Meshuggah was a competitor robot that fought in both series of Dutch Robot Wars. It lost in the Heats in both of its appearances, but received a wildcard into the Series 2 Grand Final, where it was defeated by Scrap-2-Saur despite causing severe damage to it.
The team was good friends with the Twisted Metal team. Two of Twisted Metal's team members humorously acted as Meshuggah's "bodyguards" in the Grand Final, and blocked the camera in the control booth after Meshuggah's humiliating loss.
Meshuggah was named after a popular Swedish extreme metal band. It is also a word from the Yiddish language that roughly translates to "crazy" or "ridiculous".
Design
Meshuggah in Series 1. Note the red pin
Meshuggah was a large invertible robot which was similar in design and build to the Series 6 incarnation of UK competitor Wild Thing, with two-wheel drive and a vertical spinning disc made out of titanium from a fighter jet. The disc was unreliable and prone to failure, even failing to work before its first ever match. However, when it did work, it was capable of causing major damage and flipping other robots over.
In Dutch Series 2, Meshuggah featured a pair of wheelguards either side of its chassis, in order to protect the wheels from being damaged.
Robot History
Series 1
Meshuggah, being attacked by Dead Metal
In its first round battle, Meshuggah faced X-Bot. Its disc was not working prior to the fight, so the team kept its locking pin in place to prevent it from being damaged. Weaponless, Meshuggah tried to push X-Bot around, but broke down and was counted out by Refbot. It was placed on the Floor Flipper, and thrown, before Dead Metal grabbed it and pushed it into the pit, driving in itself.
- "3...2...1...Flyyyyy like an eagle! Yeehaw!"
- — Eric Corton, as Meshuggah flies on the floor flipper
After the battle, Meshuggah had technical problems, and was forced to withdraw from the Losers' Melee, leaving Maximum Torque and Pika 2 to fight alone.
Series 2
Meshuggah throws The Lethal Swan over
Meshuggah returned for Series 2, and faced The Lethal Swan in its first round battle. It started more impressively here, using its flywheel to tear into The Lethal Swan's front armour and rip its tail off. Another couple of hits resulted in Meshuggah flipping The Lethal Swan over, before tearing off one of its self-righting wings in the process. The Lethal Swan could not self-right using its axe, so Meshuggah advanced to the second round.
Meshuggah and Lizzard in a battle of strength
There, it met Lizzard, the unofficial first seed. Meshuggah came in with its flywheel spinning, and managed to tear Lizzard's tail off. However, the impact caused its flywheel to stop spinning, leaving it defenseless. Meshuggah spent the rest of the match being pushed around by Lizzard and whacked by its tail, until the battle ended and went to the jury's decision. The jury ruled that Lizzard won, with Meshuggah temporarily eliminated.
The pit descends below Meshuggah.
Despite this defeat, Meshuggah was reinstated in the Grand Final after being given a wildcard. In its first Grand Final battle against Scrap-2-Saur, Meshuggah used its flywheel to shred away at Scrap-2-Saur while flipping it over. Scrap-2-Saur self-righted, and managed to flip Meshuggah, but Mesguggah was not affected and continued tearing away at Scrap-2-Saur, catching it each time Scrap-2-Saur tried to flip it. Successive attacks forced Scrap-2-Saur's polycarbonate panels loose, before Scrap-2-Saur pressed the pit release button just as Meshuggah drove over the pit square. The pit descended, and Meshuggah descended with it, eliminating it from the championship once again.
Results
| MESHUGGAH - RESULTS | ||
| Series 1 | ||
| Dutch Championship Heats, Round 1 | ||
| Heat C, Round 1 | vs. X-Bot | Lost |
| Heat C, Losers Melee | vs. Maximum Torque, Pika 2 | Withdrew |
| NOTE: Before the battle had started, technical problems forced Meshuggah out of the competition, leaving Maximum Torque and Pika 2 to fight alone. | ||
| Series 2 | ||
| Dutch Championship Grand Final, Round 1 | ||
| Heat A, Round 1 | vs. The Lethal Swan | Won |
| Heat A, Semi-Final | vs. Lizzard | Lost |
| NOTE: Meshuggah received one of three wildcards into the Grand Final | ||
| Grand Final, Round 1 | vs. Scrap-2-Saur | Lost |
Wins/Losses
- Wins: 1
- Losses: 3
Series Record
- Series 1: Heat, Round 1
- Series 2: Grand Final, Round 1
Trivia
- Like Rammstein, Meshuggah shares its name with a metal band.
- This makes Meshuggah one of three robots to be named after a hardcore band, the third being Suicidal Tendencies.
- Meshuggah's vertical disc weapon was made of titanium, and originated from an F-16 fighter jet.
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