BubblesErotica36

Mastodon is currently streaming their new LP titled Once More 'Round The Sun on iTunes.

I was pretty disappointed with their last release The Hunter. It just seemed so… generic. It sounded like generic Mastodon, which is pretty upsetting because Mastodon is a band that is anything but generic. I'm not sure if their intention was to create something more accessible, or if it was to take a step back and let the music "breathe" so to speak. It just seemed bland and uninteresting.

After listening to Once More…, I can say that I enjoy this album considerably more than The Hunter. They seem to really have found a middle ground on this album: the pristine clean production, less aggressive vocals, and catchy chorus' of The Hunter, yet still keeping the melodic metal riffs laced with proggy guitar licks, spastically orchestrated drums of Blood Mountain and Remission. It showcases their ability as musicians which has always been their strong suit which strangely seemed to be dialed down on their previous effort in my opinion.

A lot of people have seem to be giving them a hard time for their choice of using "clean" vocals, but they honestly have been experimenting with that since Blood Mountain. I don't find it that much distracting, in fact, I have to give them credit, it's no easy feat and from Remission to where they are now, they have done a fine job.

Once More isn't exactly a super memorable album for me, but it definitely has replay potential. It combines all the elements Mastodon has developed: melodic vocals, vibrant, multi-layered guitar leads, hyper-active drum fills, with a progressive flair that is specific to them. I think what really stands out though, is the tight knit yet grandiose song compositions. Every song is chock-full of song structures filled with seamless transitioned sections that build and build which they definitely have done in the past with Crack The Skye but it seems more natural on this album. Every song averages at about 4 to 5 minutes long, with every second utilized very well.

My favorite tracks are The Motherload and Once More 'Round The Sun. What do you think?

Surell

I'm glad to hear this is an improvement on the hunter, these guys are way too good to pare their sound down like they did for that release, and it's just not their style. They did say though (or Bret hinds did I believe) that they wante to let loose and have a little more fun on that album, which explains the lack of a concept and possibly how the songs seemed more basic and jammish. I hope this one revives some of the madness of songs like "caparillian crest" which I think eat strode the line of super prog and clean, distinguished production. I also love their Down and dirty remission era stuff so hopefully there's some of that. Is there any concept you know of, btw?

Thanks for the report! I just saw em live an they killed it so I'm not too worried about them burning out or anything but I was hoping they'd bring a little more of their distinction to this release, and it sounds like they have for the most part.

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k3no

I love this album! I'm actually working on my own review on my blog.

If you like this music, you should check it out!

kenoalbumreviewer . blogspot . com