title: Nazareth

text: Nazareth's Christian community did not fare well under Zahir's Ottoman successor, Jazzar Pasha (r. 1776–1804), and friction increased between its Christians and Muslim peasants from the surrounding villages. Nazareth was temporarily captured by the troops of Napoleon Bonaparte in 1799, during his Syrian campaign. Napoleon visited the holy sites and considered appointing his general Jean-Andoche Junot as the duke of Nazareth. During the rule of Governor Ibrahim Pasha of Egypt (1830–1840) over much of Ottoman Syria, Nazareth was opened to European missionaries and traders. After the Ottomans regained control, European money continued to flow into Nazareth and new institutions were established. The Christians of Nazareth were protected during the massacres of 1860 by Aqil Agha, the Bedouin leader who exercised control over the Galilee between 1845 and 1870.


title: Nazareth

text: Kaloost Vartan, an Armenian from Istanbul, arrived in 1864 and established the first medical mission in Nazareth, the Scottish "hospital on the hill", or the Nazareth Hospital as it is known today, with sponsorship from the Edinburgh Medical Missionary Society. The Ottoman Sultan, who favored the French, allowed them to establish an orphanage, the Society of Saint Francis de Sale. By the late 19th century, Nazareth was a town with a strong Arab Christian presence and a growing European community, where a number of communal projects were undertaken and new religious buildings were erected. In 1871 Christ Church, the city's only Anglican church, was completed under the leadership of the Rev John Zeller and consecrated by Bishop Samuel Gobat.


title: Nazareth

text: In the late 19th century and the first years of the 20th century, Nazareth prospered as it served the role of a market center for the dozens of rural Arab villages located within its vicinity. Local peasants would purchase supplies from Nazareth's many "souks" (open-air markets), which included separate "souks" for agricultural produce, metalwork, jewelry and leathers. In 1914, Nazareth consisted of eight quarters: 'Araq, Farah, Jami', Khanuq, Maidan, Mazazwa, Sharqiya and Shufani. There were nine churches, two monasteries, four convents, two mosques, four hospitals, four private schools, a public school, a police station, three orphanages, a hotel, three inns, a flour mill and eight "souks". The Ottomans lost control of Palestine, including Nazareth, to the Allied Powers during World War I. By then, Nazareth's importance declined significantly as most of the Arab villages in the Jezreel Valley had been replaced by newly established Jewish communities.


title: Nazareth

text: The United Kingdom gained control of Palestine in 1917, the same year of the Balfour Declaration, which promised British support for the establishment of a Jewish homeland in Palestine. In the years preceding and following the declaration, Jewish immigration to Palestine had been increasing. Representatives of Nazareth opposed the Zionist movement, sending a delegation to the 1919 and issuing a letter of protest in 1920 that condemned the movement while also proclaiming solidarity with the Jews of Palestine. Politically, Nazareth was becoming further involved in the growing Palestinian nationalist movement. In 1922, a Muslim-Christian Association was established in the town, largely sponsored by the Muslim al-Zu'bi family. A consistent and effective united Palestinian Arab religious front proved difficult to establish and alternative organizations such as the Supreme Muslim Council's Organization of Muslim Youth and the National Muslim Association were established in Nazareth later in the 1920s. in 1922 there had been a small population of 58 Jews and Jewish families living in Nazareth.


title: Nazareth

text: Nazareth was relatively slow to modernize. While other towns already had wired electricity, Nazareth delayed its electrification until the 1930s and invested instead in improving its water supply system. This included adding two reservoirs at the northwestern hills and several new cisterns. By 1930, a church for the Baptist denomination, a municipal garden at Mary's Well and a police station based in Zahir al-Umar's Seraya had been established and the Muslim Sharqiya Quarter had expanded.


title: Nazareth

text: In the 1936–1939 Arab Revolt, Nazareth played a minor role, contributing two rebel commanders out of 281 rebel commanders active in the country. The two were Nazareth native and Christian Fu'ad Nassar and Nazareth resident and Indur native Tawfiq al-Ibrahim. The nearby villages of Saffuriya and al-Mujaydil played a more active military role, contributing nine commanders between them. The leaders of the revolt sought to use Nazareth as a staging ground to protest the British proposal to include the Galilee into a future Jewish state. On 26 September 1937, the British district commissioner of the Galilee, Lewis Yelland Andrews, was assassinated in Nazareth by local rebels.


title: Nazareth

text: By 1946, the municipal boundary of Nazareth had been enlarged and new neighborhoods, namely Maidan, Maslakh, Khanuq and Nimsawi, were established. New homes were established in existing quarters and the town still had an abundance of orchards and agricultural fields. Two cigarette factories, a tobacco store, two cinemas and a tile factory had been established, significantly boosting Nazareth's economy. A new police station was built on Nazareth's southernmost hill, while the police station in the Seray had been converted into Nazareth's municipal headquarters. Watchtowers were also erected on some of the hilltops around the town. Other new or expanded government offices included a headquarters for the district commissioner at the former Ottoman military barracks, and offices for the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Survey and Settlement.


title: Nazareth

text: Nazareth was in the territory allotted to the Arab state under the 1947 UN Partition Plan. In the months leading up to the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, the town became a refuge for Arab-Palestinians fleeing the urban centers of Tiberias, Haifa and Baysan before and during the Haganah's capture of those cities on 18 April, 22 April and 12 May 1948, respectively.


title: Nazareth

text: Nazareth itself was not a field of battle during the 1948 War, which began on 15 May, before the first truce on 11 June, although some of the villagers had joined the loosely organized peasant military and paramilitary forces, and troops from the Arab Liberation Army (ALA) had entered Nazareth on 9 July. The local defense of the town consisted of 200–300 militiamen distributed along the hills surrounding the town. The defense in the southern and western hills collapsed after Israeli shelling, while resistance in the northern hills had to contend with an incoming Israeli armored unit. Not long after the Israelis began shelling the local militiamen, Nazareth's police chief raised a white flag over the town's police station.


title: Nazareth

text: Most of the fighting around Nazareth occurred in its satellite villages, particularly in Saffuriya, whose residents put up resistance until largely dispersing following Israeli air raids on 15 July. During the ten days of fighting which occurred between the first and second truce, Nazareth capitulated to Israeli troops during Operation Dekel on 16 July, after little more than token resistance. By then, morale among local militiamen was low and most refused to fight alongside the ALA because of their perceived weakness in the face of Israel's perceived military superiority and the alleged maltreatment of Christian residents and clergy by ALA volunteers. The Muslim mayor of Nazareth, Yusef Fahum requested a halt to all resistance put up by Nazarenes to prevent the town's destruction.


title: Nazareth

text: The surrender of Nazareth was formalized in a written agreement, whereby the town's leaders agreed to cease hostilities in return for promises from the Israeli officers, including brigade commander Ben Dunkelman (the leader of the operation), that no harm would come to the civilians of the town. Soon after the signing of the agreement, Dunkelman received an order from the Israeli General Chaim Laskov to forcibly evacuate the city's Arabs. He refused, remarking that he was ‘shocked and horrified’ that he would be commanded to renege on the agreement he, and also Chaim Laskov, had just signed. Twelve hours after defying his superior, he was relieved of his post, but not before obtaining assurances that the security of Nazareth's population would be guaranteed. David Ben-Gurion backed his judgement up, fearing that expelling Christian Arabs might provoke an outcry throughout the Christian world. By the end of the war, Nazareth's population saw a large influx of refugees from major urban centers and rural villages in the Galilee.


title: Nazareth

text: In the first few years of its incorporation into Israel, Nazareth's affairs were dominated by the issues of land expropriation, internally displaced refugees and the hardships of martial law, which included curfews and travel restrictions. Efforts to resolve these issues were largely unsuccessful and led to frustration among the inhabitants, which in turn contributed to political agitation in the city. As the largest Arab town in Israel, Nazareth became a center of Arab and Palestinian nationalism, and because the Communist Party was the sole legal political group that took up many of the local Arab causes, it gained popularity in Nazareth. Arab political organization within Nazareth and Israel was largely stymied by the state until recent decades. Arab and Palestinian nationalist sentiment continue to influence Nazareth's political life.


title: Nazareth

text: In 1954, 1,200 dunams of Nazareth's land, which had been slated for future urban expansion by the municipality, was expropriated by state authorities for the construction of government offices and, in 1957, for the construction of the Jewish town of Nazareth Illit. The latter was built as a way for the state to counterbalance the Arab majority in the region. Knesset member Seif el-Din el-Zoubi, who represented Nazareth, actively opposed the Absentees' Property Law, which allowed state expropriation of land from Arab citizens who were not permitted to return to their original villages. Zoubi argued that the internally displaced refugees were not absentees as they were still living in the country as citizens and wanted to return to their homes. Israel offered compensation to these internal refugees, but most refused for fear of permanently relinquishing their right of return. Tensions between Nazareth's inhabitants and the state came to a head during a 1958 May Day rally where marchers demanded that refugees be allowed to return to their villages, an end to land expropriation, and self-determination for Palestinians. Several young protesters were arrested for throwing stones at security forces. Martial law ended in 1966.


title: Nazareth

text: As of the early 1990s, no city plans drafted by Nazareth Municipality have been approved by the government (both the British Mandate and later Israel) since 1942. This has left many people in Nazareth who vote in the city's municipal elections and receive services from its municipality effectively outside of the city's jurisdiction. Such areas include the Sharqiya and Jabal el-Daula quarters which are in Nazareth Illit's jurisdiction and whose residents had to acquire building permits from the latter city. Similarly, the Bilal neighborhood of the Safafra Quarter is located within Reineh's jurisdiction. In 1993, the residents of Bilal became official residents of Reineh. Nazareth's municipal plans for expansion prior to the establishment of Nazareth Illit, were to the north and east, areas that the latter city now occupy. Arab satellite towns are closely located to the north, west and southwest. Thus, the remaining area within the city's municipal boundaries available for expansion were to the northwest and the south, where the topography restricted urban development. After lobbying the Knesset and the Interior Ministry, el-Zoubi was able to have areas to the northwest of the city annexed to the municipality.


title: Nazareth

text: In the 1980s, the government began attempts to merge the nearby village of Ilut with Nazareth, although this move was opposed by residents from both localities and the Nazareth Municipality. Ilut's residents were included as part of Nazareth's electorate in the 1983 and 1989 municipal elections, which Ilut's residents largely boycotted, and in the 1988 national elections. Ilut was designated by the Interior Ministry as a separate local council in 1991. The Israeli government has designated a Nazareth metropolitan area that includes the local councils of Yafa an-Naseriyye to the south, Reineh, Mashhad and Kafr Kanna to the north, Iksal and Nazareth Illit to the east and Migdal HaEmek to the west.


title: Nazareth

text: As the political center of Israel's Arab citizens, Nazareth is the scene of annual rallies held by the community including Land Day since March 1975 and May Day. There are also frequent demonstrations in support of the Palestinian cause. During the First Intifada (1987–1993), May Day marchers vocally supported the Palestinian uprising. On 22 December 1987, riots broke out during a strike held in solidarity with the Intifada. On 24 January 1988, a mass demonstration attracted between 20,000–50,000 participants from Nazareth and other Arab towns. On 13 May, during a football match in Nahariya, a riot broke out between Arab and Jewish fans, resulting in a Jewish man being stabbed and 54 people, mostly Arabs, being arrested. A rally in Nazareth on 19 May followed, in which thousands of Arabs protested against "racist attacks" against the Arab fans and discriminatory policies against Arabs in general.


title: Nazareth

text: Preparations for the Pope's visit to Nazareth in 2000 triggered highly publicized tensions related to the Basilica of the Annunciation. In 1997, permission was granted to construct a paved plaza to handle the thousands of Christian pilgrims expected to arrive. A small group of Muslims protested and occupied the site, where a nephew of Saladin, named Shihab al-Din, is believed to be buried. A school, al-Harbyeh, had been built on the site by the Ottomans, and the Shihab-Eddin shrine, along with several shops owned by the waqf, were located there. Government approval of plans for a large mosque on the property triggered protests from Christian leaders. In 2002, a special government commission permanently halted construction of the mosque.


title: Nazareth

text: In March 2006, public protests followed the disruption of a prayer service by an Israeli Jew and his Christian wife and daughter, who detonated firecrackers inside the church. The family said it wanted to draw attention to their problems with the welfare authorities. In July 2006 a rocket fired by Hezbollah as part of the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict killed two children in Nazareth.


title: Nazareth

text: In March 2010, the Israeli government approved a $3 million plan to develop Nazareth's tourism industry. New businesses receive start-up grants of up to 30 percent of their initial investment from the Ministry of Tourism.


title: Nazareth

text: Two locations for Nazareth are cited in ancient texts: the Galilean (northern) location in the Christian gospels and a southern (Judean) location mentioned in several early noncanonical texts.


title: Nazareth

text: Modern-day Nazareth is nestled in a natural bowl which reaches from 320 metres above sea level to the crest of the hills about 488 metres. Nazareth is about 25 kilometres from the Sea of Galilee and about 9 kilometres west from Mount Tabor. The major cities of Jerusalem and Tel Aviv are situated approximately 146 kilometres and 108 kilometres respectively, away from Nazareth. The Nazareth Range, in which the town lies, is the southernmost of several parallel east–west hill ranges that characterize the elevated tableau of Lower Galilee.


title: Nazareth

text: Nazareth is the largest Arab city in Israel. In 2009, the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics reported that Nazareth's Arab population was 69% Muslim and 30.9% Christian. The greater Nazareth metropolitan area had a population of 210,000, including 125,000 Arabs (59%) and 85,000 Jews (41%). It is the only urban area with over 50,000 residents in Israel where the majority of the population is Arab. The greater Nazareth metropolitan area includes Nof HaGalil, Yafa an-Naseriyye, Reineh, Migdal HaEmek, Ein Mahil, Ilut, Kafr Kanna, Mashhad and Iksal.


title: Nazareth

text: Nazareth is home to the largest Arab Christian community in Israel, the Christian communities of Nazareth are varied and included various denominations, the most prominent among them the Greek Orthodox, Melkite Greek Catholic, Latin Catholics, Maronites, Armenian Orthodox, and Protestants. By far the largest among them is the Greek-Orthodox community, headed by a Patriarch based in Jerusalem, and represented in Nazareth by a Metropolite. The Christian communities in Nazareth tend to be wealthier and better educated compare to other Arabs elsewhere in Israel, and Christians of Nazareth occupay the majority of the top positions in the town: three hospitals and bank managers, judges and school principals and faculties. The socio-economic gap between the Christians wealth and Muslim poverty led sometimes to sectarian crises.


title: Nazareth

text: Many of the descendants of the Zayadina clan in modern-day Israel use the surname 'al-Zawahirah' or 'Dhawahri' in honor of Zahir (whose name is colloquially transliterated as 'Dhaher'). They mostly live in the Galilee localities of Nazareth, Bi'ina, Kafr Manda, and, before its depopulation in the 1948 Arab-Israeli war, the village of Damun. "Dhawahri", made up one of the important families in Muslim community of Nazareth, beside the "Fahoums", the "Zu'bis", and the "Onallas".


title: Nazareth

text: During the late Ottoman era, the religious majority of the city fluctuated. In 1838, there were 325 Christian families (half of whom were Greek Orthodox, the remainder belonged to various Catholic churches) and 120 Muslim families. In 1856, the population was estimated to be 4,350, of which Muslims comprised 52%, while Christians from various denominations comprised 48%. In 1862, the population estimate was lower (3,120) and Christians formed a substantial majority of over 78%. The population grew to 5,660 in 1867 and Christians constituted roughly two-thirds and Muslims one-third of the inhabitants. These estimates during the late Ottoman era likely represented crude figures.


title: Nazareth

text: A population list from about 1887 showed that Nazareth had about 6,575 inhabitants; 1,620 Muslims, 2,485 Greek Catholics, 845 Catholics, 1,115 Latins, 220 Maronites and 290 Protestants.


title: Nazareth

text: For much of the British Mandatory period (1922–1948), Nazareth had a Christian majority (mostly Orthodox Christians) and a Muslim minority.


title: Nazareth

text: In 1918, Nazareth had an estimated population of 8,000, two-thirds Christian. In the 1922 British census, Nazareth's population was recorded as 7,424 residents, of which 66% were Christian, 33% were Muslim and roughly 1% were Jewish. In the 1931 census, the population grew to 8,756 and the ratio of Muslims increased to 37%. The largest Christian community were the Greek Orthodox denomination, followed by the Roman Catholics and the Melkites. Smaller communities of Anglicans, Maronites, Syriac Catholics, Protestants and Copts also existed.


title: Nazareth

text: In 1946, Nazareth had a population of 15,540, of whom roughly 60% were Christians and 40% were Muslims. The 1948 War led to an exodus of Palestinians and many expelled or fleeing Muslims from villages in the Galilee and the Haifa area found refuge in Nazareth. At one point, some 20,000 mostly Muslim internally displaced persons were present in the city. Following the war's conclusion, the internally displaced persons of Shefa-'Amr, Dabburiya, Ilut and Kafr Kanna returned to their homes. However, those Muslim and Christian internally displaced persons from the nearby destroyed villages of Ma'lul, al-Mujaydil, Saffuriya, the Haifa-area village of Balad al-Sheikh and the major cities of Acre, Haifa, Tiberias, Safad and Baysan remained as they were not able to return to their hometowns. During the war and in the following months, internally displaced persons from Saffuriya established the Safafra Quarter, named after their former village. Around 20% of Nazareth's native inhabitants left Palestine during the war. In an Israeli army census in July 1948, Nazareth had a total population of 17,118, which consisted of 12,640 Nazarenes and 4,478 internally displaced persons. In 1951, the population was recorded as 20,300, 25% of whom were internally displaced persons. The internally displaced persons came from over two dozen villages, but most were from al-Mujaydil, Saffuriya, Tiberias, Haifa, Ma'lul and Indur.


title: Nazareth

text: Today, Nazareth still has a significant Christian population, made up of various denominations. The Muslim population has grown due to a number of historical factors that include the city having served as administrative center under British rule, and the influx of internally displaced Palestinian Arabs absorbed into the city from neighboring towns during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war.


title: Nazareth

text: In 2011, Nazareth had over 20 Arab-owned high-tech companies, mostly in the field of software development. According to the "Haaretz" newspaper the city has been called the "Silicon Valley of the Arab community" in view of its potential in this sphere.


title: Nazareth

text: While excavations conducted prior to 1931 in the Franciscan "venerated area" (the side of the hill known as Jabal Nebi Sa'in, stretching north of the Basilica of the Annunciation) revealed no trace of a Greek or Roman settlement there, later digs under Fr. Bagatti, who acted as the principal archaeologist for the venerated sites in Nazareth, unearthed quantities of later Roman and Byzantine artifacts, attesting to unambiguous human presence there from the 2nd century AD onward. John Dominic Crossan, a noted New Testament scholar, remarked that Bagatti's archaeological drawings indicate just how small the village actually was, suggesting that it was little more than an insignificant hamlet.


title: Nazareth

text: Remains of a residential house dating to the Early Roman period were discovered in 2009 next to the Basilica of the Annunciation and are on display in the "International Marian Center of Nazareth". According to the Israel Antiquities Authority, "The artifacts recovered from inside the building were few and mostly included fragments of pottery vessels from the Early Roman period (the first and second centuries AD)... Another hewn pit, whose entrance was apparently camouflaged, was excavated and a few pottery sherds from the Early Roman period were found inside it." Archaeologist Yardenna Alexandre adds that "based on other excavations that I conducted in other villages in the region, this pit was probably hewn as part of the preparations by the Jews to protect themselves during the Great Revolt against the Romans in 67 AD".


title: Nazareth

text: Noteworthy is that all the post-Iron Age tombs in the Nazareth basin (approximately two dozen) are of the kokh (plural "kokhim") or later types; this type probably first appeared in Galilee in the middle of the 1st century AD. Kokh tombs in the Nazareth area have been excavated by B. Bagatti, N. Feig, Z. Yavor, and noted by Z. Gal.


title: Nazareth

text: In the mid-1990s, a shopkeeper discovered tunnels under his shop near Mary's Well in Nazareth. The tunnels were identified as the hypocaust of a bathhouse. Excavations in 1997–98 revealed remains dating from the Roman, Crusader, Mamluk and Ottoman periods.


title: Nazareth

text: With the near total depopulation of the Palestinian Arabs in the major cities of Haifa and Jaffa as a result of the 1948 war, Nazareth, Kafr Yasif and Rameh became one of a few towns in the newly-established state of Israel to emerge as a central space for Arab culture and politics.


title: Nazareth

text: Three prestigious Arab Christian schools in Nazareth are the St. Joseph’s Eclerical School, run by the Melkite Greek Catholic Church, the Nuns of St. Joseph School, a Catholic institution, and the Nazareth Baptist High School, a Protestant institution. About half of students in Nazareth attend Christian schools (10 schools) that found in the city. Christian schools in Nazareth are among the best schools in the country, and while those schools represent only 4% of the Arab schooling sector, about 34% of Arab university students come from Christian schools. These Arab Christian schools accommodate Christian students, Muslims, Druze from across the country.


title: Nazareth

text: The city's main football club, Ahi Nazareth, currently plays in Liga Leumit, the second tier of Israeli football. The club spent two seasons in the top division, in 2003–04 and again in 2009–10. They are based at the Ilut Stadium in nearby Ilut. Other local clubs are Al-Nahda Nazareth, currently plays in Liga Bet, Beitar al-Amal Nazareth, Hapoel Bnei Nazareth and Hapoel al-Ittihad Nazareth all play in Liga Gimel.


title: Symbiote (comics)

text: The Klyntar (colloquial: symbiotes) are a fictional species of extraterrestrial symbiotes appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, most commonly in association with Spider-Man. The symbiotes form a symbiotic bond with their hosts, through which a single entity is created. They are able to alter their hosts' personalities and/or memories by influencing their darkest desires, along with amplifying their physical and emotional traits and personality and thereby granting them super-human abilities. There are more than 40 known symbiotes in the Marvel Universe.


title: Symbiote (comics)

text: The first and most well-known symbiote is Venom, who originally attached itself to Spider-Man during the 1985 "Secret Wars" miniseries. After Spider-Man rejected it upon discovering its true evil nature, the symbiote bonded with his rival, Eddie Brock, with whom it first became Venom. The character has since endured as one of Spider-Man's archenemies, though he has also been occasionally depicted as an antihero. Other characters have later merged with the Venom symbiote, including the villain Mac Gargan, and Flash Thompson, who became the superhero Agent Venom. Other well-known symbiotes are Carnage, an offspring of Venom who, when merged with its most infamous host, Cletus Kasady, has served as an enemy of both Spider-Man and Venom; and Anti-Venom, which originated when the Venom symbiote re-merged with Brock after a long split, gaining a new white appearance and additional powers as a result of Martin Li using his powers on Brock to cure his cancer.


title: Symbiote (comics)

text: Since their conception, the symbiotes have appeared in various media adaptations, including films, television series, and video games. Venom has been the most featured one, appearing in the 2007 film "Spider-Man 3", and as the titular protagonist of the 2018 film "Venom". Carnage also made its cinematic debut in the film "" (2021).


title: Symbiote (comics)

text: The first appearance of a symbiote occurs in "The Amazing Spider-Man" #252, "The Spectacular Spider-Man" #90, and "Marvel Team-Up" #141 (released concurrently in May 1984), in which Spider-Man brings one home to Earth after the Secret Wars ("Secret Wars" #8, which was released months later, details his first encounter with it). The concept was created by a Marvel Comics reader; the publisher purchased the idea for $220. The original design was then modified by Mike Zeck, at which point it became the Venom symbiote. The concept would be explored and used throughout multiple storylines, spin-off comics, and derivative projects.


title: Symbiote (comics)

text: Symbiotes were originally created by an ancient malevolent primordial deity named Knull. When the Celestials began their vast plan to evolve the universe, Knull, seeing that his "Kingdom" was being touched, retaliated by constructing All-Black, the first symbiote, and subsequently cut off a Celestial's head. The other Celestials then banished Knull, along with the severed Celestial head, deeper into space. After that, he started using the head's cosmic energies as a forge for the symbiotes, which is how they developed the weaknesses to sound and fire. The head would later become interdimensional crossroads and laboratory Knowhere. Knull then embarked on a campaign of genocide against the other gods. During a battling with the gods, he crashed on a desolate planet where All-Black left him and went to Gorr, drawn to his murderous hate, who tried to kill Knull. Knull later reawakened and created an army of symbiotes, which he used to conquer planets and destroy entire civilizations, establishing the Symbiote Imperium in the process. However, when a dragon-like creature journeyed to the medieval Earth, Thor defeated it and destroyed the connection between Knull and the symbiotes. Subsequently, the symbiote hive-mind began to explore notions of honor and nobility as they bonded to benevolent hosts. The symbiotes subsequently rebelled against their god, imprisoning him at the heart of an artificial planet in the Andromeda Galaxy they called Klyntar, from which derived the name of their species. Ashamed of their dark past, the symbiotes desired to spread and maintain peace throughout the Cosmos by seeking out worthy hosts from various species in order to create an organization of noble warriors. However, these altruistic goals were imperfect, as the Klyntar symbiotes could be corrupted by hosts with harmful chemical imbalances or problematic personality traits, turning them into destructive parasites that would spread lies and disinformation about their own kind in order to make other peoples fear and hate the Klyntar species as a whole.


title: Symbiote (comics)

text: The corrupted Klyntar became more widespread than their benevolent counterparts, establishing a spacefaring culture dedicated to infecting and overtaking whole planets and reestablishing the Imperium. These symbiotes forced their hosts to perform death-defying feats in order to feed off of the resulting surges of hormones, like adrenaline and phenethylamine. These hosts would die quickly, either because of the wear from constant stress and exertion or as a result of the inherent danger of the stunts performed.


title: Symbiote (comics)

text: At some point it was believed that a symbiote-run planet was devoured by Galactus. Due to their hive-mind's memory, all symbiotes now loathe both Galactus and his former herald, the Silver Surfer, but it was later revealed that their hatred for the Silver Surfer was because he had time traveled to a time where the Klyntar were rebelling against Knull and the Silver Surfer had made the God of the symbiotes bleed. ZZZXX, a symbiote with a predilection for eating brains, was also captured by the Shi'ar, and imprisoned and studied for years until it was released and employed as a Praetorian Guard by Gabriel Summers. The corrupted symbiotes had invaded the Microverse and tried to absorb the Enigma Force, but they were defeated by the avatar of the force, after they had caused destructive effects on this world and its people. The symbiote would arrive on the Savage Land, where it remained trapped for years to the point of madness and bonded to Conan during a confrontation between the Savage Avengers and Kulan Gath.


title: Symbiote (comics)

text: During the Kree-Skrull War, the Kree wanted to replicate the Skrull's shapeshifting abilities; they acquired a newborn symbiote which had been outcast from its species on the planet where Knull had created them. They recruited Tel-Kar to be bonded to the young symbiote, and modified both Tel-Kar and the symbiote so that he could have full control over it. He infiltrated the Skrulls using the symbiote's shapeshifting ability, but was discovered. He deleted the symbiote's memories and separated himself from it. The symbiote then reunited with the parasitic symbiotes, retaining little memory of its first host. When the corrupted symbiotes found out that this symbiote wanted to commit to its host rather than exploit it as they tended to do, they decided that it was insane and trapped it in a canister to be condemned to die on a planet that would later become part of Beyonder's Battleworld. There, it would be encountered by Spider-Man in the 1984 miniseries "Secret Wars". In that story, which saw the heroes of Earth transported to this planet to battle their archenemies, Spider-Man sought to repair or replace his tattered costume, which had been damaged in battle, and was directed by Thor and Hulk to a device inside the alien compound that they had come to use as headquarters. Mistaking the device in which the symbiote was imprisoned for the device Thor and Hulk mentioned, Spider-Man activated it, freeing the symbiote, which appeared before him as a black sphere that enveloped his body and took on the form of a black version of his costume that could respond to his mental commands. Spider-Man assumed that the device produced clothing designed to do this. He did not know that Deadpool had already briefly bonded with the symbiote and had corrupted it with his unstable personality. Spider-Man returned to Earth with the symbiote, where, after discovering that it was an alien lifeform that wanted to bond with him, he managed to separate himself from it by using sound waves to hurt the creature, which took refuge in a church's bell tower. It later bonded with Eddie Brock, who went to the church, despondent and vengeful after his journalism career was destroyed because he incorrectly identified the serial killer known as Sin-Eater as a man who later turned out to be a compulsive confessor; he blamed this turn of events on Spider-Man. Having bonded with the symbiote, the two became the being known as Venom. During this time, it spawned seven offspring and a clone; its first child later had three of its own, producing the symbiotes known as Carnage, Scream, Lasher, Phage, Agony, and Riot.


title: Symbiote (comics)

text: The Venom symbiote eventually becomes too much for Eddie to handle, and he separates himself from it. This separation causes a telepathic scream that is heard by the other corrupted symbiotes, who then invade Earth. Eddie, Spider-Man and Scarlet Spider team up against the invasion. The battle comes to an end when Eddie rebinds with Venom, causing another scream which results in the symbiotes committing suicide.


title: Symbiote (comics)

text: While bonded to Flash Thompson as part of Project Rebirth, who originally struggled to control it, the symbiote developed a slight affection for him. It is later established that the host's mental state affects the symbiote just as much as the other way around: Venom's first child, the Carnage symbiote, is as psychotic as its host, Cletus Kasady, and the Venom suit's explosiveness worsened after bonding with Angelo Fortunato and Mac Gargan, both of whom are career criminals. Likewise, the various symbiotes bonded to heroes are not shown to be as twisted, though they do occasionally struggle with aggression.


title: Symbiote (comics)

text: A swarm of Brood that had been overtaken by symbiotes later invade the S.W.O.R.D. satellite and possess all of its inhabitants, including Deathbird and her unborn child, in order to expand the symbiote Imperium. However, Spider-Man, bonded to a second symbiote, defeats the symbiotes with help from his class at Jean Grey's School.


title: Symbiote (comics)

text: The Klyntar were later raided by the Poisons with help from Haze Mancer, a symbiote poacher, resulting in the apparent death of the Agents of the Cosmos and the abduction of all the symbiotes. The abducted symbiotes were later modified by the Poisons so they could be used on the superheroes on Earth, in order for the Poisons to consume. After the defeat of the Poisons, the surviving symbiotes were returned to Klyntar.


title: Symbiote (comics)

text: When the body of Grendel, the dragon-like composite symbiote defeated by Thor, is discovered on Earth, this reawakens Knull enough to allow him to control the creature. It is subsequently stopped by the combined efforts of Venom and Spider-Man (Miles Morales), and is later incinerated by Eddie, denying Knull the chance to escape Klyntar.


title: Symbiote (comics)

text: After some months, a cult had gotten hold of Cletus's damaged body inside a chamber and had planned to revive him by using the Grendel's remnants, which they stole from Maker. This cult, who worships Knull and Carnage as Knull's prophet, was led by Scorn. They implanted the remnants inside Cletus, reviving him, and at first he resembled Ancient Venom (Venom possessed by Knull), until the Carnage pieces were absorbed by the ancient symbiote and acquired Scorn's remnants by killing her. When Cletus came in contact with Knull, he got a new purpose: to free Knull. The only way left to do this was to acquire every single Codex – the symbiote remnants containing the genetic information of the host – left inside the bodies of every single host, dead or alive, who came into physical contact with the symbiotes on Earth, in order to overload the symbiote hive mind and scatter the Klyntar.


title: Symbiote (comics)

text: Knull slowly began reawakening as a result of Carnage's efforts on Earth and the symbiotes of Klyntar began succumbing to his control once more. When Sleeper was drawn to Klyntar, the symbiotes attacked and tried to assimilate it into the hive-mind. After escaping, Sleeper realized that Eddie was in danger and returned to Earth as quickly as it could. When Knull fully awakened, he destroyed Klyntar and seized control of its constituent symbiotes, coalescing them into a horde of symbiote-dragons.


title: Symbiote (comics)

text: The symbiotes, when they were originally created, were used as tools by Knull in order to conquer the universe. At the time, they had a symbiote dialect. When they were freed from Knull's control and began learning about compassion, they established the lie about their nature in order to redeem themselves. They formed the Agents of Cosmos, symbiotes bonded to benevolent hosts, forming noble warriors who try to maintain peace across the universe. However, some symbiotes were corrupted by malevolent hosts, turning them back into monsters and reestablishing the symbiote Imperium first formed by Knull; these symbiotes were cut from the Klyntar hive mind. The symbiote Imperium would conquer planets and infect their inhabitants in order to drain and consume them.


title: Symbiote (comics)

text: The symbiotes in general don't have an actual culture. As seen with Venom and Carnage, the symbiote's personality and psychology depends largely on the host's nature, as the link between the host and the symbiote is what gives the symbiote a purpose and meaning to their life.


title: Symbiote (comics)

text: As for the Nameless, a group of Kree explorers infected by the Exolon parasites, after being infected by the parasites which consumed their souls, they lost all sense of time and sentience and started engaging in gruesome self-inflicted pain rituals in order to remember their past lives.


title: Symbiote (comics)

text: The symbiotes are an alien species of inorganic, amorphous and multicellular symbiotic parasites formed from Knull's "Living Abyss". The symbiotes function as living extradimensional tesseracts, requiring living hosts to anchor them to the fabric of space and time. They record the genetic material of each of their hosts in a genetic codex. They also empower a host's natural abilities to the point that they far exceed that of normal members of the host's species. These abilities include the following:


title: Symbiote (comics)

text: Because they record the genetic material of each of its hosts, there are also additional powers that have been demonstrated, but are not necessarily universal to all symbiotes:


title: Symbiote (comics)

text: The following symbiotes have appeared throughout several years of Spider-Man's history, appeared in multiple media such as film and video games, and were main characters/villains in story arcs.


title: Symbiote (comics)

text: The following symbiotes have made only a few other appearances in comic books and are usually excluded from adaptations in other media.


title: Symbiote (comics)

text: In the Ultimate Marvel universe, the Venom suit is a man-made creation born of an experiment by Richard Parker and , who were hoping to develop a protoplasmic cure for severe illnesses. Bolivar Trask, who was funding the research, intended to weaponize it. It used Richard's DNA as the starting base; thus, himself and Peter are "related" to it. When bonding to a host, the organic matter that comprises the suit envelops the host, regardless of resistance, and temporarily blinds it, before encasing itself in a hard casing, similar to a pupa. When the host emerges, the suit then shifts its appearance and function to assist its host, such as creating eyes for it to see through; if bonded with an incompatible host, it tries to take it over, inducing a homicidal rage in the suit's attempt to feed itself. When bonded with a host and forcibly removed, the suit leaves trace amounts of itself in their bloodstream, which attracts other samples of Venom and allows it to overload Peter's spider-sense. In the video game "Ultimate Spider-Man", absorbing the trace amounts in Peter's blood allowed Eddie to take complete control of the suit, giving him a greater ability to talk and adorning him with a spider symbol on his chest.


title: Symbiote (comics)

text: Venom's only known weakness is electricity. Larger amounts of the suit will need more electricity to kill, as varying amounts of the suit will be stunned or vaporized by electric shocks. This was first seen in "Ultimate Spider-Man" #38, when an electric wire got tangled around Venom's foot. An electrocution from live power-lines vaporized the smaller amount on Peter, while a similar amount disabled Eddie. Note that in the video game "Ultimate Spider-Man", when Electro electrocutes Venom during a cutscene, the suit is not affected by the shock like it was by the live power-line in the "Venom" arc. The suit can take the Shocker's vibro-shocks, and can protect its host from a bullet, which feels like nothing more than a relaxing vibration. When worn by a host other than Richard's son Peter, the host is compelled to take the life energy of other human beings or else have their own be consumed by the suit. The original Spider-Man (Peter Parker) was able to control the suit to a greater extent than anyone else because of his powers and because the suit was designed for his father.


title: Symbiote (comics)

text: The Carnage symbiote also appears in the Ultimate universe as a parasite genetically engineered by Curt Conners and Ben Reilly from Peter's DNA based on Richard's research. Traces of the Venom suit remaining in Peter's blood give Carnage similar properties to those of the Venom suit. It also devours people, but does not require a host. When first introduced, the organism was a blob of instinct, with no intelligence or self-awareness, its only aim to feed on the DNA of others, including that of Gwen Stacy, to stabilize itself. After feeding on multiple people, Carnage turns into a damaged form of Richard and Peter, with the memories of itself as Spider-Man. Carnage tries to absorb Peter so it can become whole, but Peter throws Carnage into a smokestack, burning the beast, although it is revealed that the organism had survived and turned into a replica of Gwen's form with Gwen's memories. During an encounter with Eddie Brock, the Venom suit absorbs the Carnage suit into itself, making itself complete and leaving Gwen a normal human being.


title: Symbiote (comics)

text: In Spider-Gwen's universe, Dr. Elsa Brock creates a cure to Harry Osborn's Lizard DNA by using Spider-Gwen's radioactive isotopes, given to her by S.I.L.K. Leader Cindy Moon. When Gwen injects the isotopes into Harry, the Lizard serum combines with the Spider isotopes and transforms into Venom. Venom then bonds to Spider-Gwen, which gives her her powers back and she becomes "Gwenom". This symbiote, in its natural form, is made up of some spiders working together and is weak to sonic attacks only when bonded to a host; without a host, it is not susceptible to this weakness.


title: Symbiote (comics)

text: In the Amalgam Comics universe, the facility which created Spider-Boy started experimenting on a substance that they obtained from an alien spaceship. They inadvertently created a crystalline symbiote named Bizarnage (amalgamation of Carnage and Bizarro). It had the powers of Spider-Boy and started attacking everyone, until Spider-Boy defeated it.


title: Symbiote (comics)

text: In the alternate universe of the Marvel Comics 2, or MC2 imprint, Norman Osborn obtained Eddie's blood (he was still bonded to Venom at the time) and extracted the symbiote codex. Norman then combined the codices with May's DNA and created a symbiote/human hybrid clone of Mayday Parker. The clone stayed in stasis inside a chamber until Peter, with Norman's mind, became Goblin God and awoke the hybrid. When Peter returned to normal, the hybrid, under the alias Mayhem/Spider-Girl, went to live with the Parker family, naming herself April Parker.


title: Symbiote (comics)

text: In a later timeline, Mayhem accidentally killed the real Spider-Girl and became a murderous vigilante after killing American Dream. The government, in an attempt to stop her, used pieces of the dead Carnage symbiote (after it had been killed by Mayday) to create living weapons dubbed Bio-Predators. The Bio-preds ran wild, decimating the world and its defenders. Mayhem, seeing the error of her ways, went back in time and sacrificed herself to stop her past self from killing Spider-Girl, ensuring the events that led to the Biopreds' creation never occurred, even though she may have survived.


title: Symbiote (comics)

text: During the 2014 "Spider-Verse" storyline, in Spider-Punk's universe, V.E.N.O.M, also known as Variable Engagement Neuro-sensitive Organic Mesh, was created by Oscorp and was worn by the Thunderbolt Department, the police and fire department of President Osborn, so that he could have full control over the city. However, they are all subsequently defeated by Spider-Punk using his guitar.


title: Symbiote (comics)

text: During the 2018 "Spider-Geddon" storyline, in the universe of Peni Parker, aka SP//dr, VEN#m is a giant mech-suit, powered by a Sym Engine and created to serve as back-up in case the SP//dr failed. It was piloted by Addy Brock until, in a battle against a technological monster named M.O.R.B.I.U.S., the suit gained a conscience and went rogue. Though SP//dr is able to defeat VEN#m, she is too late to stop it from consuming Addy, as well as her version of Aunt May, who flew in to fix the problem manually.


title: Symbiote (comics)

text: ""What if?: The Other"", set during "" storyline, features an alternative version of Peter who abandons the Spider when given the choice. Some time afterward, the Venom symbiote leaves its current host Mac Gargan and merges with Peter, who was inside a cocoon to become Poison. Poison, now calling himself "I", chooses Mary Jane to be his companion. He fails to gain her affection and digs up the grave of Gwen Stacy instead. The last images reveals Poison watching over a new cocoon like his own, as it bursts forth showing a hand similar to Carnage's, even though the normal symbiotes are unable to bond with dead hosts.


title: Symbiote (comics)

text: In a "What if?" "Age of Apocalypse" reality, in which both Charles Xavier and Eric Lensherr were killed, Apocalypse is served by clones of a symbiote Spider-Man, although the clones seem to be more symbiote than man.


title: Symbiote (comics)

text: In "", the symbiotes are parasitic demons with outward tusk-like fangs, who had ruled the world in the past but got trapped inside an amulet. The amulet was eventually found by and transformed him into the Green Goblin. During a fight with Spider-Man, the Green Goblin releases a to possess Spider-Man, but is expelled. After the defeat of Green Goblin, the amulet is thrown into ocean, leaving Venom the only demon alive.


title: Symbiote (comics)

text: In the "What The--?!", "The Bee-Yonder" gives Spider-Ham a version of the black uniform, but Spider-Ham likes his classic suit more, so he gets rid of it. In #20, Pork Grind, a pig version of Venom, is introduced as an enemy of Spider-Ham.


title: Symbiote (comics)

text: In the 2016 "Contest of Champions" series, where Maestro and Collector use the heroes of different worlds to battle with each other, when this version of Venom was killed by Punisher 2099, the remnants fused with the remains of the Void, creating the Symbioids.


title: Symbiote (comics)

text: In the universe of Earth-9997, the symbiotes, like all sentient life, were created by the Celestials as "antibodies" to protect the embryos which resided in the core of the planets. Like the Asgardians and Mephisto, the symbiotes eventually reached the third stage of metamorphosis and apotheosized into metaphysical entities, given physical form by what others believed them to be and required of them. The Venom symbiote was given form by Spider-Man, who believed it to be a symbiotic living costume; after being bonded to Eddie Brock for years, it bonded to Peter's daughter May Parker, who managed to tame and rehabilitate it to start her career as the superhero Venom.


title: Symbiote (comics)

text: In the "Spider-Man Unlimited" series, a Synoptic is introduced. Synoptics are parasites that can control organic beings via touch. Venom and Carnage, who act as double agents to the High Evolutionary, are able to revive the Synoptic.


title: Symbiote (comics)

text: In the 2021 miniseries "Spider's Shadow", the symbiote manages to form a stronger bond with Peter after the Hobgoblin kills May Parker, which leads to Peter succumbing to its influence and killing several of his familiar rogues before the FF are able to expel the symbiote from him. Unfortunately, the symbiote is able to escape captivity and bond with Reed Richards, allowing its subsequent spawn to be altered so that they are immune to most of its traditional weaknesses. Despite these symbiotes managing to bond with various Avengers, X-Factor, and the rest of the FF, Peter and Johnny Storm are able to trick the original symbiote into trying to re-bond with Peter, only to reveal that it was pursuing Johnny while he was using an image inducer. The death of the prime symbiote destroys all of its spawn (although it kills Reed before its defeat).


title: Symbiote (comics)

text: The Venom symbiote appears in the live-action film "Spider-Man 3". This incarnation came from space after it landed on Earth inside a meteorite. The symbiote fused with the sleeping Spider-Man's suit, enhancing his powers, abilities and anger. However, when Spider-Man learns of its evil nature, he separates himself from the symbiote with difficulty. After being rejected by the web-slinger, the alien attaches itself to Eddie Brock, turning him into Venom. Later, Spider-Man exploits the symbiote's weakness to soundwaves to defeat Venom and free Brock from it. However, it becomes strong enough to survive without a host, leading to Parker destroying it with one of the New Goblin's pumpkin bombs. Brock attempts to bond with it again, mere seconds before the bomb's detonation, resulting in him being killed along with it.


title: Symbiote (comics)

text: In trailers for "The Amazing Spider-Man 2" live-action film, the Venom symbiote appears briefly among various elements of supervillain technology seen in the Gustav Fiers / The Gentleman's agency. In the final cut of the film, the symbiote is replaced by the Rhino's armor, although a file labelled "Venom" is seen earlier in the film alongside a photograph of the symbiote. Sony Pictures had plans to create a Spider-Man-centric cinematic universe with various spin-off films, including a "Venom" film, which were abandoned following the studio agreement reached with Marvel Studios.


title: Symbiote (comics)

text: Following the success of reintroducing Spider-Man in the MCU films "" (2016) and "" (2017), Sony Pictures stated that they were moving forward with the live-action film "Venom", written by Scott Rosenberg and Jeff Pinkner and directed by Ruben Fleischer. It was released on October 5, 2018, with Tom Hardy portraying Eddie Brock and the title character. The film is separate from the MCU; it is set within its own continuity with no connections to the Spider-Man character, making it the first film in the Sony's Spider-Man Universe. Riot appears as the film's main antagonist, portrayed by Riz Ahmed. A blue symbiote designated SYM-A02 and a yellow symbiote designated SYM-A03 also have minor appearances. The 2021 sequel "" featured Cletus Kasady / Carnage portrayed by Woody Harrelson as the main titular antagonist.


title: Symbiote (comics)

text: Multiple video games have featured the symbiotes, most prominently Venom and Carnage. Listed below are games that feature other symbiotes besides them:


title: Symbiote (comics)

text: The Venom symbiote is featured throughout the "Marvel's Spider-Man" series developed by Insomniac Games. In this universe, New York City mayor Norman Osborn had obtained the symbiote some time prior to the events of the first game, and is using it as an experimental treatment for his son Harry, who was diagnosed with the 'Oshtoran syndrome', a rare ailment that had previously claimed the life of his mother and Norman's wife, Emily Osborn. The symbiote is voiced by Tony Todd.


title: Symbiote (comics)

text: Scream appears as one of the villains in Universal Orlando's Islands of Adventure "The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man" ride.


title: Symbiote (comics)

text: On October 10, 2022, Marvel Comics announced the Summer of Symbiotes upcoming event for New York Comic-Con in summer 2023.


title: Meshuggah

text: Meshuggah () is a Swedish extreme metal band formed in Umeå in 1985. Originally, the band's name was Metallien. The band's current lineup consists of lead vocalist Jens Kidman, guitarists Fredrik Thordendal and Mårten Hagström, drummer Tomas Haake and bassist Dick Lövgren. Since its formation, the band has released nine studio albums, six EPs and eight music videos. Their latest studio album, "Immutable", was released in April 2022 via Atomic Fire Records.


title: Meshuggah

text: Meshuggah has become known for their innovative musical style and their complex, polymetered song structures and polyrhythms. They rose to fame as a significant act in extreme underground music, became an influence for modern metal bands, and gained a cult following. The band was labelled as one of the ten most important hard rock and heavy metal bands by "Rolling Stone" and as the most important band in metal by "Alternative Press". In the late 2000s, the band was an inspiration for the djent subgenre.


title: Meshuggah

text: In 2006 and 2009, Meshuggah was nominated for two Swedish Grammis Awards for their albums "Catch Thirtythree" and "obZen", respectively. In 2018, the band was nominated for a Grammy Award for their song "Clockworks" under the "Best Metal Performance" category. The band has performed in various international festivals, including Ozzfest and Download, and embarked on the "obZen" world tour from 2008 to 2010, and also the "Ophidian Trek".


title: Meshuggah

text: In 1985, guitarist Fredrik Thordendal formed a band in Umeå, a university town in northern Sweden with a population of 105,000. The band, originally named Metallien, recorded a number of demo tapes, after which it disbanded. Thordendal, however, continued playing under a different name with new band members.


title: Meshuggah

text: Meshuggah was formed in 1987 by lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Jens Kidman, and took the name Meshuggah from the Yiddish word for "crazy" (ultimately derived from the Hebrew word ). Kidman found the word in an American street slang dictionary. The band recorded several demos before Kidman left, which prompted the remaining members to disband. Kidman then formed a new band, Calipash, with guitarist Thordendal, bassist Peter Nordin and drummer Niklas Lundgren. Kidman, who also played guitar, and Thordendal decided to restore the name Meshuggah for the new band.


title: Meshuggah

text: In 1989, Meshuggah released the self-titled, three-song EP "Meshuggah", which is commonly known as "Psykisk Testbild" (a title that could be translated as "Psychological Test-Picture"). This 12" (30 cm) vinyl EP had only 1,000 copies released, sold by local record store Garageland. The EP's back cover features the band members with cheese doodles on their faces.


title: Meshuggah

text: After replacing drummer Niklas Lundgren with Tomas Haake in 1990, Meshuggah signed a contract with German heavy metal record label Nuclear Blast and recorded its debut full-length album, "Contradictions Collapse". The LP, originally entitled "(All this because of) Greed", was released in 1991. The album received positive reviews, but was not a commercial success. Soon after, Kidman decided to concentrate on vocals, and guitarist Mårten Hagström, who had already played in a band with Haake when they were in sixth grade, was recruited. The new lineup recorded the EP "None" at Tonteknik Recordings in Umeå in 1994 for release later that year. A Japanese version was also released, including lyrics printed in Japanese.


title: Meshuggah

text: During this period, Thordendal, who was working as a carpenter, severed the tip of his left middle finger, while Haake injured his hand in a router accident. As a result, the band was unable to perform for several months. Thordendal's fingertip was later reattached, and he went on to make a full recovery. The "Selfcaged" EP was recorded in April and May 1994, but its release was delayed to later in 1995 due to the accidents.


title: Meshuggah

text: In January 1995, Meshuggah undertook a short European tour organized by its record label Nuclear Blast. Afterwards, the band returned to the studio in February of that year to record the album "Destroy Erase Improve" at Soundfront Studios in Uppsala, with Daniel Bergstrand as a producer. Shortly thereafter, the band went on a European tour supporting Machine Head for two months. During the tour, Nordin became ill and experienced difficulties with his inner ear balance. Due to the resulting chronic dizziness and vertigo, Nordin was forced to leave the tour and travel to Sweden. Machine Head's bassist Adam Duce offered to cover his absence; however, Meshuggah decided to continue as a four-piece. Sometimes Thordendal played bass, while other times the band performed with two guitars. In this lineup, Hagström would use a pitch shifter to play his guitar at an octave lower than usual.


title: Meshuggah

text: "Destroy Erase Improve" was released in May 1995, with positive response from critics for the "heady tempos and abstract approach". Kidman described the album cover: "The title fits the pictures we cut out and stole from reference books in the library."


title: Meshuggah

text: In mid-1995, Meshuggah had a short tour with Swedish band Clawfinger in Scandinavia and Germany. Nordin had to leave the band because of his sickness and was replaced by bassist Gustaf Hielm during the tour. In late 1995, Meshuggah went on a month-long tour with Hypocrisy.


title: Meshuggah

text: During 1996 and 1997, Thordendal worked on his solo album "Sol Niger Within", which was released in March 1997 in Scandinavia and in April in Japan. He also hosted Mats/Morgan Band's debut. In 1997, Meshuggah recorded an unreleased demo, toured occasionally, and played a few concerts in its hometown. In May, Meshuggah moved to Stockholm to be closer to its management and the record industry in general.


title: Meshuggah

text: The EP "The True Human Design" was recorded and released in late 1997. It contained one new song entitled "Sane", and one live and two alternate versions of "Destroy Erase Improve"s opening track "Future Breed Machine". Thordendal's solo album "Sol Niger Within" was simultaneously released in the United States, and Meshuggah started to plan its next album at the end of the year.


title: Meshuggah

text: Hielm officially joined the band in January 1998 after more than two years as a session member. Nuclear Blast re-released "Contradictions Collapse" with the addition of songs from the "None" EP. In May 1998, the title of the next album, "Chaosphere", was reported and recording was done throughout May and June. Immediately after recording the album, Meshuggah went on a short US tour, and the album was released later in November 1998. Chaosphere's sound is an almost complete departure from the thrash metal style of the band's previous releases. Shortly after the release, Meshuggah toured Scandinavia with Entombed.


title: Meshuggah

text: In early 1999, Meshuggah joined Slayer on their U.S. tour. After the new album and the live performances, Meshuggah was beginning to be recognized by mainstream music, guitar, drum and metal magazines. In mid-1999, Meshuggah performed in several Swedish concerts. The band started to write some new material but reported in mid-2000 that "songwriting isn't that dramatic, but we're getting there slowly". While fans were waiting for the next album, a collection of demos (from the "Psykisk Testbild" EP), remixes and unreleased songs from the "Chaosphere" sessions were released as the "Rare Trax" album. Hielm left the band in July 2001 for unclear reasons. Meshuggah joined Tool on a lengthy tour, playing for more than 100,000 people total.


title: Meshuggah

text: In March 2002, Meshuggah recorded three-track demos with programmed drums in their home studio, which were based on Haake's sample "Drumkit from Hell". The upcoming album was recorded in five to six weeks in May and was produced by the band at Dug-Out Studios in Uppsala and at its home studio in Stockholm. The last-minute decision to join 2002's Ozzfest tour forced the band to mix the album in two days and master it in one. Meshuggah immediately went on another US tour after finishing the recording.


title: Meshuggah

text: The album "Nothing" was released in August 2002, selling 6,525 copies during its first week in the US and reaching No. 165 on the "Billboard" 200. With this album, Meshuggah became the first band in the history of Nuclear Blast Records to crack the "Billboard" 200 and also became the first band signed to Nuclear Blast to be reviewed in "Rolling Stone" magazine. Meshuggah's previous two releases, 1998's "Chaosphere" and 1995's "Destroy Erase Improve", had sold 38,773 and 30,712 copies to that date, respectively. The CD booklet of "Nothing" has no liner notes, lyrics, or credits, only a hint of one word: "ingenting", which is Swedish for "nothing". All of this information is available on the CD-ROM. At the end of 2002, the band went on another US tour with Tool and a headlining tour of its own.


title: Meshuggah

text: In 2003, Hagström hinted at the direction of the band's next album by saying, "There's only one thing I really feel that is important. We've never measured our success in terms of sales, because we're quite an extreme band. It's more that people understand where we're coming from. I get more out of a fan coming up and saying that we've totally changed their way of looking on metal music, than having like 200 kids buy it. I mean, it would be nice for the money, but that's not why we're in it. So what I'd like to see is that we keep progressing. Keeping the core of what Meshuggah has always been, but exploring the bar, so to speak. "Destroy Erase Improve" was like exploring the dynamics of the band, "Chaosphere" was exploring the aggressiveness, the all-out side, and "Nothing" is more of a sinister, dark, pretty slow album, actually. So honestly, now I don't know where we're going. It might be a mix of all of them."


title: Meshuggah

text: In February 2004, bassist Dick Lövgren joined Meshuggah. The band then recorded and released the "I" EP, which contains a single, 21-minute track, released on Fractured Transmitter Records. Meshuggah spent about six months in total on recording the EP. "Catch Thirtythree", the only Meshuggah album on which programmed drums have been used, was released the following year in May 2005. Seven thousand copies of "Catch Thirtythree" were sold the first week, and it debuted at No. 170 on the "Billboard" 200 chart in June 2005. The video for the track "Shed" was released in June, and the previous album "Nothing" sold approximately 80,000 copies in the United States to that date, according to Nielsen SoundScan. "Catch Thirtythree" earned the band a Swedish Grammy nomination. In October 2005, German band Rammstein released a single of their song "Benzin" with a remixed version by Meshuggah.


title: Meshuggah

text: In December 2005, 10 years after signing its first record deal with the publishing company Warner/Chappell Music Scandinavia, Meshuggah extended its cooperation with the company. In November 2005, Haake said in an interview that the band was not content with the productions of "Chaosphere" and "Nothing", because, being on tour, they had little time to devote to them.<ref name="Allmusic Nothing [CD/DVD]"></ref>


title: Meshuggah

text: A remixed and remastered version of "Nothing" with rerecorded guitars was released in a custom-shaped slipcase featuring a three-dimensional hologram card on 31 October 2006, via Nuclear Blast Records. The release also includes a bonus DVD featuring the band's appearance at the Download 2005 festival and the official music videos of "Rational Gaze", "Shed" and "New Millennium Cyanide Christ".


title: Meshuggah

text: Meshuggah returned to the studio in March 2007 to record "obZen", with recording concluding in October 2007, and the album being released in March 2008. The band spent almost a year on the album, its longest recording session yet. A significant portion of the year was spent learning to perform the songs they wrote; the recording itself took six months. "obZen" reached No. 59 on the "Billboard" 200 chart, selling 11,400 U.S. copies in its first week of release and 50,000 copies after six months. With "obZen", Meshuggah received more media attention and attracted new fans. The release was followed by a world tour, which started in the U.S. and proceeded to Europe, Asia and Australia.


title: Meshuggah

text: In May 2008, Meshuggah published a music video for the song "Bleed", which was produced by Ian McFarland and was written, directed and edited by Mike Pecci and Ian McFarland. Killswitch Productions said: "It's extremely cool to work with a band who is willing to allow the music and imagery to speak for itself and who does not insist on themselves being the prominent focus of the video."


title: Meshuggah

text: In January 2009, "obZen" was nominated for the Swedish Grammis award in the "Best Hard Rock" category. In February 2009, Haake announced that the band was planning a concert DVD and a studio album. In April, Meshuggah was forced to cancel its Scandinavian shows in early 2009, due to Haake's herniated disc in his lower back, which was causing problems with his right foot when playing. Haake later underwent a surgery and recovered for European summer festivals.


title: Meshuggah

text: The concert DVD entitled "Alive" was released on 5 February 2010 in Europe and 9 February in North America. Thordendal started to work on a second solo album in June 2010 with the Belgian drummer Dirk Verbeuren.


title: Meshuggah

text: The seventh studio album, "Koloss", was released on 23 March 2012 in Germany, on 26 March in the rest of Europe, and 27 March in North America. "Koloss" reached No. 17 on the Billboard Top 200, and sold 18,342 copies in its first week. In Sweden, it reached No. 12.


title: Meshuggah

text: On 5 February 2013, Meshuggah released a free two-track EP entitled "Pitch Black" with Scion A/V. The EP features a previously unreleased track, "Pitch Black", that was recorded by Fredrik Thordendal in 2003 at Fear and Loathing, in Stockholm Sweden. The second track is a live recording of "Dancers to a Discordant System" from "obZen". The track was recorded at Distortion Fest in Eindhoven, Netherlands, on 9 December 2012.


title: Meshuggah

text: On 12 May 2016, Meshuggah released a teaser video on their YouTube page and confirmed that their next studio album was to be released in late 2016. On 28 July 2016, the title was revealed to be "The Violent Sleep of Reason", and was given a 7 October release date. "The Violent Sleep of Reason" was shortlisted by IMPALA (The Independent Music Companies Association) for the Album of the Year Award 2016, which rewards on a yearly basis the best album released on an independent European label.


title: Meshuggah

text: On 2 June 2017, Meshuggah announced that Thordendal would take a leave from touring with the band; he would be temporarily replaced by Per Nilsson from Scar Symmetry. In 2018, Meshuggah received a Grammy nomination for their song "Clockworks" under the "Best Metal Performance" category.


title: Meshuggah

text: In a November 2019 interview, Hagström hinted that the band has begun working on a new album. Recording started in March 2021. Later that month the band stated that Fredrik Thordendal had ended his hiatus and would be participating fully in the recording of the new album. On 28 January 2022, Meshuggah released a new song titled "The Abysmal Eye" taken from the band's ninth album "Immutable", which was later released on 1 April 2022 via Atomic Fire.


title: Meshuggah

text: Meshuggah's experimentation, stylistic variation and changes during its career cross several musical subgenres. Heavy metal subgenres experimental metal or avant-garde metal are umbrella terms that enable description of the career of the band in general. Extreme metal crosses both thrash metal and death metal (or technical death metal), which are at root of the sound of Meshuggah's music, which has also been described as groove metal. The band has also been labelled as math metal and progressive metal. Meshuggah also incorporates elements of experimental jazz. In its review of "Nothing", AllMusic describes Meshuggah as "masterminds of cosmic calculus metal—call it Einstein metal if you want". Meshuggah's early output was also considered alternative metal. Meshuggah creates a recognizable sonic imprint and distinct style.


title: Meshuggah

text: Trademarks and characteristics that define Meshuggah's sound and songwriting include polyrhythms, polymetered riff cycles, rhythmic syncopation, rapid key and tempo changes and neo-jazz chromatics. Hagström notes that "it doesn't really matter if something is hard to play or not. The thing is, what does it do to your mind when you listen to it? Where does it take you?" A trademark of Thordendal is jazz fusion-like soloing and improvisation. He is also known for the usage of a "breath controller" device. Haake is known for his cross-rhythm drumming with "jazzlike cadence". The vocal style of Jens Kidman varies between hardcore-style shouts and "robotic" death metal vocals.


title: Meshuggah

text: In polymeters typically used by Meshuggah, the guitars might play in odd meters such as 5/16 or 17/16, while drums play in 4/4. One particular example of Haake's use of polymeter is 4/4 against 23/16 bimeter, in which he keeps the hi-hat or china cymbal in 4/4 time but uses the snare and double bass drums in 23/16 time. On "Rational Gaze" (from "Nothing"), Haake plays simple 4/4 time, hitting the snare on each third beat, for 16 bars. At the same time, the guitars and bass are playing same quarter notes, albeit in a different time signature; eventually both sides meet up again at the 64th beat. Hagström notes about the polymeters, "We've never really been into the odd time signatures we get accused of using. Everything we do is based around a 4/4 core. It's just that we arrange parts differently around that center to make it seem like something else is going on."


title: Meshuggah

text: The early work of Meshuggah, influenced mainly by Metallica, is "simpler and more straightforward than their more recent material, but some of their more progressive elements are present in the form of time-changes and polyrhythmics, and Fredrik Thordendal's lead playing stands out". According to AllMusic, their debut album is a relatively immature, but original, release. Double bass drums and "angular" riffing also defined the early work of Meshuggah.


title: Meshuggah

text: With the groundbreaking "Destroy Erase Improve", Meshuggah showed fusion of death metal, thrash metal, progressive metal. AllMusic describes the style as "weaving hardcore-style shouts amongst deceptively (and deviously) simple staccato guitar riffs and insanely precise drumming—often with all three components acting in different time signatures". Thordendal adds the melodic element with his typical lead guitar and uses his "breath controller" device most famously on the opening track "Future Breed Machine".


title: Meshuggah

text: "Chaosphere" incorporates typically fast, still tempo changing death metal. AllMusic compares the genre also with grindcore fathers Napalm Death. Rockdetector states: "Whilst fans reveled in the maze like meanderings, critics struggled to dissect and analyze, hailing Haake's unconventional use of dual 4/4 and 23/16 rhythm, Kidman's mechanical staccato bark and Thordendal's liberal usage of avant-garde jazz".


title: Meshuggah

text: 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 down tuned Ibanez seven-string guitars instead. This technique caused the instruments to slip out of tune during the sessions, which 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.


title: Meshuggah

text: The "I" EP contains a single, 21-minute song of complex arrangements and was a hint of the forthcoming album, 2005's "Catch Thirtythree". The EP, which has never been played live by the band, was written and recorded during jamming sessions of Haake and Thordendal. On "Catch Thirtythree", Meshuggah again used eight-string guitars, but utilized programmed drums for the first time also for the release, with the exception of two songs from 2001's compilation "Rare Trax". The album was self-produced by the band and was recorded at the studio that Meshuggah shares with Clawfinger. Hagström notes, "The eight-strings really have given us a whole new musical vocabulary to work with. Part of it is the restrictions they impose: you really can't play power chords with them; the sound just turns to mush. Instead, we concentrated on coming up with really unusual single-note parts, new tunings and chord voicings. We wanted to get as far away from any kind of conventions and traditions as we could on the album, so the guitars worked out beautifully."


title: Meshuggah

text: "Catch Thirtythree" is one 47-minute song divided into 13 sections. It is more mid-tempo guitar riff based, and a more straightforward and experimental full-length album than "Chaosphere" or "Nothing". Nick Terry of "Decibel Magazine" describes the album as a four-movement symphony. Some songs still use Meshuggah's "familiar template combining harsh vocals and nightmarish melodies over coarse, mechanically advancing, oddball tempos", while others explore ambient sounds and quieter dynamics. The first part of "Catch Thirtythree" centers around two simple riffs. In the song "In Death - Is Death", the band uses a combination of noise and silence, which is in contrast with the atypical melodies on "Dehumanization". On "Mind's Mirrors", Meshuggah used electronics, programming and "robotic voices". "Shed" incorporates tribal percussion and whispered vocals.


title: Meshuggah

text: With 2008's "obZen", Meshuggah moved away from the experimentation of 2002's "Nothing" and 2005's "Catch Thirtythree" to return to the musical style of its previous albums, such as "Contradictions Collapse", "Destroy Erase Improve" and "Chaosphere", while still maintaining its focus on musical and technical innovation. The album loses some of the quick, mathematical rhythmic changes of past releases and the melodic orchestration of "Catch Thirty-Three" and uses "angular" riffs, mid-tempo and common 4/4 beats. The album is a culmination of the band's previous work. Meshuggah decided to self-produce because it sought to retain artistic control over the recording and mixing process.


title: Meshuggah

text: For "obZen", Haake returned to the drum kit most notably with his performance on the song "Bleed". In an interview for Gravemusic.com, Haake stated, "['Bleed'] was a big effort for me to learn, I had to find a totally new approach to playing the double bass drums to be able to do that stuff. I had never really done anything like that before like the fast bursts that go all the way through the song basically. So I actually spent as much time practicing that track alone as I did with all of the other tracks combined. It's kind of a big feat to change your approach like that and I'm glad we were able to nail it for the album. For a while though we didn't even know if it was going to make it to the album." Hagström also stated, ""obZen" is one of the most highly technical offerings the band has ever put to tape". "Revolver Magazine" confirms this statement: "At first listen, "obZen" seems less challenging to the listener than some of the band's other records, and most of the songs flow smoothly from one syncopated passage to the next. However, careful examination reveals that the material is some of the group's most complicated".


title: Meshuggah

text: A common quality in "Koloss" identified by multiple critics and outlets is the album's relatively straightforward, more groove-oriented sound, summed up by "Metal Sucks" as the band having "streamlined their compositions to a great extent." The broad style of the record has been described as "primal" and featuring "less jazzy virtuosity" than the band's previous output. "Pitchfork" noted that the record's rawer production style advanced this "tribal" sound further. The album invokes a greater sound of menace and "darkness" according to Metal Injection; additionally, Jens Kidman's vocals were described as "exponentially more anguished" than previous works. "Metal Injection" further compared the sound of the album's closing track "The Last Vigil" to works by the instrumental band Godspeed You! Black Emperor. The record's guitar riffs have been noted as deviating somewhat from Meshuggah's earlier catalog, with "SPIN" identifying "an almost bluesy swing" in the playing style. "SPIN" further elaborated on the guitar leads, comparing the solos in "The Demon's Name is Surveillance" and "Marrow" to the (non-metal) works of experimental composer Philip Glass and jazz-guitarist Allan Holdsworth respectively.


title: Meshuggah

text: For their eighth album, the band recorded live in studio, a production style they hadn't pursued in reportedly "20, 25 years". On rejecting the computerized format of recording of their previous albums, Haake said ""Obzen" and "Koloss" are great albums, but, to me, they are a little too perfect. It didn't really capture what we sounded like honestly. But where we recorded live, you get to hear the push and pull, one person might be a little ahead and the other might be a little behind. If you kill that, you can kill the energy."


title: Meshuggah

text: Meshuggah has become known for its innovative musical style that evolves between each release and pushes heavy metal into new territory, and for its technical prowess. Hagström commented: "We try never to repeat ourselves." RockDetector stated about "Destroy Erase Improve": "[T]he band...stripped Metal down to the bare essentials before completely rebuilding it in a totally abstract form". The official Meshuggah biography comments on "Chaosphere" by noting that "Some fans felt that Meshuggah had left their dynamic and progressive elements behind; while others thought they were only progressing naturally and focusing on their original sound." The band's website also describes "Nothing" as displaying "a very mature and convincing Meshuggah, now focusing on groove and sound...Meshuggah once again divided their fans into the 'ecstatic' and the 'slightly disappointed'". The polyrhythms can make the music sound cacophonous, like band members are playing different songs simultaneously. Listeners perceiving a polyrhythm often either extract a composite pattern that is fitted to a metric framework, or focus on one rhythmic stream while treating others as "noise".


title: Meshuggah

text: "Rolling Stone" labeled Meshuggah as "one of the ten most important hard and heavy bands", and "Alternative Press" described them as the "most important band in metal". Meshuggah has been described as virtuoso or genius-bordering musicians, "recognized by mainstream music magazines, especially those dedicated to particular instruments". In 2007, Meshuggah earned an in-depth analysis by the academic journal "Music Theory Spectrum". Meshuggah has found little mainstream success but is a significant act in extreme underground music, an influence for modern metal bands and has a cult following. Meshuggah inspired the "djent" subgenre in progressive metal, that describes an "elastic, syncopated guitar riff" with its name. They were described as being "the first djent band completely by accident".


title: Meshuggah

text: Meshuggah's music is written by Thordendal, Hagström and Haake with assistance from Kidman and Lövgren. During songwriting, a member programs the drums, and records the guitar and bass via computer. He presents his idea to the other members as a finished work. Meshuggah typically adheres to the original idea and rarely changes the song afterwards. Hagström explains that each member has an idea of what the others are doing conceptually, and nobody thinks exclusively in terms of a particular instrument. Kidman does not play guitar in the band anymore, but he is involved in writing riffs.


title: Meshuggah

text: Except for when Hagström needs a soloist, he and Thordendal rarely record together. Both play guitar and bass while composing. Haake says about his songwriting, "Sometimes I'll sample guitar parts, cut them up, pitch-shift and tweak them until I've built the riffs I want, just for demoing purposes. But most of the time I'll just present the drums, and explain my ideas for the rest of the song, sing some riffs." The band uses Cubase to record the tracks, and the guitars are routed through software amplifier modeling, because it allows them to change the amp settings even after the song was fully recorded.


title: Meshuggah

text: Approximately once a year, Haake writes most of the band's lyrics, with the exception of finished tracks. His lyrical inspirations are derived from books and films. Aside from their album "Catch Thirtythree", Meshuggah does not usually record concept albums, although the band prefers strong conceptual underpinnings in the background.


title: Meshuggah

text: Often esoteric and conceptual, Meshuggah's lyrics explore themes such as existentialism. AllMusic describes "Destroy Erase Improve"<nowiki>'s</nowiki> lyrical focus as "the integration of machines with organisms as humanity's next logical evolutionary step". PopMatters' review of "Nothing" singles out the lyrics from "Rational Gaze": "Our light-induced image of truth—filtered blank of its substance / As our eyes won't adhere to intuitive lines / Everything examined. Separated, one thing at a time / The harder we stare the more complete the disintegration." Haake explains that "Catch Thirtythree"<nowiki>'s</nowiki> cover, title and lyrics deal with "the paradoxes/negations/contradictions of life and death (as we see it in our finest moments of unrestrained metaphoric interpretation)".


title: Meshuggah

text: The main theme of "obZen" is "human evil", according to Haake. The title is a play on the words "obscene" and "Zen"; in addition, "ob" means "anti" in Latin. Therefore, the title suggests that the human species has found harmony and balance in warfare and bloodshed. "Revolver Magazine" finds the lyrics of the title track from "obZen" representative of the entire album: "Salvation found in vomit and blood/Where depravation, lies, corruption/War and pain is god." However, Haake claims, "We don't dwell on hate and bad feelings as people. But with these songs, I think we really wanted to paint a picture lyrically that might be seen as a cautionary tale. We're going, 'Heads up. Here's what some of the parts of being human are about, and this is what we can be at our worst.' So it's more about being aware of negative feelings than actually living them all the time."


title: K-means clustering

text: "k"-means clustering is a method of vector quantization, originally from signal processing, that aims to partition "n" observations into "k" clusters in which each observation belongs to the cluster with the nearest mean (cluster centers or cluster centroid), serving as a prototype of the cluster. This results in a partitioning of the data space into Voronoi cells. "k"-means clustering minimizes within-cluster variances (squared Euclidean distances), but not regular Euclidean distances, which would be the more difficult Weber problem: the mean optimizes squared errors, whereas only the geometric median minimizes Euclidean distances. For instance, better Euclidean solutions can be found using k-medians and k-medoids.


title: K-means clustering

text: The problem is computationally difficult (NP-hard); however, efficient heuristic algorithms converge quickly to a local optimum. These are usually similar to the expectation-maximization algorithm for mixtures of Gaussian distributions via an iterative refinement approach employed by both "k-means" and "Gaussian mixture modeling". They both use cluster centers to model the data; however, "k"-means clustering tends to find clusters of comparable spatial extent, while the Gaussian mixture model allows clusters to have different shapes.


title: K-means clustering

text: The unsupervised k-means algorithm has a loose relationship to the "k"-nearest neighbor classifier, a popular supervised machine learning technique for classification that is often confused with "k"-means due to the name. Applying the 1-nearest neighbor classifier to the cluster centers obtained by "k"-means classifies new data into the existing clusters. This is known as nearest centroid classifier or Rocchio algorithm.


title: K-means clustering

text: Given a set of observations (x, x, ..., x), where each observation is a "d"-dimensional real vector, "k"-means clustering aims to partition the "n" observations into "k" (≤ "n") sets S = {"S", "S", ..., "S"} so as to minimize the within-cluster sum of squares (WCSS) (i.e. variance). Formally, the objective is to find:where "μ" is the mean of points in "S". This is equivalent to minimizing the pairwise squared deviations of points in the same cluster:The equivalence can be deduced from identity formula_1. Since the total variance is constant, this is equivalent to maximizing the sum of squared deviations between points in "different" clusters (between-cluster sum of squares, BCSS). This deterministic relationship is also related to the law of total variance in probability theory.


title: K-means clustering

text: The term ""k"-means" was first used by James MacQueen in 1967, though the idea goes back to Hugo Steinhaus in 1956. The standard algorithm was first proposed by Stuart Lloyd of Bell Labs in 1957 as a technique for pulse-code modulation, although it was not published as a journal article until 1982. In 1965, Edward W. Forgy published essentially the same method, which is why it is sometimes referred to as the Lloyd–Forgy algorithm.


title: K-means clustering

text: The most common algorithm uses an iterative refinement technique. Due to its ubiquity, it is often called "the "k"-means algorithm"; it is also referred to as Lloyd's algorithm, particularly in the computer science community. It is sometimes also referred to as "naïve "k"-means", because there exist much faster alternatives.


title: K-means clustering

text: Given an initial set of "k" means "m"...,"m" (see below), the algorithm proceeds by alternating between two steps:


title: K-means clustering

text: The algorithm has converged when the assignments no longer change. The algorithm is not guaranteed to find the optimum.


title: K-means clustering

text: The algorithm is often presented as assigning objects to the nearest cluster by distance. Using a different distance function other than (squared) Euclidean distance may prevent the algorithm from converging. Various modifications of "k"-means such as spherical "k"-means and "k"-medoids have been proposed to allow using other distance measures.


title: K-means clustering

text: Commonly used initialization methods are Forgy and Random Partition. The Forgy method randomly chooses "k" observations from the dataset and uses these as the initial means. The Random Partition method first randomly assigns a cluster to each observation and then proceeds to the update step, thus computing the initial mean to be the centroid of the cluster's randomly assigned points. The Forgy method tends to spread the initial means out, while Random Partition places all of them close to the center of the data set. According to Hamerly et al., the Random Partition method is generally preferable for algorithms such as the "k"-harmonic means and fuzzy "k"-means. For expectation maximization and standard "k"-means algorithms, the Forgy method of initialization is preferable. A comprehensive study by Celebi et al., however, found that popular initialization methods such as Forgy, Random Partition, and Maximin often perform poorly, whereas Bradley and Fayyad's approach performs "consistently" in "the best group" and "k"-means++ performs "generally well".


title: K-means clustering

text: The algorithm does not guarantee convergence to the global optimum. The result may depend on the initial clusters. As the algorithm is usually fast, it is common to run it multiple times with different starting conditions. However, worst-case performance can be slow: in particular certain point sets, even in two dimensions, converge in exponential time, that is . These point sets do not seem to arise in practice: this is corroborated by the fact that the smoothed running time of "k"-means is polynomial.


title: K-means clustering

text: The "assignment" step is referred to as the "expectation step", while the "update step" is a maximization step, making this algorithm a variant of the "generalized" expectation-maximization algorithm.


title: K-means clustering

text: Finding the optimal solution to the "k"-means clustering problem for observations in "d" dimensions is:


title: K-means clustering

text: On data that does have a clustering structure, the number of iterations until convergence is often small, and results only improve slightly after the first dozen iterations. Lloyd's algorithm is therefore often considered to be of "linear" complexity in practice, although it is in the worst case superpolynomial when performed until convergence.


title: K-means clustering

text: Lloyd's algorithm is the standard approach for this problem. However, it spends a lot of processing time computing the distances between each of the k cluster centers and the n data points. Since points usually stay in the same clusters after a few iterations, much of this work is unnecessary, making the naïve implementation very inefficient. Some implementations use caching and the triangle inequality in order to create bounds and accelerate Lloyd's algorithm.


title: K-means clustering

text: Hartigan and Wong's method provides a variation of "k"-means algorithm which progresses towards a local minimum of the minimum sum-of-squares problem with different solution updates. The method is a local search that iteratively attempts to relocate a sample into a different cluster as long as this process improves the objective function. When no sample can be relocated into a different cluster with an improvement of the objective, the method stops (in a local minimum). In a similar way as the classical "k"-means, the approach remains a heuristic since it does not necessarily guarantee that the final solution is globally optimum.


title: K-means clustering

text: Let formula_16 be the individual cost of formula_17 defined by formula_18, with formula_19 the center of the cluster.


title: K-means clustering

text: Assignment step: Hartigan and Wong's method starts by partitioning the points into random clusters formula_20.


title: K-means clustering

text: Update step: Next it determines the formula_21 and formula_22 for which the following function reaches a maximum


title: K-means clustering

text: For the formula_24 that reach this maximum, formula_25 moves from the cluster formula_26 to the cluster formula_27.


title: K-means clustering

text: Different move acceptance strategies can be used. In a "first-improvement" strategy, any improving relocation can be applied, whereas in a "best-improvement" strategy, all possible relocations are iteratively tested and only the best is applied at each iteration. The former approach favors speed, whether the latter approach generally favors solution quality at the expense of additional computational time. The function formula_30 used to calculate the result of a relocation can also be efficiently evaluated by using equality


title: K-means clustering

text: The classical k-means algorithm and its variations are known to only converge to local minima of the minimum-sum-of-squares clustering problem defined as Many studies have attempted to improve the convergence behavior of the algorithm and maximize the chances of attaining the global optimum (or at least, local minima of better quality). Initialization and restart techniques discussed in the previous sections are one alternative to find better solutions. More recently, global optimization algorithms based on branch-and-bound and semidefinite programming have produced ‘’provenly optimal’’ solutions for datasets with up to 4,177 entities and 20,531 features. As expected, due to the NP-hardness of the subjacent optimization problem, the computational time of optimal algorithms for K-means quickly increases beyond this size. Optimal solutions for small- and medium-scale still remain valuable as a benchmark tool, to evaluate the quality of other heuristics. To find high-quality local minima within a controlled computational time but without optimality guarantees, other works have explored metaheuristics and other global optimization techniques, e.g., based on incremental approaches and convex optimization, random swaps (i.e., iterated local search), variable neighborhood search and genetic algorithms. It is indeed known that finding better local minima of the minimum sum-of-squares clustering problem can make the difference between failure and success to recover cluster structures in feature spaces of high dimension.


title: K-means clustering

text: A key limitation of "k"-means is its cluster model. The concept is based on spherical clusters that are separable so that the mean converges towards the cluster center. The clusters are expected to be of similar size, so that the assignment to the nearest cluster center is the correct assignment. When for example applying "k"-means with a value of formula_32 onto the well-known Iris flower data set, the result often fails to separate the three Iris species contained in the data set. With formula_33, the two visible clusters (one containing two species) will be discovered, whereas with formula_32 one of the two clusters will be split into two even parts. In fact, formula_33 is more appropriate for this data set, despite the data set's containing 3 "classes". As with any other clustering algorithm, the "k"-means result makes assumptions that the data satisfy certain criteria. It works well on some data sets, and fails on others.


title: K-means clustering

text: The result of "k"-means can be seen as the Voronoi cells of the cluster means. Since data is split halfway between cluster means, this can lead to suboptimal splits as can be seen in the "mouse" example. The Gaussian models used by the expectation-maximization algorithm (arguably a generalization of "k"-means) are more flexible by having both variances and covariances. The EM result is thus able to accommodate clusters of variable size much better than "k"-means as well as correlated clusters (not in this example). In counterpart, EM requires the optimization of a larger number of free parameters and poses some methodological issues due to vanishing clusters or badly-conditioned covariance matrices. "K"-means is closely related to nonparametric Bayesian modeling.


title: K-means clustering

text: "k"-means clustering is rather easy to apply to even large data sets, particularly when using heuristics such as Lloyd's algorithm. It has been successfully used in market segmentation, computer vision, and astronomy among many other domains. It often is used as a preprocessing step for other algorithms, for example to find a starting configuration.


title: K-means clustering

text: "k"-means originates from signal processing, and still finds use in this domain. For example, in computer graphics, color quantization is the task of reducing the color palette of an image to a fixed number of colors "k". The "k"-means algorithm can easily be used for this task and produces competitive results. A use case for this approach is image segmentation. Other uses of vector quantization include non-random sampling, as "k"-means can easily be used to choose "k" different but prototypical objects from a large data set for further analysis.


title: K-means clustering

text: In cluster analysis, the "k"-means algorithm can be used to partition the input data set into "k" partitions (clusters).