I have never been a huge fan of metal. I listen to only a handful of metal, and some of them are debatable on the subject of their genre. Anyways, Mastodon was one of the first "metal" bands I started to listen to. The first thing that drew me to them was their subject matter. Moby Dick? Hell yes. A man climbing Blood Mountain to find the Crystal Skull? Amazing. A paraplegic who astral projects and meets Rasputin, tries to kill the Czar and meet Satan? Okay, woah. Honestly they have some of the most ridiculous, yet utterly coolest concepts I've seen in music.
Blood Mountain was an incredible psychedelic romp that showed that the members of Mastodon had only been progressing since Leviathan, and they have continued to progress.
The first thing that I noticed, starting the album with "Oblivion" is how melodic they have become, without losing any of the heaviness. Pounding palm-muted guitar, switches to a chorus with those enormous guitars and technical fills that Mastodon has become known for. Then the solo hits. The first thing I thought of was.. Pink Floyd? I mean yeah it does turn into a dueling guitar battle in the later half of the solo, but man are the first couple measures straight from the David Gilmour Handbook. And by no means is that bad. If anything it's exactly what Mastodon needs, it has the technical metal aspects with melodiousness of 70's psyche.
"Divinations" is a sprinting technical masterpiece with a *gasp* surf-guitar solo. I-I don't think I can handle this. And it keeps going like this. Song after song, Mastodon continues to melt your face with their abilities at bass, drums, and guitars.
"The Czar" is a near 11-minute long epic consisting of 4 parts. Interesting elements become more apparent in this, with more present keyboard and piano at the end of the song.
Overall, anybody looking for something new in the metal scene, or someone looking for true musicianship, this is the place to look. Every member plays absolutely amazingly, it is constantly blowing my mind. The psychedelic and classic rock influences are ever present. Instead of having just blisteringly fast solos, Mastodon relies on their melodic abilities to construct solos that are just as fist-pumpingly sick. Even as I listen to "The Last Baron" in the final moments of the album my mind continues to explode towards the outer reaches of my skull, and I hope it does the same for you.
Rating: 5 out of 5.
-Lucas Thurston
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