Jens Kidman

Jens Kidman (born 8 June 1966) is a Swedish metal vocalist. He is best known for being the lead vocalist for the Swedish experimental metal band Meshuggah. He is famous for his very aggressive shouts and screams and for his unique stage presence.

Musical career and style

When Kidman and bandmate/lead guitarist Fredrik Thordendal first created Meshuggah, he originally handled both vocal and rhythm guitar duties. He later abandoned his role as a rhythm guitarist, although he contributed guitar, bass, and drum programming on Meshuggah's 2005 studio album Catch Thirtythree.

His vocal style consists of growls, hardcore shouts and aggressive screams. Kidman's vocal style has distinctly evolved over Meshuggah's career: Earlier Meshuggah albums like Destroy Erase Improve and Chaosphere showcase Kidman's aggressive shouts and growls. In later albums such as Nothing and Catch Thirtythree, feature Kidman's distinctively harsh and robotic screams.

Kidman works with the rest of the band to make sure that his vocals take on a near-rhythmic quality when set to the music, sometimes even re-writing lyrics entirely for this purpose. The only time he is heard singing clean vocals on a Meshuggah recording is on the song "Ritual" from the EP None. He occasionally double tracks his vocals as well. He sometimes writes lyrics for Meshuggah, for example on the tracks "Terminal Illusions" and "Suffer in Truth" from Destroy Erase Improve.

He contributed vocals on the track "The Dream Is Over" from the album XIII by American alternative metal/industrial metal band Mushroomhead.

References

• Meshuggah at Allmusic