“Tosin Abasi told me once, the first time he heard us, he said, ‘This music is broken’”: Meshuggah's Mårten Hagström reflects on changing the face of metal guitar

Mårten Hagström and Tosin Abasi .

Few bands have influenced the modern metal landscape quite like Meshuggah, both in terms of sound and gear. Now, guitarist Mårten Hagström has reflected on how the band changed the face of metal guitar – and blew Tosin Abasi’s mind in the process.

There’s a whole generation of metal and prog-adjacent virtuosos currently changing the guitar game that get woozy when it comes to the Swedish heavyweights. Periphery’s Misha Mansoor, Polyphia duo Tim Henson and Scott LePage, and Plini, who “grew up” on Meshuggah, are all big fans.