Meshuggah interview - Tomas Haake about Bleed
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- Опубліковано 12 тра 2010
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Video interview with Tomas Haake from metalband Meshuggah. FaceCulture spoke to drummer Tomas Haake from Meshuggah about his early drumming years, Rush, learning and rehearsing, different aspects of the ObZen album, the song Bleed, writing lyrics, the song Bleed, the upcoming live DVD and lots more.
![Tomas Haake (Meshuggah) - drumtalk [episode 50]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/ba2X4r12lv4/mqdefault.jpg)
![Tomas Haake (Meshuggah) - drumtalk [episode 50]](/img/tr.png)
"One of the strongest tracks on the album"????
HOW ABOUT...ONE OF THE STRONGEST TRACKS OF ALL TIME.
mathprodigy if you think it's one of the hardest tracks of all time then you need to listen to more music.
He said strong, not hard. It was such a HUGE track to drop. This band really set the bar high and kinda paved the way for new bands in this genre. This song especially influenced many metal musicians. I would define that as a STRONG track
mathprodigy for sure. The amount of ghost notes played with his left hand while playing almost constant 16th notes in groupes of 3 while playing the kick pattern of 16/32 displaced bass note herta is absolutely fucking incredible. A true legend right there, for sure set the bar higher.
Scott Bowers basically started djent lol
and now kids call Meshuggah a Djent band..which makes me lol..
THE DRUMMER JUST SAID THAT THIS SONG WAS TO HARD FOR HIM AT SOME POINT.....NICE TO KNOW THAT.....
N O B O D Y C A R E S A B O U T Y O U R O P I N I O N
well it seems like a few people did including you.....
WHA -T-ABO-U-TAL-L-THE-W-EIR-D-WRI-T-ING ?
Hey man, some songs ARE hard for musicians who write them, he just accomplished what Vinnie Paul couldn’t even do.
Hes the creator. A good artist will always challenge himself. Ofcourse it was hard when he was making it. Now he does it with his eyes closed and half asleep.
he didn't give up the song and it became a legend, as a guy not really interested in this genre, bleed blew my mind and instantly made me a fan of the band and the genre.
+Efe Öztürk same
+Efe Öztürk 7 dakıka olunca bıraz sıkıyor be hacı
Efe Öztürk I agree when I heard the song I was just Blown Away Big Time being a drummer and knowing what he's doing with his feet and the guitars and bassist are following on those rhythmic patterns it's just unbelievable when I work out and I'm doing heavy squats and I need a lot of anger to push a lot of weight that's the song I go to and it works every time, what a freaking drummer and what a band!!!!
Good comment, Efe. I love comments like this because it shows your open mind. Those moments where we realize we're open to something we never believed we'd be open to are magical and life-altering moments because THAT is when we grow. Kudos to you for being open to something most who repel from extreme metal would ever consider. Pretty cool!
Likewise🙌🏽🔥🤘🏽
His legs must be fucking ripped.
+DomSchu You are fascinated with his legs aren't you, in almost all Haake's vids i've seen, you are talking beauty and lovely sexual things about the "southern part of his body" Ha ha ha. i spotted you. I hope you are a girl, so no problem you naughty.... My english sucks i know but you catch my idea
Tracker lol, I'm a dude, and I'm not gay. I just think it't incredible that he can keep up this beat for 5+ minutes. And I did happen to play along with it as a joke on another thread.
+DomSchu I can barely do it for 10 seconds, it's amazing!
+Shining Armor That's because you're a horse
DomSchu I feel ya. His stamina is awesome.
It must feel like crossing the finish line of a marathon every time they play this song live
every time they play live i think hahah
It's pretty freaking awesome live! Saw them live earlier this year and they played Demiurge then straight into Bleed (done masterfully)
Or like running for your life continuously.
I get out breath and winded just watching him play this
At this point it must have become second nature, people DEMAND this song and they have to include it in every setlist, there have been countless playthroughs and events where he had to play it, it's their main staple. I'm almost annoyed at how much people default to Bleed when it comes to Meshuggah. Yes it's incredible but they have better stuff.
Must be cool to be THAT good at something.
what's the name of the species that's nesting on your scalp jared
Gary White its more then just learling
It really is dude,I'm so good at having a massive shlong it hurts.Not me.... the ladies😁
A lot of drummers can be that good it's about patience and persistence but yes, even if you get that good at playing this song, Thomas Haake was that good First!
@Gary White he just stated that it must be cool to be that good
He didn't say he was born like that
My favorite thing about bleed is how huge it sounds,
You nailed it
"Huge" is the best word to describe it. Nicely put indeed
It's doesn't sound Huge it Sounds Colossal
It's a rare thing to hear a top-tier musician say he is still humbled by his instrument. Respect, my dude.
Inspirational
That's how you know he's a great musician!
Does he have any idea that he is a god? So humble and honest about his struggles. None of us are worthy.
Sean Cannon
Naah, he's great, but he's no Thomas Haake.
The Swedish Jantelag at effect! "don't be better than anyone else, don't be excessively proud of yourself, don't brag and remember that you're actually nothing really special" lol :(((
in Norway it is called "janteloven" which is the same haha.
And the author is actually Danish so we both lost this one...
I remember reading about this in a book when I was thinking of visiting the country. Quite something. Humble is fantastic but I think that takes it too far, to almost shame yourself as a person. It's debatable though. I see the point.
everyone talking about double bass, but nobody talking about the possessed garbage dumpster in the background at 3:10
hahahhahahaha
It’s hiding from Thomas because it’s not worthy of being in his presence.
😂😂😂😂😂
SpOOky
MotoX Champ lmao
Beast of a song, and even more beast of a drummer. Bill Burr's description of Bleed pretty much sums it up.
I completely agree with this guy. The first time I listened to Meshuggah I was blown away by the sheer intricacy of the songs. Sure, the playing and style seems all ones and zeroes, but just try and memorize the order of those ones and zeros that go by 300 times per minute and are barely uniform. I know it's not the best metaphor but it's what I see in my head when I try to think about the structure of any Meshuggah song.
Tomas has always been a super humble dude, I just love his "frank" way of explaining his technique.
All the Scandinavian Countries speak great english because it is taught in school at a young age and is just apart of the everyday talk. Many other countries do not put english at such high priority. When i traveled to Italy i had trouble finding anyone to speak english to. So not all countries are big on english. But Scandinavia is for some reason.
swiftyrocks08 They're world renown for their education there, and I assume they realize that English is starting to become a more popular language, so that's probably why I'm guessing they teach it.
Very true. I wish America could take notes from Scandinavian Countries and make the changes that our education system needs. But America is a very suborn country. And there are many hidden forces at work that keep things the way they are for reasons we may never understand. My theory is that education is such a low priority, so that America can get more people from other countries to do the advanced jobs, while normally educated Americans are forced to work at basic minimum wage jobs. Just imagine an America where the majority of people were highly educated. There would be a shortage of people willing to do the manual labor jobs and minimum wage work. And minimum wage work is the majority of work unfortunately. This country needs a serious increase in the minimum wage if we want the economy to ever fully rebound. And increased minimum wage would make a little dent in the wealth gap in this county. It wouldn't be much. But it would be better than where it is at now. The rich currently have all the money, while the poor are left struggling week to week and day to day. We live in an upside down system.
swiftyrocks08 Raising the minimum wage wouldn't even be necessary if the rich actually did more to help the poor. Lots do, don't get me wrong (Bill Gates is the best example) but others just roll in their money and keep it to themselves. Money corrupts, and corruption is the death of anything productive.
+swiftyrocks08 There's a couple of other reasons besides education. Our languages are pretty similar to English (probably more similar than German and Dutch, even though these are in the West Germanic family with English, and we're in the North Germanic family), so it's easier for us to learn. Also, we don't dub films and tv shows like many European countries do, and we consume a lot of American and British entertainment :)
+Frostliche Very true. It's why us Irish were able to take up the English language fairly easily, despite us not wanting anything to do with it at the time.
And when you're impressed by his drumming skills, you also remember that he writes the vocal lines and the lyrics. This man is a God
Bleed is the gateway of complex metal, amazing
its refreshing to hear that someone that legendary still strugles with mastering material, cuz he honestly couldnt look more comfortable playing it
I still think this is the hardest song to learn and play. Not just on your own either that is half the battle, try getting 5 guys to all learn it and play it perfectly together!
neoncat45 I think Rings of Saturn and Oceans ate Alaska have the hardest songs to play
ENTITY
@@floralfire then you prob havent been drumming that long or listening a lot to metal... I went and checked them out and they are pretty good, but nothing on this level and they def would not even have existed without bands and drummers like this.
i'm even not able to tap it with my hands...
Alessandro Mola
It really isn't THAT hard to not be able to tap by hand :P
Well it's actually easy to tap it with your hands :P
Or you know, considering a herta is a thing in it's own right, just play a herta. ;)
Lol
Van Allen wrong
To me, this is one of the greatest songs ever recorded. Years later and I’m still in awe.
this song alone made me a meshuggah fan. this is a rad fuckin tune. \m/
One of the most impressive bass playing I ever heard.
Steve Vai:
"I recently just heard the solo record of Frederik Thordendall from Meshuggah. That guy is absolutely incredible, I have never ever heard anything like it, that guy is brilliant. " "I have every Meshuggah record. "
Where'd you hear this?
@@DanteLikesRock
Source: dude trust me
I feel like what he did on this song cemented him as one of the greatest drummers of all time
Alex Hammons absolutely
Indeed.
When Tomas Haake says it was difficult for HIM to learn to play Bleed and then says it’s the riff that makes the song stand out most. What a dude 🖤✌🏻
This masterpiece is greatest example of the 'HERTA' Drum rudiment that's ever been..Tomas Haake: genius
A tip for any *drummers* trying to play this song - he uses a augmented technique of heel-toe. Similar to a rocking motion, it utilizes otherwise wasted momentum to add other quick kick on the overlaying triplets.
I'm still working on the song myself, stamina is my main issue, but after figuring this out I was doing much better!
Don't be discouraged if you can't get it right away like other songs, this is literally a milestone for most hardcore metal drummers. Stick with it and practice!
Yes that's right. It was the left foot that took me so long to get. Tomas does left heel up (as in the Wincent live video) but I found the floating rocking motion to fit better for me for both feet. Fuck it took forever to get though, over a year of regular work on it. I also found my shins took ages to build stamina, calves don't seem to cop it too much at all.
Keep at it man, you'll get there for sure.
Sick shit!!
lol at stamina comment - i am a guitarist and i know that feeling in my wrist when i'm just too tired to push the frets down anymore. i can only begin to imagine drums exhaustion 😅
I just began trying to learn this song on drums and it’s a butt kicker, but in this song the left kick is so fast it forced me to work on my left foot speed which has really helped my double bass drumming.
Sick. This comment was 4 yrs ago. I hope by now you can play it in your sleep.
When I first heard this song, I thought, There's no way this could be played on drums without a trigger or with a programmed drum machine. Now that I know the kick drum riff is only played with two feet, I'm even more impressed than before. (And playing this on guitar? One thing at a time, please!) Trying to figure out this rhythm and how to count it has made my head feel almost the same as when I try to contemplate nothing existing (No stars, no galaxies, no universe, NOTHING. Try it if you never have. It's a quick, easy way to dip your foot into the pool of confusion and madness.). Pure chaos set to a head-bang inducing metal song. AWESOME!
Wow, I used to obsess over the nothing concept as a young child. It does make you feel quite mad.
While playing this song is quite the feat, understanding the rhythm is easier if you hear it 4 - the basic riff from the beginning is the main one. The rest of the song is a variation off of that main riff. That's what's happening in a lot of their music. If you can understand it in your head and in your body, that will help. The other way of doing it is break the basic riff into rhythms in different time signatures (that eventually all add up to 4/4). I like hearing their music in 4.
except triggers have nothing to do with ability and everything to do with sound
Every death metal drummer has triggers
Nah, just because the 4/4 groove stays constant, you HAVE to know the underlying patterns. The first is verse is really 6/8 (threes), the second verse is really 10/8 (fives) and i believe it's the guitar solo that is 27/8 (7-7-5-3-5). You don't just FEEL this stuff to perform it, you have learn it, and then after you master it, you can just FEEL it.
To even come up with this is mindblowing, then playing it live.. wow
Tomas Haake is an amazingly talented drummer and very humble. I always enjoyed watching Joey Jordison and Chris Adler, this man is just another level
Tomas is BEYOND for sure.
You said it. NEXT LEVEL
Hey!! All my 3 favourite drummers! 😃🤘 RIP Joey...
This and 'The Demon's Name is Surveillance' are my 2 favourite Meshuggah songs
Same! Like a train-wreck. Albeit a tight, controlled one
GwilsonDrums The double bass NEVER STOPS at that song!
Hats off to him for even entertaining the idea of playing that for 6 mins.
Duck sake! What a master! Took years too appreciate this!
I'm so I glad I was where I was when ObZen came out. 21 years old in music school and they toured to my city in Tampa. It was fucking nuts to see this live on the album tour.
What really gets me about this song is that I learn something new about it every time I hear it. It seems like a simple song at first, especially to my non-musician friends, but there is so much music there to take in.
Look at him. He doesn't brag, doesn't need that, he's not afraid to say what it's hard for him, and the great thing is that he is a fucking god on the drums.
When i Hear any sabbath riff And this song its incredible you realice how picking has evolved, amazing.
This interview is one of the greatest motivation videos of all time.
This song is nothing less than legendary. I'm so surprised they even doubt to add it to the album. Also, that's so beautiful to see an artist give such hard work and succeed to push his own limits and technics. That's so inspiring and make me want to mimic that. Great work Tomas, that wasn't vain !!!
What a great musician. I’m not a drummer but he really explained his trepidation and expanding his technique to learn this. I loved this.
Tomas is such a machine! :D
I've seen Meshuggah live two times by now, and both times they played Bleed absolutely flawless. It's almost scary to watch - such tight musicianship and massive intensity
It was indeed inspiring and refreshing to know that someone who is at the top of their game still needs to "train" and "practice"....that they just can't sit down and bang stuff like this out without a herculean effort. He is an amazing drummer, and deserves our respect!
Awesome to see musicians talking about one of their songs and explaining how it felt and meant to them.
Had the pleasure of seeing this guy at download festival 2018, I'm a drummer myself but after seeing how easily he plays with time signatures, I felt like a guy that can kinda play the triangle, incredible drummer and will forever be a drum God amongst many
Some AWESOME guys in this band!!!
They are THE LOUDEST BAND that I've ever seen live!!!
MUCH LOVE FROM PENNSYLVANIA, USA!!!
Domari Nolo
PA III
Just a brilliant song. Thank you Tomas for sticking with it.
Great foot work ! Seeing this for the first time. Wow anyone who can play this song with out messing up is a foot master!
I seriously think more about this song than about anything else during a day.. it's not just tones and sound I like, it makes me feel really great
I'm not even a drummer but I'm amazed by this guy
This guy is so modest. I Can tell he a legend
2:27 haha now i'm imagining someone tap dancing to "bleed". MOST BRUTAL DANCE RECITAL EVER!!!!!!!!
Seems like such a grounded man, very humble. But as an onlooker what he did with this song made waves across the drumming community. Mike Mangini played this pattern in a solo in 1997, but Tomas made it HIS with this song. Respect to the man!
It's very refreshing to hear that even Tomas Haake struggled with Bleed. Maintaining balance on the throne while leading with both feet at high speed for an extended time is very very tough. I love when really incredible drummers reveal that they had to practice something for a long time, as Chris Adler has discussed as well. How do you get to Carnegie Hall? Practice.
So glad I've been able to see this song live! Meshuggah is fuckin BRUTAL in person
What a naturally humble person.. it's true that only ones who are exposed to such depth of knowledge are the ones who appreciate the vastness of the universe and their own insignificance are able to remain down to earth like him.. but he's not only exposed, he's mastered his universe yet remains so humble.. makes one question his own arrogance and relevance in the scheme of things of nature and life..
wow great interview !
interview about a hard song.
interviewee: "it was really hard to learn."
captions: "it was really hard for the guitarist."
Haake is a fucking machine and still fascinates me to this day! Keep it up sir :D
I can't imagine Obzen without this song. It's my fav song of all time, me thinks. :)
Ok now I feel better
I've been struggling on that song for such a long time. Now I know the legend himself struggled.
Song gives me fucking goosebumps everytime. So fucking sick!!
He's totally aware how masterful the drums are on this song. Love it.
The guitar solo is just as incredible, great band!
I'm so glad they decided to release the song. Bleed was a game changer.
Yes, I have acknowledged this like a month ago. He is being courteous. Right on Steve.
Even his hoodie is complex.
I love how humble he is about the whole thing. What he does during that song is INHUMAN, and it’s 7 & half minutes long. He’s definitely got robot legs.
the drummer i've been tudoring had been feeling cocky lately. so i gave him this song as homework. told him to take it 1 minute at a time
week one: came back with a chip on his shoulder
week two: came back frustrated, but after i showed him that it would be easier to carry the upbeat by switching his drive from his right to his left foot, walked out with a new chip on his shoulder
week three: came in with tears in his eyes. "i can't do it. i just can't....."
Just saw them in Michigan. They didn't play Bleed but it was the best concert I've ever been to. And they're in their 50s.
He knows he had the hardest time with the song. He knows he had the hardest most bad ass role on the whole song. He knows his feet are what make this song so fucking bad ass. But he’s so humble and cool that he gives credit to everyone else as well. That’s how drummers should be behaving! 🥁🥁🥁
Bleed is the most bad-ass song ever, and seeing an interview like this just makes you appreciate it more than you would only listening to the track.
Such an underrated drummer imo. The man is a god.
One of the greatest metal songs period.
He’s so humble. You know he had it the first time he played it…
Great musician, Great personality ❤
Thats proffecioalism to take it on, not many drummers would have made this live, and ive seen it live, hes on point every second.
@ Justice4AllOne
Yea, makes u feel better to know that even the best drummers and percussionists have to practice at it just like the rest of us. I must say though, I like how Haake explains his practicing techniques in this interview, because that is EXACTLY how I had to change my bass drum technique when first learning advanced double bass patterns, I struggled getting it down for a while because it would always seem like my left foot couldn't keep up with my right since it had more experienc
thank God that he did manage to do this song..its one of their best songs ever!
Tomas is being so modest here. This is the most insane drumming track ever
I love how that wall of sound just bowls you over right from the get go.
And then you see him play it live and he looks all mellow. That’s supreme internalization.
It's awesome how he portrays the difficulty of the song. He's very eloquent as well. Now all we gotta see is the length of his secret 3rd (knob) drum stick. :-D
First Meshuggah song I ever heard, on Randy Blythe's radio show on Sirius radio years ago. Still my favorite Meshuggah song and in my opinion, their best. Fucking shakes the earth. Badass 🤘🏼🔥
I have these old dvds with Dream Theater: 5 Years in a Livetime, Chaos in Progress and Live in Tokyo, and in the interviews they'd sometimes mention this band. Not before this year did I hear Bleed on YT, and I am very interested in them now. I am always late at finding bands: Pantera I didn't find until 2004-5-ish, and DT not before 2009-ish...
Good for you! Personally I have played for 27 years and I still have a lot to learn. The good thing about guitar playing is that you do not have to retire when you are 30-35 y like elite sportsmen/women. You get better until you get shaky hands. So keep it up and hold your head high.
Signs of a great musician.....Always challenge yourself
Incredible fantastic impressive 👍🇸🇪
I love how Tomas composes songs on his computer without knowing if it's even humanly possible to achieve that skill level in real life. He then proved that it's possible to play herta with your feet after spending months learning the technique.
The guitarist programmed it first he created the druns
So much fucking skill from this drummer!!! Definetly one of the best metal drummers in my book. 🤘😈🤘
Imagine inventing a whole new drum technique never done before just for a song. Plus Tomas Haake is a seasoned musician not new to the craft. It's amazing and this song alone took Meshuggah to new heights
It's crazy how different it sounds playing this slowly compared to at full speed
Im glad he made it. This is by far their best song for me.
Rational gaze, straws pulled at random, and perpetual black second!! Including bleed, these are the best meshugah songs!
Legend
Haake incaptures the true european spirit. humble and capable. :D really liking this guy
"Bleed is like tap-dancing"
Whatever you say, Tomas.
Best metal song of all time, period!
Yes! Toontrack made a great piece of software out of his drumming indeed!
One of the greatest of all time
so glad that this song DID get on the album
10 years later and I still cant play it properly.