MEDiA REViEWS
BOOK
Mastodon
The Hunter
Reprise Records/Warner Bros
Most bands that
contemplate doing
a concept album
do so only once or
twice in their careers.
Mastodon has
already done four.
Starting with 2002’s bone-rattling Remission
and climaxing with 2009’s prog-metal epic
Crack the Skye, the sludge-factory quartet
has thrived on composing complex, multifaceted masterpieces that take the listener
on a fascinating odyssey. But with The
Hunter, Mastodon loosens the recording
reins to offer up a wider spectrum of musical goodness.
New wrinkles include the party-rock
speedster “Blasteroid,” Brent Hinds’ wah--fueled fury on “Dry Bone Valley,” and
the fun, prog sing-a-long of “The Creature
Lives” (imagine Mastodon reinterpreting Pink Floyd’s “When the Tigers Broke
Free”). “The Thickening” has ghostly
vocals and an eerie, Cure-like aura, though
the bridge and solos still have Mastodon’s
unmistakably swampy attitude.
Though The Hunter represents a new
writing and recording approach for the
band, “Black Tongue” and “Curl of the
Burl” are classic Mastodon rippers held
together by swaggering rhythms and
brawny riffing. And Hinds and Bill Kelliher
even occasionally play lines that hearken
to the synchronized buzz-saw sound of
2004’s Leviathan. With its spaced-out, jangly arpeggiated runs, “The Hunter” has a
Crack the Skye vibe, it delivers one of Hinds’
strongest, most soulful solos to date. “The
Ruiner” is a more refined and laid-back
version of Remission’s “Crusher Destroyer,”
with chugging verses and breakdowns loaded with pinch harmonics.
Longtime Mastodon fans may cry foul
over The Hunter’s looser feel, broader
musical appeal, and less-than-primal
metal, but the band’s core sound—
fretboard prowess, odd-meter riffing, and
exceptional execution—is still front and
center. —Chris Kies
MuST-HEAR TRACKS: “Curl of the Burl” and
“The Hunter”
