Mastodon

Great band, I'd say Leviathan is their best album, and I just got their new album Crack the Skye in the mail, which I'm listening to right now. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AKejR834VKM

How is it?
I red somewhere that they will go into more progressive areas that resemble more old 70's prog rock, which I enjoy very much, but I just love their style on Leviathan and Blood Mountain. I need to download their new album to find out if they really changed and maybe buy the album if I like it.

I like the early stuff where they had a sludgey vibe too the music. Other than that I'm not highly into them.

Same here. The early stuff is a little more to my liking. Not much though.

I rarely listen to modern-time bands, but Mastodon are one of the exceptions. I consider them the most inventional metal band today, although it´s not so metal at all...

i agree with ToadstoolMoon i dont regard their stuff as metal. and their old stuff was aiight...newer stuff meh.

ive heard their new album...it was alright...nothing i would listen to again though...

The new album is... different. Clean vocals all the way through and it even sounds like standard C tuning. Not really my style..

^^^agreed with that...it was...very different...in a bad way...

IMO, the new album is their best. Perfect album in my books.

Skye sounds really good from what I've heard (only listened through 3 or 4 times on MySpazz), but it maybe a 'grower' cause it didn't jump out at me like Blood Mountain did.

the guitars once again are PHENOMENAL...and it definetly show's how they've grown as musicians and as a band. Not just that "everything played as fast and hard as you can" -attitude like in first albums.

Hutchinson wrote:

the guitars once again are PHENOMENAL...and it definetly show's how they've grown as musicians and as a band. Not just that "everything played as fast and hard as you can" -attitude like in first albums.

I don't think Mastodon has ever had that attitude. I can't think of any of their songs that I listened to and thought "Woah, that's really fast!", but I feel that they have lost their sound as a band. The first three albums established the band, and the band has a distinguished sound, and Crack the Skye sounds like they're trying to ride on the coattails of bands like Cynic and Opeth, but completely failing in sounding unique.

Brent Hinds has said that this is exactly the way he imagined Mastodon to be. It just took the transition from that early sludge metal to come more progressive. Don't get me wrong I love the early mastodon...Leviathan was phenomenal and by far my favourite metal album of 2000's until Crack the Skye.

I guess it just doesn't work with everyone. Like that was surprising...

Given that the new album was written on an acoustic guitar by a guy who could only really play and smoke weed, and that it's the aether/air album, it's how you'd expect.

Mastodon are definitely heading the way of prog. I though crack the skye was a bit too dull and slow and dirgey but something kept dragging me back and eventually realised actually, it is a grower and I really like it. I do think they dropped the ball once or twice during the album, but only for little stretches. It is their weakest album but it's still one of the best releases of the year.

I've liked every album they've done on the terms they've done them, a lot like the dillinger escape plan, I suspect that as long as they don't sacrifice quality (and stay within the range of stuff I like... I'm open minded by principal but my musical taste is narrow at times) during their musical evolution, I'll like them.

Also they're amazing live.

Hutchinson wrote:

Brent Hinds has said that this is exactly the way he imagined Mastodon to be. It just took the transition from that early sludge metal to come more progressive. Don't get me wrong I love the early mastodon...Leviathan was phenomenal and by far my favourite metal album of 2000's until Crack the Skye.

I guess it just doesn't work with everyone. Like that was surprising...

I need to spend more time with Crack the Skye, it hasn't clicked with me yet.

I haven't listened to the new album at all. I may check it out soon, but I dunno.

I was pretty excited but yeah so far nothing to great.

Dopesmoker wrote:

I haven't listened to the new album at all. I may check it out soon, but I dunno.

Don't bother.

I like one Mastodon song. It is Crusher Destroyer. That is one heavy and bad ass song. That's all I gotta say 'bout 'em. I know the rest of the stuff is good, though it's really not my thing.

They are pretty cool in terms of music, blood mountain is imo their best by a good bit
though I do respect all the new stuff they have done and their desire to branch out.

If you find interviews of them and such they are utter pricks which can kinda put you off them.

I think CTS is my fave album by them. I like Remission a lot, though. IDK. All of their albums are awesome in their own way.

Leviathan is their best effort, imo. Blood Mountain had really weak songs and the new one isnt very metal. I havent heard Remission and not really in a hurry too.

Leviathan is amazing.

rawheavygreen wrote:

Leviathan is their best effort, imo. Blood Mountain had really weak songs and the new one isnt very metal. I havent heard Remission and not really in a hurry too.

While being metal is usually a good thing, not being metal doesn't really equal bad. I'm less likely to like it, and I suspect you are, but I just feel "not metal" is not something which makes a band good or bad. The most rock and roll thing I've seen was a romanian folk troupe at a small music festival who went outside the venue and played to the people milling outside. That was fantastic, think we had to run off to see someone else though, I think it might have been the melvins/mastodon double set, or fantomas/butthole surfers. Or maybe it was razhel then squarepusher, I dunno.

However, remission is the most metal, heavy piece of music they have done. It's got the most avante guard sound but is also absolutely crushing. I'd at least go find some samples. March of the fire ants is on par with hearts alive.

Leviathan is the best rounded effort though. Though they all stand pretty tall.

Ah well sorry for the misunderstanding but I don't like it because it's not as metal as their prior albums. By no means is Crack the Skye a 'bad' album. It isn't like they stopped writing creative music that takes mad skill to play, they obviously proved they can write metal music. Mastodon took a more diverse and technical route with this effort. The main qualm I have is that I don't enjoy guitar noodling and odd timing for the sake of being "out there".