From the moment they crashed into the metal underground in 1991 with the unrelenting, industrial-tinged Contradictions Collapse, Swedish iconoclasts Meshuggah have been unearthing new ways to demolish existing musical standards.

But when you've already turned math metal on its head with impossible tempos, rapid-fire rhythmic shifts, and you've already pushed the parameters of extreme sound with eight-string guitars and vocal techniques that would cause most singers to choke on their tongues, it's sometimes difficult to chart a new course.

So, for their EP "I", Meshuggah abandoned their proven work method and started anew. The mini-album features a single 21 minute song that's as punishing, mesmerizing and creative as anything the band had previously recorded. And instead of entering the studio with pre-written parts, the band members spontaneously jammed it out bit by bit over a six week period.

"Most of it just flowed," says guitarist Marten Hagstrom. "It felt natural to just go with an idea and see where it would take us and not be overly conscious of what everything would sound like. We just went from one place to another to see where it would lead."

In addition to allowing Meshuggah to break down the walls sonically, "I" gave the band an opportunity to delve into lyrics as never before. As a result, the band concocted an epic, apocalyptic storyline that matches the ferocity of the music.

"The whole thing is about a self, an I, a psyche trying to decide if he is put on this earth to be a human or to be the nemesis or mankind and the nemesis on life," Hagstrom said. "Throughout, he battles with figuring out whether he's an omnipresent God willing to destroy all mankind or just a raving lunatic. So, it's a battle of personality and he finally decides he's the culmination of everything that's evil."