On "Nothing", Meshuggah abandons the fast tempos of "Chaosphere" and concentrates on slow, tuned down tempos and grooves. The album was intended to be recorded using custom-made Nevborn eight-string guitars, but the prototypes were faulty so Thordendal and Hagström used detuned Ibanez seven-string guitars instead. This technique, which involved keeping the instruments untuned during the sessions, created additional problems. When Ibanez provided Meshuggah with special eight-string guitars with two extra-low strings that worked properly after the initial release, the band re-recorded the guitar parts for "Nothing" and re-released it in 2006. Hagström notes that this allowed the band to go lower sonically and to attain bass sounds on guitars.