Mastodon C/D ?

"Quintessence" presumably not the Darkthrone song, then

NOT EVERYTHING IS A DARKTHRONE SONG, J0HN

THANK YOU FOR DESTROYING MY DREAM

yr welcome

Curious what people's thoughts are on Crack the Skye now that it is legitimately available; I'm grappling with parts of the album's shift toward some of the cheesier arena metal tropes; I've always really liked the band's hardcore-esque muscle and rawness and I guess that aspect of their sound has been steadily on the decline over the course of their four full albums.

That said the album is winning me over, especially The Last Baron...

I am a big fan of "cheesier arena metal tropes" so I am really looking forward to getting this.

It's not doing much for me after two listens.
Seems to have lost some of their rawness for lack of a better word. Too slick sounding, maybe?
I'll give it more time though.

i like it a lot, really catchy

Yeah, its pretty great.

the chorus of "oblivion" sounds like fuckin' STP. not really sure what i think of that.

ha it always makes me think of alice in chains, especially the vocal harmonies ... it's probably my least favorite track

"divinitions" absolutely shreds though, dozens of times better than anything on the last album.

I can't wait to hear these songs live next month.

been thinking about getting a ticket for the chicago date myself

That's where I'll be seeing them. I think you'd like Kylesa and maybe Intronaut, the opening bands. Should be a great show.

right now kylesa is the major reason i'm considering going to the boston show. they should be seriously amazing with the two drummers in a brand new club that i assume will have excellent sound.

yeah i've been listening to the kylesa album recently, it's pretty good ... only reason i wasn't sure about going is super-crowded shows have been making me angry and claustrophobic lately, but i should probably just deal

Yeah, doesn't help that the show is at the Metro and starts roughly the same time as a Cubs game, so it'll be really crowded.

Meaning the whole area, obvs, the Cubs game won't affect the attendance at the show.

ugh, at least i can walk to the metro from my house. metro has pretty good sightlines too. i should go.

i think they're more AiC than STP, but yes this album is all hellz of catchy.

digging this so far

my favorite moment is when "the czar" finally busts into the galloping chugachuga part about four minutes in

that's interesting, congratulations, that's the exact arena metal trope that was rubbing me the wrong way initially; I have to say it (and the album as a whole) is growing more palatable with each listen though. But then every Mastodon album has seemed a bit impenetrable to me at first and then grown and grown on me, usually with Brann's drumming as the entry point.

I will say it's too bad there seems to be less of his manic snare-cracking on this album than ever. Ah well, every song can't be "Mother Puncher".

tunnel book cd/dvd with lithograph arrived today.

ha--i just got the plain old cd today. is good enough for me.

I'm interviewing Bill Kelliher in about 90 minutes. Any questions?

all of my question ideas are leading back to "why aren't you as awesome as you used to be?" lol jaded mastodon fan.

I'd like to know a few things actually.

A)Will they ever make a return to the sludgier sounds of some of the Remission tracks (not remaking older stuff as I don't want bands to regress, but I'd like to hear some slower heavier riffs)

B)Will they play Crusher/Destroyer and Motherpuncher when touring the new album?

C)Will it be always clean vocals from now on?

you could also ask about what Chuck said about the band crack the sky and if they were an influence on the album.

how do they view their place in modern rock/metal? are they satisfied with it? do they even consider themselves a metal band (in the tru purist sense)? blah blah blah...

Will it be always clean vocals from now on?

Also, what led to the decision to use clean vocals, and how did it affect the process of writing and recording?

i.e. "did the record label put on any pressure? Or did you choose for a more mainstream sound yourself?" , brad?

what is this pressure you speak of, Kerr?

...

I'm thinking more about the songwriting and how they came to decide clean vocals were necessary for the effects they wanted. But you raise a good point about commercial motivations.

Is this album really more commercial than the previous ones? I don't understand the market well enough to judge. It's hard for me to imagine the new Mastodon getting much radio play.

well it's certainly more commercial than Lifesblood and Remission. And even Leviathan.
It's not really as "metal" as those that came before it in many fans eyes, so it might cost them those fans, if the posts on last.fm are to go by.

while other's think it's their best http://www.last.fm/music/Mastodon

I think this thing is great. There is a part of the last song that sounds directly lifted from "Relayer". And in my book that's a good thing.

Yeah, I hear a Yes influence too.

I like the new one, it sounds like I wanted "Blood Mountain" to sound.

is it just me or do some of the vocals sound ozzy-esque?

do they even consider themselves a metal band (in the tru purist sense)?

i interviewed em a month or so ago, and i don't think they really do anymore - both bill and brent were very much on a "we are classic rock, and this is what we always wanted to be" type tip. i love their older stuff, but i love this new album too; it's different to what came before, but there's enough of what came before that i think they were ready for a change.

yeah, it seems like a natural development in their evolution as a band. so when can we expect the inevitable CCR covers?

is it just me or do some of the vocals sound ozzy-esque?

― meat of beef (Jordan), Tuesday, March 31, 2009 5:00 PM (Yesterday)

no dude, i hear exactly the same thing in a bunch of places

http://www.terrorizer.com/sites/terrorizer.com/files/imagecache/frontpage/big182_0.jpg

i hear Ozzy, too, here and there. and yes. but am i correct in noting that bits and pieces here are reminiscent of Helmet and Sugar (maybe Therapy?, too)? early-90s nostalgia, it's just a fist away.

First song sounds like Alice in Chains.

Ok, this is really nitpicking and bitching about Pitchfork in the '09 is ridic (esp. when it comes to metal), but it bugs me a little that Fever Ray gets a "best new music" tag with an 8.1 rating but Mastodon doesn't with an 8.0.

whoa I was not expecting to think that this album kicks so much ass!!!

i was kinda avoiding it and waiting to listen to it fearing that it was gonna be all Tool-like with the more prog influences I kept reading about but it actually works really surprisingly well and sounds great.

that's funny, I heard a little Yes in the middle and (instead of Alice In Achains)a hint of Soundgarden towards the beginning especially