Biography

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Mårten Hagström, (born 27 April 1971), is the rhythm guitarist for the Swedish experimental metal band Meshuggah. He joined the band after the release of their first album, which allowed Jens Kidman to focus on his vocal performances. He is known for his strong and complex rhythm guitar playing. Hagström has cited Rush, James Hetfield, Squarepusher, Autechre, Strapping Young Lad and GISM as influences.

In a Metal Injection interview he has said, "You can't play an instrument for the technicality of it. It's a tool you use it to get what's in here and here [heart and mind] out there." He has also said when he was growing up, everybody in Sweden was trying to be a guitar virtuoso. This made him want to be solely a rhythm guitarist.

Although fellow Meshuggah guitarist Fredrik Thordendal plays most of Meshuggah's guitar solos, the two of them share songwriting duties more or less equally, with Hagström notably contributing "Nebulous" from Nothing, "Acrid Placidity" from Destroy Erase Improve, and "Neurotica" from Chaosphere. Hagström has also stepped out of his role of playing rhythm guitar with the release of Meshuggah's obZen album by playing the slower, melodic leads on the songs that he wrote, such as "Electric Red" and "Pravus".

In addition to this, he has contributed lyrics to some of the bands later releases, co-writing Catch 33 with Meshuggah drummer Tomas Haake and penning the entirety of the words for their abstract EP I. Hagström and Haake have been playing music together since they were nine years old.

Hagström, along with Fredrik Thordendal, were rated #35 by Guitar World as the top 100 greatest heavy metal guitarist of all-time.

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