play anything like it. When Steven Wilson put his little “Meshuggah-part” into the song Anesthesize, it made me hate the song, and him.

  • james goldhammetberg

    Speaking of wonderful fantastic sumerian bands conducting from the grave is top of the line metal.. one of my faves

  • Uglymicrowave

    the Only band that can pull off two vocalists is DEFINTLY…SIKTH

    That’s the only UK band worth listening too

  • I

    This is what it would be like if you took a Meshuggah cover band and combined them with the singer of At The Drive-In and added a 2nd rate screamo singer. Shit.

  • I

    Correction, I was thinking of Refused, not At The Drive-In.

  • cosk!

    ^ ^
    oh I was gonna say, why you gotta bring cedric into this, but i get you now.

  • Astraea

    i guess contrary to everyone here, i like it. being compared to meshuggah is a good thing, but you cant throw every band in the gutter because theyre doing the whole polymeter deal. yes meshuggah are the best at it, no doubt, but there is nothing wrong with other bands wanting to mess with timing too.

    tesseract, the guiterist acle’s other band, is phenominal and way better than fellsilent. i just wish they would freakin finish their album already.

  • Astraea

    guitarist* ^

  • xCOOCOOKALx

    Dude in the middle has quite a honker. Silly big in fact.

  • Kichacid

    I have to agree with Astraea, Tesseract is way better than Fell Silent. They have Meshuggah vibes, but it’s mixed with a lot more melody and clean guitar / vox.
    Even though their debut is taking a millennium to make.

  • Rich

    Fellsilent are a great band, especially considering they’re so young and have only just released their first album. There’s definite Messhugah parts but, as is mentioned in the post, they do it far better than the vast majority of other bands that try.

  • Doomedhippie

    Messhugah comparison is becomming a little boring! Why, if a band uses polyrhythms or sycopation of any form then they sound exactly like Messhugah? I don’t see the simalarities at all. Tone, pace, vocals are all completely different (unfortunately vocals in a very bad way!) with Fellsilent. Not a bad album, not sure why they need 2 vocalists when they sound pretty much the same! but the guitarists side project TesseracT, in my humble opinion, are a lot better as people have said!

  • Doomedhippie

    *syncopation!

  • Anselmowitz

    /\ Dude, Its Meshuggah, it is a clone of a completely original band. Deny all you want but Meshuggah own the drone, nobody has earned what they have. Its been 14 years since Destroy Erase Improve & only now are kids catching up.

    This band is less original than Ektomorf. Sound fail, musicianship win. I might give them another go a few albums in, but pretenders to the crown are just that.

    And 2 singers equals = 2 roadies.

  • razorsharp codpiece

    Its been 14 years since Destroy Erase Improve & only now are kids catching up.”

    Hahaha, so fucking well put.

    After listening to 2 songs on their myspace I’m intrigued, I could get into this honestly. Granted Meshuggah are in a category with the Illuminati and the free masons at this point, haha. But a year or two ago it was VERY rarely you’d hear a band do even a shit ape job of a Meshuggah type riff or song. So I’m welcoming this influx of bands incorporating this type of sound because as far as I’m concerned, it’s one of the freshest most aggresive and least explored facets of metal. If one of the singers got shot though I wouldn’t know the difference, and I don’t think the fruity scene chorus’ belong in what are otherwise good songs.

  • http://jonasbrotherslogo.blogspot.com/ Damian Ferguson

    i cant wait to see the jonas brothers 3d conert experience! this song is the best!!

  • djentmaster

    fellsilent is good. if you dont like it whatever. if your looking for other good sumerian bands definitely Conducting from the Grave, also Circle of contempt. Tesseract id good (guitarist Acle is also in Fellsinlt but recently left). Monuments and Textures are also good.

  • Chris

    All of these bands that choose to rip-off Meshuggah, simply lack originality. While they are good Musicians, bands such as Fell Silent, tesseract, Periphery, etc. They somehow cannot figure out there on sound. Alot of these guys are just wanking anyway, and have no idea of good song writing or song structure. Periphery doesnt live up to the hype live at all with their new drummer. You cannot really see the ultimate point in the polyrhythms, because the drummer sort of just freestyles at shows. Not really following the pattern.

  • ProgMetaller

    Okay, so i don’t understand how every band that chooses to play in a polyrhythmic manner automatically becomes classified as a “Meshuggah rip-off.” Just because Meshuggah was the first band doing this, ultimately innovating an entire style, does not mean that every band listened to them and then said “We should sound like that.” It also does not mean that they are the best at doing it. People improve on techniques over time. Personally, I’ve been playing Progressive Death Metal for years upon years now and had not listened to Meshuggah until reading this thread. I was disappopinted after all of this hype. Now, I know I’m going to get flak for that; some Ignoramus will inevitably post “WHAT?! You don’t like Meshuggah?! You must be a fucking pussy that doesn’t know real metal!” Well, to each their own. If I don’t like it what does that have to do with you? Exactly.
    Now, when I listened to Fellsilent (after listening to Meshuggah) I cannot hear the resemblance between either band so I think it was very ignorant of the journalist to post something like that. When you listen to Meshuggah you hear Thrash-derived metal focusing on the polymeters, and the polymeters alone. When you listen to Fellsilent you hear a much more melodic style of metal. You still hear the polyrhythmic styles but its a complete different take.
    The vocals of Meshuggah are a complete different style. They include a heavier shout as opposed to scream and have tone, such as thrash metal once again. Fellsilent uses a screaming technique derived from diaphragm compression as well as fry screaming as WELL as clean vocals.
    There is literally NOTHING tying these two bands together aside from polyrhythmic song structure.
    Both are great in their own respects, it depends on what you listen to/your tastes.
    There you go :)

    • Henry

      ProgMetaller, well said. I’ve seen Fellsilent at our local venue and they were tight as hell. They’re a good band.

      • brent

        Well said indeed (for the most part.)
        I AM, in fact, a fan of Messhuggah. “I” is a masterpiece. Fellsilent aren’t really all that similar. These sumerian groups that are surfacing today (most of them being labeled as “djent”) aren’t really occupying the same space, in my opinion. The focus is on integrating the 7 or 8 string guitar sound into a more melodic structure. Meshuggah always seemed to be about using the rhythmic interplay almost INSTEAD of a real melodic presence. Listen to a song like “Bleed” for an example. That song is primarily in the same note!
        And on a side-rant: Textures have received a minor shout-out at a few points in this thread, almost as an afterthought. I’m sure it’s just my own twisted take on what they’re doing. Just like ProgMetaller, I’m bordering on sacrilege here, but Textures do the polyrhythm thing in a much more interesting way than Meshuggah ever did. Although I’m sure they wouldn’t have gotten there without the influence.

        • ProgMetaller

          Thanks guys, and nice djent reference ahaha (I’m curious as to where that started… was it Periphery?) I’m not going to lie I didn’t post arrogantly I actually DID listen to every Meshuggah CD all the way through, believe it or not! They have so much music, but when it’s ALL based on polyrhythm it just sounds the same to me. I gave them a chance I just couldn’t get into them because I prefer music that has more of a focus on melody. Nonetheless, Meshuggah did influence all these new bands either directly or indirectly, innovating a genre. But I agree with you entirely.

  • Marchosias

    I don’t know why everyone’s comparing this band to that band and that band to this band these days. While it is true that, as Coalesce so eloquently put it (and titled a cover album) there is nothing new under the sun, anymore, it seems like metal and like music has the feel of a competition rather than just making music that sounds good. Every corner that you turn, all are accused of ripping off this band and that band, and so on and so on. I guess the next step is to “rip off” meshuggah further and start putting out polka albums in an effort to one up and strive for whatever title is out there to be sought. Without limiting this band to just a meshuggah rip off, I think it’s actually a damn fine piece of work, and I can’t wait to see the string of insults that follows my comment.