During a recent interview with Metal Injection, Meshuggah drummer Tomas Haake was asked what he thought was the best “gateway” song to introduce people to the band. Haake ended up mentioning “Bleed” (which is from the band’s album obZen, and is easily their most iconic track). That said, while Haake did suggest this song, he also shared that he is not super fond of playing it anymore.
Per Haake talking about “Bleed”:
“In a sense, that would have to be ‘Bleed.’ Any 30 seconds of ‘Bleed’ basically, as long as the kicks are going like they’re going. I wouldn’t say… it’s not really what the band is about necessarily, but as a teaser, yes. [When people] hear that the first time, it’s like ‘what the hell?’ So in that sense, I guess [‘Bleed’].
“On a personal level, I mean obviously I wish I never had to play ‘Bleed’ once in my life. But here we are. We have to do it. But personally for me, I have other aspects of the band I really dig that are way slower and maybe atmospheric and stuff like that. Like ‘Nebulous’ off of the Nothing album, which is like, slower and drudgier and really downtuned, and creates a completely different vibe in a room than a song like ‘Bleed’ would do.”
On one hand, we can understand where Tomas is coming from. While on tour, a band is only able to play a limited number of songs, and while Meshuggah have so many songs under their belt – to be repeating the same one constantly could understandably be a drag. That said… “Bleed” is just such a fucking awesome song!
What are your feelings on this, and more specifically – How do you feel about bands/artists who continuously play fan favorite songs? Do you think bands/artists should play whatever they? Below you can check out our interview with Tomas Haake we conducted earlier this year (as well as other Meshuggah related stories).
Watch: Producer Creates Symphonic Remix Of Meshuggah Song ‘Bleed’ And It Sounds Ridiculously Epic
Watch: Comedian Bill Burr Talks Tool’s Danny Carey Being Blown Away By Meshuggah