I’ve been going back and forth among three Mastodon albums while commuting lately and it dawned on me – yeah, why the hell not?
Mastodon are not obscure or anything of course but I met a lot of people who were hesitant to check these guys out for different reasons… Including the band’s name, members’ hair, tattoos and beards… lol …so I thought I could spread the love.
They are definitely one of my favourite modern metal bands. The latest album, The Hunter is an absolute masterpiece from start to finish- which in turn makes you want to go back and revisit the previous albums and that’s pretty much why I’m hooked up at the moment!
If you’re one of those people who can’t seem to get into the band no matter how many times you try, you might have started with the wrong song or even the wrong album. The truth is one has to check out different albums as they tend to have different sounds. Yes, it wouldn’t be wrong to say that Mastodon’s sound has been evolving over time yet keeping their unique sound along the way.
Starting with The Hunter would be a good idea. Both because it is an absolute masterpiece and because it has less subtle melodies and the songwriting seems to be more dominant. I reckon it is the most accessible album in their catalogue. The chances are, the catchy songs such as “Stargasm” or “Curl of the Burl” will hook you up and help you get used to their sound and make you want to go backwards and find out more. You will not get disappointed as there is one element that hasn’t changed one bit over time which is their technical virtuosity.
It seems like, aside from the hair and the tattoos as I mentioned above, the first thing people find different is the singing… But to my mind, it just fits their sound nicely. One just needs to get used to the doom-y vocals and the depth, darkness and aggression in their sound… and the unconventional mixing, I should say, as the vocals are not as on the front in the mix as our ears are used to… They are like another instrument rather than typical, leading vocals.
If you check them out and end up liking them, please let me know… If you are already a fan, you know what I’m talking about!
Oh, and just stay away from their goat 🙂
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