Dude, I play several instruments, including drums, took theory courses, have done performing, the like. More than that, rhythm is my life, I judge headphones largely by how well they represent the rhythm section. The issue is that people get so dazzled because OMGPOLYRHYTHMS like that's such a radical concept that I seriously feel like no one cares that their songcraft is severely lacking.
Yeah, I'm as IMPRESSED as anyone else with Tomas Haake's ability to play hertas at top speed in a 4/4 polymeter during Bleed complete with ghosts on the snare, but that doesn't mean it's fun to listen to for six minutes. I love me some monotonous death metal (seriously, I adore the dumbest slam/BDM out there), but I have a real distaste for any music that feels like I'm supposed to be so wowed by the skill of the players that whether or not the songs are any good falls by the wayside.
The thing about good songwriting is they don't just go "here check out this odd time signature" and just stop there, they use the odd time sig to do something. Tool is kinda overrated, but Schism is a great example because it layers multiple sigs throughout itself but actually gives some melody to justify it beyond complexity for its own sake. March of the Pigs by Nine Inch Nails did something similar by doing what is, depending on your preferred way of looking at it, either three bars of 7/8 followed by one of 8/8 or one giant bar of 29/8 but unless you're actually counting beats you probably wouldn't notice. Why? Because the song came first. Songs should always come first.
Sorry, I don't mean to rant, and sometimes I enjoy a little Meshuggah, but I think it's almost entirely because their production is incredible. It's VERY heavy and crushing. However, if I'm looking for that kinda sound, I'll go with Gojira.
