Mastodon C/D ?

I'm not overly enthusiastic about this but yeah, High Road has a pretty cool chorus. Every other song I've heard from it hasn't really really grabbed me. It's a shame because everything from Remission to Crack the Skye is essential, then they got a bit predictable and boring.

That seems like a weird thing to say to me, because The Hunter was such a shift in direction, away from the mega-prog and concept albums to much tighter songs. I get saying that this new one feels a bit predictable though, it's pretty much of a piece with Hunter.

I meant the song structures themselves are usually quite predictable and overly reliant on standard song format. After CtS I did have a feeling they might pare back a lot of the frills and go more straight-forward, I think the band said as much when they started writing/recording The Hunter iirc.

The Hunter isn't *bad* at all but I don't listen to it very often. I might not even bother with this new one.

only the void connects me

Blimey, it's pretty poppy isn't it? Not that I've a problem with that per se, and I think I prefer it to the OTT widdling of Blood Mountain. But it's a bit jarring to hear them come out with choruses that could belong to Linkin Park. Musicianship still excellent obviously.

I really didn't expect the last minute or so of Aunt Lisa at all.

So far I'm liking this better than The Hunter. It continues with the same emphasis on melody and more basic song structure, but feels better crafted and more consistent overall. The tracks sound like some effort went into them, where everything on The Hunter sounded very half-assed.

i think the writing on this is fantastic. played it on a 120 mile round trip drive last night in the dark in the wee hours of the morning and it just felt 'right'

moodles otm, enjoyed this right away but still can't get through the hunter, so damn bland

full disclosure:

remission >>> blood mountain = leviathan >>>>>>> crack the skye

Leviathan's my favourite, though I've never actually listened to Remission.

#1 on the Billboard rock chart

dang

I'm no fan of the Remission/Leviathan era, but this one's an enjoyable listen so far. They're basically Avenged Sevenfold with more chops.

Really digging Once More 'Round now, it's a grower. Tread Lightly to Asleep in the Deep is a killer run, couldn't choose my favourite from those six songs.

I've been listening to a ton of Mastodon lately. One thing that struck me after listening to songs from throughout their catalog back-to-back is just how consistent they've been all along. There's been a trend toward more melodic, more concise songs, but plenty of their old stuff was melodic and there's still plenty of crazy prog tangents on their new stuff, and it all hits hard. I've also come around a lot on The Hunter. There are probably only a couple songs on there that I don't care for and lots of very solid stuff. I just keep liking these guys more and more!

Yeah they're a band that really reward repeated close listening.

3.10 - 3.30 on High Road may actually be the most rocking passage of music in existence.

Yeah, love how it opens up into that melodic passage after all the brutal riffing. I also love how they dig into those super low notes in the main riff.

I've tried but I can't get into this new one. It's too straight-forward and obvious, or a lesser attempt at their older sounds like The Hunter. I get that Crack the Skye was a difficult album for them personally as well as musically and they wanted to become a bit more relaxed in approach ever since but they've just sounded half-arsed ever since. I'm glad that they're successful and most likely make a living from what they do now because they deserve it but to me they've just gone from amazing to mediocre.

The tracks on the last two albums are less obviously proggy than their earlier stuff but there are a lot more twists and turns in there than may be apparent on first listen.

I've listened to it a few times now, but it's just not doing it for me! They're still a pretty good band but I don't think I'll be listening to this too often. If I want sludgy proggy pop-metal Torche and Floor are way superior so I'll stick with them for the time being

yeah i actually thought this record had a lot more oblique and unexpected passages than say the hunter

i've only listened to it once though. iirc it was groovy and fun

I really tried with The Hunter but some kind of spark of life is just missing

Having difficulty rallying my irl friends for the Brixton show in November, anyone off here going?

http://i1.wp.com/www.ghostcultmag.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/mastodon-game-of-thrones.jpg

Mastodon’s Brann Dailor describes their time Beyond the Wall:

It was such an incredible experience to be on set as extras for our collective favorite show Game Of Thrones and to be wildlings murdered and then brought back to life by White Walkers was beyond amazing. I watched my best friends Brent Hinds and Bill Kelliher, murdered right in front of me as I myself was stabbed in the stomach and had my throat slit multiple times, and I didn’t mind at all. It made me love being in Mastodon even more. We are more than privileged and honored to have been a part of one of the greatest stories ever told on film, and the catering wasn’t bad either.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Og39iIBeOHI&t=184s

I'll try again:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Og39iIBeOHI

It's good. Doesn't appear to be a radical departure from their last two albums, but I don't think anyone was particularly expecting that at this point. New album coming March.

The opening riff is rather similar to the one on the most recent Baroness album.

I am v bored of what they sound like w/ Brendan O'Brien on the boards

this is the first time he's produced them since crack the skye, but i agree

they're much better singers now at least

oh is it? all their recent albums have that same flat dull sound to me. xp

right, only Crack The Skye, which I think sounds great, but that's not a popular POV

They all sound fine to me, but I'm not a production nerd.

I like the new song, but it's about as predictably Mastodon-ish as anyone could imagine. I'm still looking forward to the new one, though. Current ranking: Leviathan > Crack the Skye > Once More 'Round the Sun > The Hunter > Remission > Blood Mountain (though honestly the last three are basically a tie for "yeah, no thanks").

Would more or less agree with your ranking, I find Remission and Blood Mountain fairly impenetrable. The Hunter has an ep's worth of good songs.

once more 'round the sun is a great record; i think the hunter is pretty easily their worst. ranking remission and blood mountain that low is nonsense

I've tried with both of them and never got into them. It's not that I don't enjoy their heavier work as I love Leviathan. Maybe they'll click one day.

Speaking as someone who didn't like their last two albums very much I think this new song's pretty good.

Blood Mountain is great y'all. The Hunter is the only one that I can't really get with although I love "Black Tongue".

I like Brendan O'Brien's production work because he really shines a light on their awesome guitar riffs. New song is dope, BTW.

feel like the drums get sorta buried in the riff clouds on crack the skye and this new song, but i'm looking forward to the record anyway

you're probably right, I prefer guitar over drums production on this type of album because it sounds more naturalistic to me and just louder overall. But that creates a situation where the drums do end up taking a little bit of a backseat.

you're probably right, I prefer guitar over drums production on this type of album because it sounds more naturalistic to me and just louder overall. But that creates a situation where the drums do end up taking a little bit of a backseat.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mdxZ4YXFcpQ

hm

Can't listen right now, is that a bad hm?

it's an undecided hm

I uh can't imagine their fanbase getting super stoked about this lol

The first track had me a little bit intrigued but now I think I'll just give this album a miss