Biography
A progessive metal band, based in Stockholm, Sweden. Guitars tuned low, jazz harmonics and a lot of things happening at the same time! Robert Luciani - vocals Rasmus Hemse - bass Leonard Eastgrove - guitars Christian Schreil - drums Bandcamp: http://meansend.bandcamp.com/
The Arc of Means End
The pivots — what forced Means End to reinvent.
The Post-Vildhjarta Fracture
After Luciani exited Vildhjarta, the mission shifted from purely atmospheric gloom to a clinical, theory-first approach to rhythm. Recruiting Christian Kälstrom on guitar provided the technical engine needed to execute riffs that functioned more like mathematical proofs than standard songs. This period was defined by a rejection of the mindless '0-0-0' chugging common in the Swedish scene, opting instead for complex polytonality and clean, layered vocal harmonies. You hear it in the way the vocals never just mirror the guitars but cut across them in entirely different time signatures.
Influences
- Meshuggah — The entire structural DNA of Swedish technical metal starts with the 'Nothing' era. Means End took the elastic rhythm concepts from Hagström and Thordendal but traded the mechanical nihilism for brighter, more varied chord voicings. It’s the foundational rhythmic grid they refuse to drift from.
- Allan Holdsworth — Luciani and Kälstrom have pointed to Holdsworth's non-linear legato and strange scale choices as a massive influence on their melodic sensibility. You hear it in the lead work where the notes seem to float over the bar lines rather than hitting the downbeats. It’s jazz-fusion theory applied to a high-gain setting.
- Fredrik Thordendal's Special Defects — The 1997 album 'Sol Niger Within' is the specific blueprint for the internal clocks these guys use. The way they layer ambient textures over frantic, shifting percussion is a direct nod to Thordendal's solo experiments. It’s the link between traditional heavy sessions and pure avant-garde noise.
- Igor Stravinsky — The band explicitly cited Stravinsky’s rhythmic displacement and orchestration as a primary driver for the arrangements on 'The Didact.' They aren't just playing metal riffs; they are trying to replicate 'The Rite of Spring' through digital modeling amps. The harmonic tension is straight out of the early 20th-century classical playbook.
- Cynic — Before 'Focus,' the idea of mixing jazz fusion with extreme metal was a joke. Means End follows the Paul Masvidal school of thought by prioritizing clean, ethereal vocal passages and highly technical, fluid bass lines. They took the 'Focus' template and updated the hardware for the modern era.
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