Meshuggah’s lead guitarist Fredrik Thordendal has officially rejoined the band after taking a few years off from touring. Now that he’s back, the band announced that they’ve begun recording their ninth studio album at Sweetspot Studio in Sweden.

They haven’t given much away about the album yet, just saying in this statement that “there will be distortion and kicks.” When their drummer Tomas Haake told Knotfest last year that they had written most of the material they needed for a new album remotely, he had stated that it wouldn’t throw any huge curveballs, “Of course we have a certain framework that we still wanna sound like Meshuggah, we wanna have that signature sound, we want people to be able to — even if they haven’t heard the song [before] —in the best-case scenario, it’s, like ‘Oh, that’s gotta be Meshuggah,’ even if it’s a brand new thing. So hopefully that’s something we’re aiming at.”

Things are happening. As some of you figured out we have entered #SweetspotStudios and have begun recording a new album. *Spoiler* There will be distortion and kicks.

Also we have other news. Fredrik will be back… Check full statement: https://t.co/cbPziL6YOZ pic.twitter.com/wfBnSss30D

— Meshuggah (@meshuggah) March 25, 2021

Scar Symmetry guitarist Per Nilsson had been filling in for Thordendal in the meantime since the tour for their last album The Violent Sleep of Reason (2016). Meshuggah posted on Facebook that they were releasing Nilsson due to Thordendal’s return, “We are releasing Per Nilsson back into the wild to roam free in any way he sees fit. It has been a true privilege and honor to share the stage with Per and even more importantly we have made a great friend through our travels. Per. We thank you. You are a formidable human being!!”

In turn, Nilsson publicly thanked Meshuggah for the opportunity and gushed over how well his time with the band had gone. He also commented on Meshuggah’s new material, “Now I’ve heard a few of the tracks the guys have been working on and if those are any indication of what the entire album will be like then WE ARE IN FOR A TREAT.” 

He also touched on his own plans, “As for myself, I’ve now got more time and energy to focus on Scar Symmetry first and foremost, but there are also some plans for solo stuff and hopefully I’ll be able to drag my buds in Nocturnal Rites with me into the studio soon to cram out another album!”