Mastodon – The Hunter
Reprise Records.
In this modern day and age, there are many bands that come on to the scene with a goal…a dream that they will make music that stands out and keeps their fans interesting by pushing their potential. Clearly Atlanta’s very own Mastodon are a prime example of this. With their broad calibre mixture of sludge metal riffs, unpredictable time signatures that progress into the psychedelic wave of escape. Even their artwork compliment their unique sound.
With four full length strong LPs under their belt, gaining the reputation of evolving after each album with fresh ideas. They are back with the anticipated release of “Hunter” and my God, this is an absolute stonker of an album! In a recent interview, the band had stated “the album was the most fun to make and can’t see any other metal bands going one better” and you can clearly see why this is the case…
With the opening track “Black Tongue” it kicks off in excitingly upbeat fashion. This would be perfect to choose as their first single to state “Mastodon are back” with a heavy taste of Led Zeppelin inspired hooks which are complimented by Brann Dailor’s Jazz inspired drumming and Saunders’ melodic voice. It clearly goes down a storm of what comes ahead.
The adventure continues with raw hitting “Curl of The Burl”, a song that goes back to the basics of drawing attention of the listener and you can see this going down very well at a live show. An energy filled track that comes alive with catchy hooks, clean vocals that remind you of early Ozzy Osbourne. For the fans who enjoy the side of Mastodon that likes to explode in brutal fashion, “Spectrelight” is a prime example of this. A raw, chaotic riff that could rip apart an energetic crowd screaming for more and the vocals fit in well to add the mood of aggression. Most definitely up there with crowd favourite “Blood and Thunder” on their Leviathan album.
As being of fan of Mastodon of many years, what strikes me about this band is I like their atmospheric sound can take you into another world and as well as their song writing ability to create something as random as “Stargasm“. A song which is about sex in space, beautifully crafted mixing clean and distorted sounds. For example, the album title “The Hunter” kicks off into clean guitar riffs that calm the mood of an energetic start to the album and appreciate the timeless harmonies that evolve in psychedelic patterns. The guitar solo takes it onto another level of mindblowing the listener. Another fine example of a combination of impeccable structure in Prog Rock form is “The Creature Lives”. A Bass intro that starts a journey that blends tempo, atmosphere and Saunders’ Ozzy-esque voice into a colourful masterpiece.
After repeatedly listening to this album, I couldn’t help notice that Mastodon have broaden their sound a lot more mainstream. This is more of a positive comment towards the band as it seems after making four albums that have each gone down incredibly, they are ready to reach out the rest of the world and make sure they are heard. Who can blame them, they are a modern band who keep the fans that have been with them since day one satisfied as well as attracting new fans who have an open mind. There is no question that this band are very passionate about what they do, They like to clearly evolve after each album and there is no stopping how big they will get as their sound is absolutely massive now. Undoubtedly, they will be remembered for years to come!
Words by Ben Jones
