Mastodon – Blood Mountain
Whatever strain of their sound they choose to exhibit on their next record Mastodon have and always will always hold a special place in the metal community. Arguably getting slightly more mainstream with this year’s new release, seeing them increase in popularity and tone back their progressive sound but it wasn’t always like that.
Rewind to September 2006 after reaching new heights in metal with the ebb and flow of concept album Leviathan the boys returned with Blood Mountain. Yet another concept, this time completely of their own imagination. The story is that of a journey onto a mountain where out protagonist aims to acquire a Crystal Skull to aid his quest for his own evolution and all the dangers that lie in wait. Although in typical fantastical form there are Cysquatches (One eyed Sasquatches that can see the future…) Along with Colonies of Birchmen roaming free it is a phenomenal album.
Brann Dailor‘s opening snare hits the ground running for the albums heavy opener “The Wolf Is Loose” although there is still the feral elements that were present on Leviathan the more melodic vocal approach begins to take more prominence, that being said the screams of howls are still present. Throughout our hero’s journey each song is totally different making it one of the reason’s that it is such a fantastic record. The cavernous crawl of “Crystal Skull” meandering through it’s depths to bump into the elephantine “Sleeping Giant“, its a perfect narrative throughout the record with much of the music mirroring the different ideas and stages of the mountain. Meeting our “Colony Of Birchmen” the focus shifts back to the heavy riffing with the iconic heaviness the band employ on “Hunters Of The Sky“. Not before our introduction of the instrumental oddball “Bladecatcher” where Mastodon truly began to flex their progressive muscles and gives a slight hint of what was to come with their next works. Not to mention the treacherous footfalls of the “Circle Of Cysquatch”
Tailing off the album nicely when our protagonist summits Blood Mountain is the psychedelic progressing harmonyfest that is “This Mortal Soil” finally bringing the album to its sombre end with the “Siberian Divide“, similar to our counterparts “Heart’s Alive” the song although not as long, recalls the sense of loss and finally the fantastically titled “Pendulous Skin” polishes things off nicely and is the perfect introduction to Crack The Skye. A truly phenomenal album that demands it be listened to from start to finish. Creating a fantastic album is a feat in itself but what Mastodon have done is to create and entire world bound by the first and final tracks telling a fantastic story both musically and thematically. Absolutely flawless.
