Fredrik Thordendal's Special Defects, the project of Meshuggah's guitarist Fredrik Thordendal, released its only album in 1997. The album, Sol Niger Within, was re-released in a few variations between 1997 and 1999, two demo songs titled "33" and "Secrets Of The Unknown" were recorded in 2001, and then the project was pretty much done.
Now in 2017, a few curious things have happened. First, Thordendal sat out Meshuggah's summer tour for unspecified reasons. Second, the Special Defects Facebook page has intermittently been posting pictures throughout the year that make it look like they've been in the studio.
Oh, and now the project has posted a very album cover-looking picture with absolutely no context at all. We're not explicitly stating that there's 100% a new album on the horizon, but it looks promising, right? The 1997 album featured Thordendal on bass, guitars, and vocals, and featured drummer Morgan Ågren (Casualties of Cool, Kaipa, Mats / Morgan Band), as well as Meshuggah drummer Tomas Haake doing a little voice over work.
