There is a amusing irony in the moments leading up to the start of a live Meshuggah set. As the stage lights gear up and everyone takes their positions, the heavy, sultry saxophone of George Michael's "Careless Whisper" blares from the PA. Whether it is for effect or some kind of inside joke, the end result is a sort of sonic tranquilizer - an easing of the tension as the fans on the floor prepare to brace for impact. 

Barreling into "Broken Cog" from their latest full length, Immutable, Swedish progressive metal titans Meshuggah quickly shifted the ambiance of the Kia Forum from dreamy to devastation as the track detonated the arena floor. 

Unloading a blitz of the band's most enduring entries, tracks like "Rational Gaze," "Combustion," and "Born In Dissonance" proved colossal as the unit worked in lockstep to lay waste to the iconic Inglewood venue. Compiling a kind of live retrospective in what played out like a greatest hits set, "Kaleidoscope" from 2022's Immutable was positioned opposite "Future Breed Machine" from 1995's Destroy Erase Improve - and yet the performance never ran afoul of feeling disjointed or inconsistent. 

Capping off their stage time, Meshuggah's coup de grâce was an encore performance that leveed two of the band's most annihilating anthems at a capacity crowd already on the ropes. 2008's "Bleed" from Obzen was the kind showing that reaffirmed the Swedish pillars as living legends - powerful, precise and pummeling with every sharp musical corner turned.

Ending with "Demiurge" from 2012's Koloss, Meshuggah completed the conquest with a closing number that left no doubt of the magnitude and ritual of their live set. 

Combined with superb supporting sets from legends in their own rite in Cannibal Corpse and Carcass - Meshuggah's 2025 North America trek defies superlative. 

See the live images from Maurice Nunez below. See the remaining dates and cities following the gallery. 

MESHUGGAH 

CANNIBAL CORPSE

CARCASS