Meshuggah - Rare Trax (CD)

All Music Guide

As the name implies, Rare Trax is a compilation of hard-to-find tracks from the distant Meshuggah past. Included with a digital reawakening of the band's limited-to-1,000-vinyl-LPs debut (known as Psykisk Testbild even though it was technically eponymous) are demo cuts culled from throughout the band's history. It is interesting how the likes of "Sovereigns Morbidity" have an Exodus-like quality to them, especially since the band has since left such influences behind, and the self-effacing self-penned liner notes are amusing. However, Meshuggah has progressed to a much different (dare say, better) place over the years, and like most odds-and-sods comps, Rare Trax is best saved for nostalgic completists.

- Brian O'Neill, All Music Guide