Mastodon - Once more round the Sun

(CD Album Review)

****

One of the great bands of our time!

I rate Mastodon as one of the great bands of our time. They are one of the few bands that I have maintained an interest in from their when their debut album 'Remission' in was released in 2002 (Jesus!) and when they came out they where somewhere between the bone crunching Sludge and the chaos of Grindcore, they never fully committed to any of Metal's sub-genre's instead they wrapped all of them into their own unique sound whilst they evolved into a full on Progressive Rock band with 'Crack the Skye' before taking things down a peg or two and writing straight ahead songs on 'The Hunter' and having as much in common musically with The Pixies or Torche as they did with Today is the Day.

They never got any flack for breaking any rules because it was obvious that they didn't even know them! I love how they have evolved and as much as I miss the sound they had on 'Remission' and 'Leviathan' I find the path's they have gone down since more interesting then listening to them re-tread old ground. Another thing that's worth taking note that as Mastodon introduced more melody into their sound and at the same time they rose in popularity they never went "commercial" or watered down their sound in any way they always kept their integrity and did their own thing and forged their own identity. Getting success on their scale without doing so in this day and age is nigh impossible!.

In the early days Troy Sanders was the lead vocalist backed by Brent Hinds whilst nowadays Brent has taken the lead with drummer Brann Dailer doing most of the melodic vocals. AH! and that reminds me did I mention that Brann Dailer is today's equivalent to Stuart Copeland or Neil Peart? Anyway I love Mastodon! 'Once more round the Sun' is their sixth album and with every album up to and including their last album 2011's 'The Hunter' every album showed a massive step either forward or a massive turn in direction. 'The Hunter' saw the band at their most straight ahead but using every trick they had learnt along the way 'Once more round the Sun' shows the first time the band have really just picked up from where they left off which isn't a bad thing in fact it's still another "first" for Mastodon.

There are big catchy chorus' on tracks like the sublime 'Ember City' and 'The Motherload' It took a few listens to fully emerge ones self into the album but that's nothing new with Mastodon. I love the haunting introduction of 'Chimes at Midnight' and the hypnotic 'Asleep in the Depths' which includes guest vocals from 'Valient' himself (Valient Thorr) Scott Kelly from Neurosis also turns up on closing track 'Diamond in the witch House' everything great about the band is present here. I think Mastodon have got to that point where they know their sound, they know what works and what doesn't.

I wouldn't say they are now predictable but if you are familiar with them you will come to this album with half an idea what's coming. It's pretty dense and it take's repeated listen's for the songs to truly reveal themselves but the process is rewarding. Basically it's a grower! All in all rather then a massive leap forward this is a great addition to a faultless catalogue. If your new to the band I'd say start with either 'Leviathan' or 'Blood Mountain'. It's a case of Mastodon doing what they do and what you love them for!

Review by Joe Denby