#17: Mastodon - The Hunter

This may be one of the most polarizing metal releases of 2011. Partially because Mastodon can hardly be called metal anymore.The Hunter (Reprise) could be considered progressive hard rock if you really need to stick a label on it. I believe it is the only band on my list on a major label. I also believe it is the most accessible album on this year's list. (#15 probably the least) I probably gave the album more attention than I would have if it wasn't Mastodon. I'm not much for second chances. Despite all that, I thoroughly enjoyed it. The album grew on me with each listen. So much so in fact, that I actually went to an actual store and bought and actual physical copy. The deluxe version actually. I will admit that there has been a huge shift in Mastodon's sound since Remission and Leviathan but it's just that. A change. You can't expect a band to sit still forever. The Hunter sees Mastodon move away from the restrictions of a concept album and put together a package of songs that still flow together. The sonics and sense of melody (especially vocal) on Crack the Skye continue and are even expanded on The Hunter. The band may have traded some burliness for beauty but that hasn't lessened the nimble-fingered fretboard fleetness of Troy (I can't hear the bass!), Brent or Bill and Brann still has a staggering fondness for fills. And we must not forget the hooks. There are so many guitar and vocal hooks on the album it could almost be renamed The Fisherman. To fully appreciate The Hunter you have to be able to focus on what is rather than what was. This isn't the Mastodon of 2002. This isn't even the Mastodon of 2006 (Blood Mountain). This is the Mastodon of 2011. As the band continues to evolve there is no telling what the Mastodon of the future might sound like. For now, I'm diggin' what I'm hearin'. "Creature Lives" and all.

www.twitter.com/MetalMatt_KofN

Top 40 Albums of 2009 Part 3: #20-11

Before I start into my Top 20, it’s disclaimer time. I base these picks on what I like to listen to. Not necessarily based on musicianship alone. It’s not totally based on play counts either. It’s based on how much I WANT to listen to it. If it draws me in. If I can’t scroll past it and not want to hear it. Also, for much of the Top 20, the actual rankings are pretty fluid. So don’t have a fit.

20.  Mastodon - Crack The Skye: I may get some flack for placing this so low but it’s my list. It’s a great album and everything but I didn’t find myself coming back to it the way I have previous Mastodon releases.  That being said, it’s still better than everything but the 19 albums above it. More or less. Album highlight: “Oblivion” (and the artwork)

19. Skeletonwitch - Breathing the Fire: Worship the ‘Witch!!! Skeletonwitch rips flesh from your bones and keeps on shredding. The vocal delivery is superb. It’s totally evil without resorting to balls out screaming. I’d hate to be his throat doctor. Someday I’ll have the chance to see them live. And it’ll be awesome!! Skeletonwitch define “metal”. Album highlight: They’re all solid but I’ll pick “Crushed Beyond Dust”

18. Warbringer - Waking Into Nightmares: I love these guys. I really don’t think they get enough credit. They bring a sense of honesty and fun to the table. Great to scream along with. The production here deserves credit as well. I can really hear the bass. And unlike some thrash, the bass plays an integral part. Definitely near the top of the “new thrash” heap. Album highlight: I can’t choose just one. “Living in a Whirlwind” and “Shadow From the Tomb”

17. Lamb of God - Wrath: See disclaimer. I haven’t seen LOG on many lists this year. So fucking what if they haven’t “evolved” or whatever criteria are needed. They still kick ass. I actually bought this one so I lost count on how many times I’ve heard it. You can’t listen to LOG and not get pulled into the energy. It’s riff-tastic. My throat and my steering cringe at the thought of me listening to this. Look out!! Album highlight: “Set to Fail”

16. Buried Inside - Spoils of Failure: Ottawa’s Buried Inside have been known for being very cerebral. I can’t tell. I can’t discern most of the bellows. I’m not complaining at all. I’m a big fan of the gut emotional delivery. Musically, they bring the heavy and work in lots of little atmospheric guitar work. The certainly plant and image in your skull. An image of highs and lows, pain and pleasure, triumph and sadness. Album highlight: This one is easy. “V” (de facto title track) One of the best songs of the year. The outro riff is phenomenal.

15. Birds of Prey - The Hellpreacher: Birds of Prey have taken a bit of a departure from previous works and given us a concept album about incarceration. The blatant vulgarity may be missing but the brutality is still there. The vocals are some of my all time favorites. Whiskey soaked, broken glass, gravel throated. Love it. Seriously headbang inducing. Oh, and it makes me want to fight someone. Did I mention the incredible vocals? Album highlight: “Juvie”

14. Suffocation - Blood Oath: I’m relatively new to Suffocation. When Decibel inducted Effigy of the Forgotten into the dB HOF, I checked it out and was blown away. Shortly thereafter, Blood Oath was released. It could be inducted itself! Brutal and technical. No self-indulgent horseshit. They have a great sense of groove too. I want to circle headbang nice and slow. So now I’ve heard near the beginning, and their latest. Time to bite into the rest. Album highlight: “Dismal Dream”

13. Alice in Chains - Black Gives Way to Blue:  Man, oh man! The triumphant  return of AIC. When Staley died I thought I’d never see the day. William Duvall does a great job of stepping into Layne’s shoes. He and Cantrell compliment each other perfectly. I feel like I’m in high school again! I sincerely hope that this is the beginning of a new era. The band sound like they never missed a beat. Now let’s see if Soundgarden can pull off a feat as great as Black Gives Way to Blue. I doubt it. Album highlight: That RIFF in “Check My Brain”

12. Goatwhore - Carving Out The Eyes Of God: Anything with “goat” in the name is usually good. Even better if it’s paired with “whore“. If there was a God, this album would carve out his eyes. It’s a huge chunk of everything that is great about Metal. Speed, tone, throat shredding vocals, thunderous drums and a skull on the cover. But it’s not just metal. There’s a real punk flair to much of it too. I know something is special when I get the urge to start a pit in my living room. Or play air guitar without bothering to close the curtains. I feel bad ranking this one this low. On any given day this could easily be Top 5. Album highlight: (Why did I start doing this?) “The All Destroying”

11. 16 - Bridges to Burn: Just when I thought I’d hate a band with a number for a/in their name (36 Crazy Fists, The Number 12 Looks Like You, etc) along comes 16. I love the energy! Dude is pissed! It’s obvious (I think) that the lyrical content revolves around personal pain. But sappy emo shit this is not. With song titles like “Man Interrupted”, “So Broken Down” and “ What Went Wrong” there’s no doubt. However, like I said, this is no roll over and die record. 16 fight back. I can’t get over how they channel all their internal crap into 12 seriously fucking awesome tunes. I would not want to piss these southern heavy crust bellowers off. Possibly my 2nd favourite “scream along” band of the year. Album highlight: “Monday Bloody Monday”

Obscura, Mastodon

Obscura - Cosmogenesis: Sorry. Not for me.Technically, sure, yeah, they can all play their asses off. But it's too much for me. It doesn't seem organic or natural enough. It's feels obvious how much planning went into it. I prefer stuff that sounds like it comes for from the heart. It's just to technical. I hate the bass tone and the vocal effects. HATE the vocal effects. That why I didn't like Cynic either. I made it through the whole album but I have no desire to listen to it again.

Mastodon - Crack the Skye: I haven't heard all of it yet. I haven't heard the 13 minute final track. I have heard alot about how people aren't too sure about it. Decibel said it's a grower, not a show-er. I agree. Even on first listen I liked it, but with each subsequent spin, it gets better. I get the feeling that if it wasn't Mastodon, I'd be reading things like "beautifully progressive", "epic post-metal" and stuff like. But since it IS Mastodon, people expect Leviathan, or Remission or Blood Mountain. Crack the Skye is different. It's nothing we haven't heard from Mastodon before, just not for a whole album. Still has the guitar work, Brann's unique drumming, Troy and Brent's dual vocals, epic passages and all that we know Mastodon for. It's just a different angle. It's a little refreshing that they are making the music they want to and not just what people expect them to. I am very interested in hearing the last track. I think it's called "The Last Baron", but without access to the Internet, I can't double check. The preorder from itunes has all 7 tracks as instrumentals, a live track and a digital copy of the booklet in addition to the 7 core tracks.

Withered - Folie Circulaire

This is gonna be a weird review. I'll start with that.
I am gonna just say what comes to mind as I listen to this blistering lab of metal called Folie Circulaire by Withered. okay?
nice dirty guitars. wailing away as the bass trudges along underneath. demonic blackened vocals. I really like that underlying bass line. very jam like. OOOOH! full-throat growls. me likey! (track 3 Dichotomy of Exile).
Track 4 - Gnosis Unveils starts off with a kinda Baroness type feel. nice intro. again with the jammy bass kinda doing it's own thing. That would be Mike Longoria. Did you know that Mike Thompson (guitar, vocals) was in Social Infestation with Troy Sanders from Mastodon? There are moments here that remind me of Mastodon come to think of it. Alot of the bands from the Atlanta area have a "feel". Like Withered, Baroness, Mastodom, Black Tusk...... Like Seattle in the grunge era. Except this is way more awesome. This track is sort of all over the place but it's tighter than most bands who do that. It's very deliberate and good song writing rather than "let's go crazy!!!"
Withered is rounded out by Chris Freeman on guitar and vocals and Beau Brandon on drums.
Purification of Innocence is a killer track. Smack you in the face at the start, growls, fast very black metal, then it slows down into an epic sounding midsection then picks right back up again around the 3 minute mark. Does it ever pick up! mid-tempo sludgy part, banging my head at the computer. dual layered vocal slower part, then BAM with the speed again to finish it off and lead right into Drawn Black Drapes. Nice transition.
This would be very fun to scream along to if I could make out the words. Probably the fastest track of the album so far. Paul Romano did the wicked cover art.
Revealing the Essence of Suffering sounds really cool. I like the pace. gallopy. Until it slows down. haha they do that alot. but very very well. What I really love about this is how the bass doesn't just follow along with whatever the guitars are doing. (ie. Metallica) and there is no way these guys follow any kind of verse-chorus-verse structure. Like now its strummed guitar (whole notes) over a nice noodly bass line and then the rocket boosters kick in again and it's off to the races. That feels like at least 4 times changes in one song. They have really found a way to meld many styles together. They've been described (even on their own website) as Tortured Blackened Doom and that really sounds pretty accurate.
Clamour Breath has some different vocals in it. Cleaner. more punk/hardcore. It works. According to Encyclopaedia Metallum, Chris Freeman was in Social Infestation too (still is, those 3 are the band). Check out the Mastodon DVD The Workhorse Chronicles for some slips of Social Infestation. s'good stuff.
the last track is a cover of Necrophobic's Into Armageddon. Kinda makes me want to check out Necrophobic.
So basically, Withered take the straight ahead speed and tone of black metal, with all it's bleakness and blastbeats and meld it with southern sludge and blow your fuckin mind.
It's a wonder I haven't listened to this more this year. It should make my Top 40. 2006 was Mastodon at #1, 2007 was Baroness. I don't think Folie Circulaire will top my 2008 list but it has represented Atlanta very well.
I could do this same thing for Abysmal Dawn's Programmed to Consume (one of the best death metal albums of '08) but have like everyday stuff to take care of. I'll be back.