On a calm, quiet April 1st evening in Chicago, the city remained still. Well, except at the Aragon Ballroom, where one of the heaviest metal tours of 2025 shook the very foundation of the Windy City. Swedish metal giants Meshuggah unleashed an earth-shattering performance that could have registered on the Richter scale. But the chaos didn’t stop there. English metal legends Carcass and the notorious Cannibal Corpse theoretically set the stage on fire. These legends made the night an unforgettable assault on the senses.
Denim-clad fans filtered into the Aragon, the opening chords of AC/DC’s Back in Black blaring through the speakers, setting the stage for Carcass’s high-octane set. At 7 p.m., the legendary death metal band exploded onto the stage, delivering a blistering performance that was short but devastating. Each razor-sharp riff cut through the air, electrifying the crowd of headbangers and screamers. Carcass tore through their set relentlessly, leaving the audience wondering how anything could top this chaos.
About twenty minutes later, when the main event took to the stage, we found out.
Just before 8 p.m., the lights cut out, and the Aragon erupted in thunderous roars. It felt like an army of demons was about to invade as chants of “Cannibal! Cannibal!” filled the venue. In a dark, commanding manner, frontman George Fisher took the stage, exuding an intimidating presence. The moment Cannibal Corpse’s bone-crushing riffs hit, Fisher launched into a headbang that could rival any in history. As he later joked, he’s the best headbanger around—and it’s hard to argue with him. Cannibal Corpse dragged the crowd into the deepest, heaviest corners of music, as the sheer intensity of their set sent crowd surfers flying over the barricade. It’s wild to think that these two powerhouse acts were just warming up the crowd. Carcass had torn through their set with surgical precision, and Cannibal Corpse unleashed an earth-shattering force. How on earth could Meshuggah possibly top this?
As Meshuggah’s set time neared, the energy in the crowd reached a fever pitch. Fans, drenched in anticipation, sweltered in the increasingly hot, sticky air. When the house lights cut out for the final time, the roar that followed was deafening, with chants of “Meshuggah! Meshuggah!” flooding the venue. After what felt like an eternity of build-up, blinding lights exploded across the stage as they kicked off with “Broken Cog.” As the band ripped through the song, bassist Dick Lövgren, guitarists Mårten Hagström and Fredrik Thordendal, and frontman Jens Kidman stood frozen, imposing as monoliths. Throughout the entire set, they remained statuesque, letting their music crash over the crowd with brutal, unrelenting force.
Meshuggah obliterated every song in their career-spanning setlist, with each track echoing their far-reaching influence on the metal world.
Their signature complex polyrhythms still hit as hard and fresh as they did in the late ’90s and early 2000s. What’s evolved is their powerful production—blazing lights and pulsating lasers synced perfectly to their intricate rhythms, turning the entire show into an overwhelming sensory assault. The Aragon Ballroom was transformed into a whirlwind of controlled chaos as mosh pits erupted, crowd surfers soared, and fans furiously headbanged. The relentless intensity of each Meshuggah track only added to the sensory overload. This was especially evident during “Rational Gaze,” where the song’s furious onslaught never relented, growing louder and more chaotic as it stretched on for a full five minutes. The music seemed to stretch time—so ferociously energetic it made the minutes feel like an eternity.
Despite their minimal movement on stage, Meshuggah’s presence was undeniably mesmerizing. Their sheer intensity was intimidating—impossible to look away from and even harder to shake off. It’s hard to believe five humans could produce such a frenzied sonic assault, yet these five metal titans stood tall, delivering an unforgettable, spine-chilling experience. The encore, featuring “Bleed” and “Demiurge,” was the perfect way to cap off the night of destruction. While it’s safe to say everyone left the venue in one piece, it’s also safe to assume some wondered if they’d make it out unscathed. Meshuggah offers a one-of-a-kind metal experience—one that’s survived, not just witnessed. This tour is bound to leave an indelible mark on every city it touches, and Chicago was fortunate to bear witness to the chaos.
All photography by Oscar De Leon
