Swedish metal band Meshuggah released the second single “Light the Shortening Fuse” in anticipation of their upcoming album Immutable. This release follows the album’s first single “The Abysmal Eye,” which came out on Jan. 28, 2022.
Similar to the Immutable’s first release, “Light the Shortening Fuse” also holds a dark conversation with its audience. Where “The Abysmal Eye” told a fantastical story — at least at surface-level — in its discussion of humanity’s ruin, “Light the Shortening Fuse” sets its stage in a world much closer to ours.
In its first line, it targets organized religion and more specifically Christianity: “Blinded, gagged and bound by confirmation/On this premise we iterate a lie.” As Meshuggah sees it, Christian leaders and Christianity as an organization takes advantage of its followers. They offer only empty promises in exchange for blind, often violent support: “Barren hollow words, no information…/ Made to confuse, to light the shortened fuse.”
Someone with a short fuse is temperamental and quick to anger; ultimately, they’re dangerous. Meshuggah seems to imply that Christianity is a means to weaponizing and using people: “Cherrypicking madness to the gospel of suckers…/ Bow, serve, comply.”
Meshuggah’s more direct single is a shocking addition to their discography, and it’s one that is sure to excite audiences for their album. This album comes ahead of their 2022 U.S. tour whose dates had to be rescheduled in December 2021.
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