Mastodon

[Ettan]

New album has leaked.. Pretty sure it's against the rules to share it here

[N.Y.H.C.]

New album has leaked.. Pretty sure it's against the rules to share it here

peeping now. the first track "Tread Lightly", wow.

[hellboy]

Yeah, it leaked several hours ago. It's only against the rules to share a link.

[M0G]

Leaks....

[hellboy]

I know, I've literally ruined the album. If only I had some self control.

[joeypants]

Leaks....

Agreed.

And for my part, it's never the people downloading it exactly (provided you pay for the fucker if you like it, assholes!). But the prick who uploads it/leaks it? They should literally be put in stockades and pelted with rotten fruit for a week, then told they're getting let out, and then hacked to death from behind with a very dull machete once they're sent on their way.

[Kittaan]

Only listened once so far, but the first impression is that the drumming is excellent.

[N.Y.H.C.]

Leaks....

Agreed.

And for my part, it's never the people downloading it exactly (provided you pay for the fucker if you like it, assholes!). But the prick who uploads it/leaks it? They should literally be put in stockades and pelted with rotten fruit for a week, then told they're getting let out, and then hacked to death from behind with a very dull machete once they're sent on their way.

yeah but you know me bro, I download the leak if it's hot I wait for you to post the "buy" link and I go snatch that shit up.

[badkittygothgirl]

Mastodon is having a listening party and signing at the planetarium!! Oh hells yeah! I think we both have to buy the album to get a ticket to the event, so who wants to purchase our second copy that will be signed by the band?

[joeypants]

I've been sitting on my opinions a while on this one, but I think it's very, very good. Definitely a similar vein to The Hunter in that it's not a "concept album" and more a collection of smaller songs, but a) this one feels more cohesive than The Hunter to me, almost to where certain songs feel like companions to others, and b) let's be honest, they've never done truly "strong" concept albums ala Dark Side Of The Moon or The Wall or something, where you have lots of musical through lines and call backs. Mastodon's albums only felt like concept albums lyrically and because they declared them as such. And that's fine.

Anyway, there are a couple tracks that still aren't growing on me (namely Halloween and Once More 'Round the Sun), but I think overall they really reach exciting new high points as a band on this one. Tread Lightly, Chimes At Midnight, Asleep In The Deep, Ember City and Diamond In The Witch House fucking blow me away. But then, I love High Road too so the cleaner vocals might not do it for some. But it's them at their most prog-rock and I can't get enough of it. Aunt Lisa is a fucking amazing song as well but... those gang vocals. Not sure where I sit on that. Tonally and all I love it, I just might have picked different lyrics for that. Hard for me to get past but whatever. It's fun.

They've made two really good albums in a row geared more towards the singles approach, or just making slightly more "straight ahead" rocking tracks, although this album is definitely weirder in many (good) ways than The Hunter was. And if songs like Chimes At Midnight and Diamond In The Witch House are any indication, I cannot wait to hear the "Winter EP" or whatever that has the "darker" songs that were cut from this.

It feels like as a band, they have a good grasp on some new approaches and tools to use sonically. I would like to think the next album is going to return heavily to the concept approach and also be a lot more experimental and weird. Which would be awesome. I would love to see them push the concept approach even further than they did with Crack The Skye.

[joeypants]

Also, SUPER curious to see them attempt Asleep In The Deep live because of the vocals. Hahaha. I can't imagine what a clusterfuck that might become live, especially given the struggles they sometimes have with the live vocals.

[UndKeineZwEier]

Cool review. I'm looking forward to checking this out.

[Kittaan]

@ Joey - A few more listens under my belt. Digging this more and more. I was also a fan of the Hunter, and I think some (most?) of the problems that people had with it, and will have with this one, is an attachment to the older material. If this was put out under a different band name, I wonder if there would be such negative reaction? There are some very strong songs here. And as mentioned before, the drumming is so fucking good. Very inventive and burly work from Brann, yet again.

[joeypants]

Yeah, that seems to be the common complaint. "More metal" more or less. I never get these complaints with bands. They've already done that kind of material and if they don't have any bright ideas for how to do that particular thing in new ways, then best they move on and do something they are interested in.

Plus I mean, it still sounds very much like the same band! You can draw a very clear line from Leviathan to this album.

[Kittaan]

+ 1 completely.

Still, it's their opinion and they're welcome to it.

More for me to enjoy....? Yeah, that makes no sense.

[joeypants]

I totally understand where they're coming from, just doesn't gel with how I look at most bands.

[UndKeineZwEier]

Mastodon are a Blood Mountain band, but everybody wants them to be a Leviathan or Crack The Skye band.

Anyways the album is streaming on iTunes right now for those of you who don't already know.

[joeypants]

Figured they'd be trying to counter that leak somehow, although I was sure they'd react over the weekend. I would so not want to work at a label and have to make decisions about shit like that.

[UndKeineZwEier]

After two false starts I was able to get about halfway through the album before the stream shit out on me. I liked what I heard for the most part. Fuggin' iTunes, man...

[hellboy]

I don't think "more metal" is what most older Mastodon fans are after. Mastodon aren't much less heavy in my opinion.

It's more the feel of the songs/album - their last two albums just feel like collections for 4-5 minute songs, rather than the more progressive elements of their earlier albums. For me, they've got to prog-rock/metal to just plain rock/metal, and it's just not the same.

That said, the album is growing on me and has some solid tracks.

[Calfium Jay]

Most people who have heard the thing already have stated that it "gets better on the third or fourth listen" and that there is "still some - although not a lot of - experimentation" on it.

So I still hold out hope.

[hellboy]

Here's a Mastodon feed that doesn't require iTunes or piracy:

http://themusic.com.au/listen/all/2014/ ... d-the-sun/

[Calfium Jay]

I'll wait til it comes out on blu ray.

[badkittygothgirl]

Looking forward to Monday night! We had such a blast at the Hunter album signing and after party at El Myr a few years ago. I expect this one to be no different.

[ziggy23]

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