islandclaws

From Blabbermouth:

Tentatively due in October via Reprise Records, "The Hunter" will contain the following tracks, among others:

* Blasteroids
* The Octopus Has No Friends
* Stargasm
* Curl Of The Burl
* All The Heavy Lifting
* The Sparrow
* The Ruiner

When asked about the sound of MASTODON's forthcoming album, drummer Brann Dailor told the German edition of Metal Hammer magazine, "When you listen to the songs, they don't sound as 'fun' as we perceive them to be, I guess; it's still pretty extremely heavy material." He added, "We had a few songs that were kind of, not left over from 'Crack The Skye', but just stuff that we wanted to be on that album, but that album kind of took on a whole different thing of its own and there were a few stragglers that were super-heavy and crazy that didn't make it, and we finally got to put them on this record. And then we wrote a whole bunch of brand new stuff. There's, like, 14 songs that we recorded. And it's sort all over the place — a lot of different sounds. Some straight-up classic-rock-sounding songs, straight-up death metal-sounding songs and some completely bizarre, weirdo rock songs that we're not really sure what they are, but we love them."

"The Hunter" was recorded at Doppler Studios in Atlanta with producer Mike Elizondo. Drum tracks were previously completed in Los Angeles at the legendary Sound City Studios where NIRVANA's masterwork "Nevermind" was recorded.

<img src=http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/soulflypremiere/mastodonhunter.jpg alt=mastodon

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I really loved Blood Mountain, but I think Crack The Skye was too ambitious for the band, and it wasn't as strong as their previous efforts. I find most bands who put a lot of time into a concept record often lose focus on making the music awesome within that concept. I hope this is a greater return to form for them. Not digging the cover art.

anomynous

I don't get why everybody hates the coverart, it screams Mastodon to me.

islandclaws

I wouldn't say I hate it, but their past covers have been excellent compared to this. Not a fan of the logo change, either.

david12

All their previous 4 are top notch and unique, they shread live, so I'm stoked for this. Love the song titles.

asianxcore

Looking forward to this.

islandclaws

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I like this. Sounds like a return to heavier form.

islandclaws

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Good stuff keeps comin'.

JHosk

Thanks for the updates. Loving the first two songs. After a pretty slow for me in terms of music, the fall is looking to shape up decently.

anomynous

Love Black Tongue, Curl of the Burl is eh....

anomynous

Album is terrible.


That is all.

Hiro11

This band hasn't put a foot wrong in 6 years. It's been a remarkable run. The early reviews of this album are very positive again and I really like the songs on this thread. Also, I dig that album cover, it's very in line with what the band'a aesthetic.

islandclaws

I've been spinning it all day and I love it.

Since we all love to rank things around here:

Blood Mountain
Leviathan
The Hunter
Remission
Crack the Skye
Call of the Mastodon

david12

Steaming and digging it too. Looks like less of a concept and just a lot of kick ass songs. Sort of like Leviathan without the book concept attached. They are also getting strong vocally...which was always their biggest fault before. Can't wait to listen more.

Hiro11

I've listened to the album through twice now. Wow. This is a very, very good album from top to bottom. In fact I think it's an amazing album. There isn't a single bad track on the entire thing.

It shows them maturing, experimenting and becoming better songwriters. I really like the new sounds they're exploring from the space metal of "Stargasm" to the simply beautiful "Creature Lives" to the 70's sludge of "Curl of the Burl" to the Torche-esque alt-metal of "Blasteroid" to the Kyuss desert metal of "Dry Bone Valley" to the weird ass riffing of "Octopus has no Friends". This album keeps throwing you left turns just when you think you've got it pegged. The great thing is that they're masters of all of these forms and still maintain a consistant, identifyable "Mastodon" sound across all of the styles. Also, you can't really talk about this album without a word on these guys as musicians. IMO: they are peerless in the metal world from a technical perspective. With this album, they've put the pretenders to bed.

Perhaps the most impressive thing about this album is that it's experimental, mature and ambitious but probably the most accessible thing they've done. I hear several singles and lots of stuff that would appeal to a mainstream audience. I think this thing is going to sell really well and cement Mastodon at the top of the metal heap. The amazing thing is that they're the rare band that's done it while remaining true to their roots and pushing boundaries.

islandclaws

This is easily going to be in my top 3 for the year. It gets better with every spin.

The DVD that came with the SE has some good stuff on it, but I wish the Making Of was longer.

david12

I agree with the fact that it keeps getting better and better. I also really dig how quick it goes by, how little effort it takes to listen, and how much fun it seems like they are having (on most of it anyways). Just a great album.

I think a lot of review sites that have championed them in the past are getting pissed because the sound is now becoming a bit more 'mainstreamed'. As if making a record that doesn't take all of our being to listen to instantly makes that record a failure. B-holes.

Anyways, I congratulate Mastodon for making a pretty wonderful heavy metal record that works well as background music in my elementary art classes. The kids dig it...except for Blasteroid

bunkaroo

Figured I'd bump this one to ask.

I've really wanted to get into these guys because I hear some really interesting stuff musically, but I'm having a hard time getting by the vocals. Is there any trick to that?

islandclaws

I hear the Ludovico technique is effective.

beavis69

That's an odd question

bunkaroo

I might have phrased it wrong. Maybe another way to ask is, are there other bands with a similar approach to vocals? I like a lot of prog stuff but I'm not into "sludge" and I understand that's a big part of their sound. So I guess another question would be how would you describe their style of vocals? I mean the melodic stuff.

Hiro11

They have three vocalists and they sing in a variatey of different ways, it's hard to generalize. I think this is why people are confused.

I have no idea what this means. Maybe you just don't like metal?

islandclaws

Maybe "sludge" could apply to some of their earlier stuff, but nothing from Blood Mountain on has been sludgy.

bunkaroo

Oh I like metal alright - 24 years and counting.

What I was trying to say is I wasn't sure if some of their singing is representative of the "sludge" style of singing since I have little familiarity with that style.

I know they have multiple vocalists so perhaps it's one in particular that bugs me. It's not the rough vox at all. Many of the "clean" vox just sound incredibly whiny to me, which I wouldn't have though to hear from a band that heavy musically. I won't say it's as bad as the whiny bitch vox in A7X, but it's close. The music is great though, which is why I want to kind of make myself get into these guys. Opeth was tough to digest at first too but now they're my favorite metal band, although I always liked the vox.

FWIW I didn't hear anything I didn't like vocally on Curl of the Burl linked above.

Were you guys who like them into them from the early days? Best record to start with?

Hiro11

The band's development roughly follows Metallica's development:

"Remission" = "Kill Em All" - a little rough and more thrashy than later work but all the components are there
"Leviathan" = "Ride the Lightning"- a huge leap forward with impressive songwriting, inventive structures and a complex overall theme. The album that made their name and established the template for what was to come.
"Blood Mountain" = "Master of Puppets"- an even more impressive and influential album. Commonly considered their best by many fans.
"Crack the Skye" = "..and Justice for All"- their prog apothesis. Extremely complex, long-form songs, another very strong album.
"The Hunter" = black album- a deliberate stepback from the prog of its predecessor, more overtly commercial and featuring shorter songs but still terrific.

Crack the Skye is my personal favorite. IMO, Blood Mountain is their "best" album although Leviathan is probably the most influential metal album of the past decade. They are very consistant. You can't go wrong.

bunkaroo

Good info - thanks.

Coincidentally - Metallica is the band that got me to start playing bass in 1988. Let's just say I wasn't amused when the Black album was released, although I can appreciate it for what it is now.