In the 21st century, has there been a new metal band with the commercial and critical acclaim of Mastodon? Time and time again they have proven to be a fearless outfit, willing to chase their demented muse wherever it should lead them. Their legendary debut, Remission, is still considered by many to be a milestone of American sludge and cemented the band as heavyweights of the genre. Much to the chagrin of some purists, with every new album released since then Mastodon have drifted further and further away from their punishing origins. This might have cost them some of their more dogmatic fan-base but with every step forward the future becomes brighter and more unpredictable for these venerable gents. Once More 'Round the Sun is album number six and it follows a rather traditional trajectory, quite in spite of the strange people who created it.
For starters it adheres well to the
classic A-side / B-side structure used by their 70s prog and metal
heroes. All of the singles are crammed into the first half of the
record. As well as 'High Road' and 'Chimes at Midnight' you are
treated to the bright and shiny choruses of 'The Motherload' early
on. Each and every one leads out as the best foot forward. This is
aided and abetted by producer Nick Raskulinecz (Foo Fighters,
Deftones, Rush). Just like 2011's The Hunter, a veteran
producer with some big radio-friendly names on his resume has been
brought make the hooks pop without letting go of the grit. It is a
hard act to balance and it generally comes off well.
But just as soon as you cross the
album's equator it becomes obvious that you are dealing with a very
different creature. It starts with the manic Rush-isms of 'Asleep in
the Deep', a love-letter to the brackish prog rock they have been
huffing on for some time now. Then there's hyper-kinetic 'Aunt Lisa'
and her foul-mouthed cheerleaders, the gravitational groove of
'Halloween', and the sheer doom of 'Diamonds in the Witch House'. The
B-side is where all of their eccentric genre dalliances have been
hiding. Just as soon as the listener gets comfortable a new something
to chew gets on tossed out. Mastodon have been raw, classicist,
elemental, astral, and fantastical before. But have they ever been
quite this alien?
The band's stock in trade has always
been molten slabs of guitar riffs and sky shattering solos from Brent
Hinds and Bill Kelliher, brutal bass rumblings from Troy Sanders, and
powerful poly-rhythms from Brann Dailor. The goods news is that none
of this has changed. They might have toned down some of their more
eccentric tendencies (that is to say, you won't find any 13 minute
'The Last Baron's here) but those basic elements that we've come to
rely on are all very much in place. On album opener 'Tread Lightly'
you can clearly hear classic Mastodon leering at you through that
psychedelic haze. One thing for sure as is on those linchpin singles
(and potential singles) the vocals have been been brought up to the
front of the class.
By default Hinds is the voice of
modern-era Mastodon. He handles the majority of the work even if his
particular style of yowling (Hillbilly Ozzy Osbourne?) can be a bit
of an acquired taste. Still it would be foolish to overlook either
Sanders or Dailor. In particular it is stickman Dailor who steps up
and fills his expanding role as singer well. He handles a lot of the
album's brightest melodies with the same prodigious vigour he brings
to the drum kit. After all he is the one that is all over 'The
Motherload', a song that serves to remind us of the band's crossover
appeal. Mastodon's layered, interchangeable approach to the human
voice is an important facet of their identity,
Once More 'Round the Sun again
includes some collaborations with like-minded artists. As has become
Mastodon tradition, Scott Kelly of Neurosis lends his haggard
gravitas to closer 'Diamond in the Witch House'. It's not as
memorable as his attention-grabbing turns on 'Aqua Dementia' or
'Crack the Skye' were, but it has become somewhat of a Mastodon
tradition to have him there. The all-girl punk group The Coathangers
deliver a double dosage of their explosive clout on 'Aunt Lisa'. The
song's pep rally coda is one of the album's stand out moments.
So, to address the elephant in the room
- yes, this is Mastodon's most accessible album to date. Whether that
is an enticing proposition or the words you have been fearing is
entirely up to you and your tastes. Their evolution from Remission
to here has been a slow but steady march towards respectability. They
are still wild, weird, and seismically heavy but every new album
grafts on more strings to their almighty bow. And all this begs an
important question: if a band has conquered the land, the sea, the
sky, and space itself, where else can they possibly go? Obviously
there is no way to know what Mastodon are going to try next. All we
can do it wait, with our eyes peeled and our stereos turned all the
way up, and wait.
Recommended tracks: Aunt Lisa, Chimes at Midnight, Asleep in the Deep
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