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By Mike Porciello
The Atlanta
fearsome foursome fire away with their best work to date!!
Some of the reasons why I love this band, is
that they are an angry, weird bunch who can translate anything to
music.
With this latest release, the word is they've
dropped the idea of concept album; although many songs are about love and
hunting for happiness, only the way Mastodon can bring it. Expect complex
time changes, cosmic time warps, chug fests, and a healthy dose of molten
progressive sludge, from three different vocalists; all with his
particular style of aggression and passion. Mastodon can do no wrong
in my book, and The Hunter is my top pick for the 2011 Halloween Season.
Song 2,
"Curl of The Burl", features buzz-saw like guitar work, and a
true to life story of a meth head out for money, to support his habit
by cutting down trees, to sell the burl inside to woodworkers. Weird, only
Mastodon could think of something like that!! "Stargasm", is one
to play on an October night, with fire alight. Sit back and watch the
stars ignite. "Thickening", another standout is a Hannibal
Lecter-like love tale, the only way Brett Hinds can tell it.
Another standout on this brilliant 10 out of 10,
is "Creature Lives". Starting out, completely taking The Steve
Miller Band's intro to "Jet Airliner", and Pink Floyd's
"Breathe" into new territory, the perspective (the song is
about a creature hunt, obviously!!) changes 3 times within the song. Pay
close attention. Song 11, "Spectrelight", will floor
you!!
These guys are brutally heavy, they play
clean, and they're on the cutting edge of progressive metal. At times
they're from another galaxy, with their musical arrangements, and how in tune
they are with one another. Drummer Brann Dailor does not sound like he's
over dubbing ANYTHING!! He sounds like a one take, finished, drummer.
The whole band sounds as if they're playing in your living room on
The Hunter. Rush never sounded so good when they were pushing
40. Tool? Come on, like they've actually put out anything good recently.
Mastodon: TheHunter. Hunt it, buy it. NOW!!
www.mastodonrocks.com
www.roadrunnerrecords.com
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