Mastodon Album Ranking Symposium

[Dekay82]

I just re-listened to teardrinker. It's a lot better with it just kind of chilling in the background and not actually watching the video. I can dig it.

 

[gunshow86de]

I'll save you some trouble, listen to the first 20 seconds and then skip to 1:45 for the song to actually start.

That intro/verse riff is very boring and repetitive, they shouldn't have brought it back for the second verse. But overall a decent song.

 

[DC23]

they shouldn't have brought it back for the second verse.

I think it would have worked better with more/gain (what do I know, though?!). Feels kind of abrupt and loses some steam at that point. I actually really like the song regardless. Not the biggest fan of the band so this might highlight this

 

[KnightBrolaire]

new song is meh. Not exactly getting me hyped when most of the singles are lukewarm at best.

 

[Dekay82]

Fuck it, I love it.

 

[gasolinedreams]

This album is very long.

 

[MaxOfMetal]

Got this queued up for my commute home. Fingers crossed it's not as bad as I'm expecting.

 

[KailM]

Didn't hate it.

 

[Winspear]

Fantastic album. And the time went much quicker than expected. Such excellent vocals these days. Favourite tracks on first listen; Had It All, Eyes of Serpents.

 

[gabito]

Just listened to it, I like it. Sounds like Mastodon to me.

Album is too long, though.

 

[chinnybob]

Had one listen through, I'll need several more given the length I had it on in the background and wasn't paying as much attention towards the end.

First impressions were very good though, lots of stuff that grabbed me and I found myself saying "yeah this is awesome". The first half gave me some real Leviathan/Blood Mountain vibes which was a nice surprise.

I'm undecided whether the album is too long, but there were some moments where I thought it was repeating itself, but part of me thinks it might just be too long to take it all in on one playthrough.

The guitar solos are largely fantastic. There have been times in the past where I've felt that the solos were pretty much just recorded on autopilot and ended up sounding pretty samey, but that's not the case here. There's one in particular, I think it might be on Had It All which has a real Steve Vai vibe and it's amazing.

Lots to like. Thumbs up so far.

 

[KnightBrolaire]

I feel like most of the singles were the worst songs on the whole album tbh. Teardrinker/Sickle and Peace are boring as fuck, even compared to other midtempo songs like Skeleton of Splendor or Gobbler of Dregs/Had it All. The solo in Skeleton of Splendor is great but the song overall is kind of eh. Gobbler of Dregs has some neat moments in the second half but i'd probably skip it on the next listen. Eyes of Serpents is in a similar boat as Gobbler of Dregs for me, where the back half is pretty cool, but it's overly long and I'll prob skip it on the next listen. Gigantium is yet again in the same boat.

Savage Lands should 100% have been a single. That song goes hard (or as hard as Mastodon is willing to go anymore) and is prob my favorite track on the album.
I like the Beast a lot. It's fun to hear them flex some legit country twang vibes mixed with their signature sound.
Pushing the Tides is great and I wish they had way more of those early rawer vibes on the album.
Peace and Tranquility has a great mix of their typical jangly/bouncy angular riffs and cleaner vocals.
Dagger has some cool exotic sounding moments. Feels like a b-side off Crack the Skye at times.



Overall the album sits above Emperor of Sand/Once More Round the Sun for me, but it doesn't really touch their earlier stuff like Blood Mountain/Leviathan/Remission (which are unimpeachable imo).

 

[Kyle Jordan]

I feel like most of the singles were the worst songs on the whole album tbh. Teardrinker/Sickle and Peace are boring as fuck, even compared to other midtempo songs like Skeleton of Splendor or Gobbler of Dregs/Had it All. The solo in Skeleton of Splendor is great but the song overall is kind of eh. Gobbler of Dregs has some neat moments in the second half but i'd probably skip it on the next listen. Eyes of Serpents is in a similar boat as Gobbler of Dregs for me, where the back half is pretty cool, but it's overly long and I'll prob skip it on the next listen. Gigantium is yet again in the same boat.

Savage Lands should 100% have been a single. That song goes hard (or as hard as Mastodon is willing to go anymore) and is prob my favorite track on the album.
I like the Beast a lot. It's fun to hear them flex some legit country twang vibes mixed with their signature sound.
Pushing the Tides is great and I wish they had way more of those early rawer vibes on the album.
Peace and Tranquility has a great mix of their typical jangly/bouncy angular riffs and cleaner vocals.
Dagger has some cool exotic sounding moments. Feels like a b-side off Crack the Skye at times.



Overall the album sits above Emperor of Sand/Once More Round the Sun for me, but it doesn't really touch their earlier stuff like Blood Mountain/Leviathan/Remission (which are unimpeachable imo).

Nothing of the very few songs I've heard from the band (besides Linoleum Knife) has really grabbed me before this thread. I checked out Savage Lands and Beast after reading this and really like both. Beast was unexpected and cool. Guess I'll have to check out the whole album this weekend.

 

[Ataraxia2320]

I feel like most of the singles were the worst songs on the whole album tbh.

I feel like they have done this the last few albums. Giving Hushed and Grim a listen at the moment and so far I'm digging it much more than I thought I would.

 

[/wrists]

Honestly - I don't like it at all. Not the vocals, not the riffs. None of it.

Crystal Mountain was a lot less nonsense. Too many gimmicks.

 

[RevDrucifer]

Honestly - I don't like it at all. Not the vocals, not the riffs. None of it.

Crystal Mountain was a lot less nonsense. Too many gimmicks.

What exactly is a “gimmick” within the context of a Mastodon album?

 

[RevDrucifer]

I’ve only had the chance to hear the first few songs and it was while I was getting ready for work. Very stoked to sit down tonight with some good headphones and listen to this front to back.

I can’t remember the last time I heard someone say, if ever, that an album was too long. Maybe Dream Theater’s 6 Degrees of Inner Turbulence, which was primarily caused by the Ruddess wankfest that comprised the 2nd half the album.

 

[Xaios]

Crystal Mountain was a lot less nonsense.

It's also a Death song.

 

[estabon37]

I'm ten tracks into the album and the other comments are implying that the end of the album has a lot of the highlights. Really, really love it thus far, but I came across to Mastodon and other metal bands as a fan of 90s alternative rock whose favourite bands almost all broke up or stopped playing alternative rock. Had to get my riffs somewhere!

I know a lot of people miss early Mastodon and its metal-ness, but as someone that prefers their proggy side this album hits the sweet spot for me. I actually love that it's basically all slow-burn. In the past they've dropped musical ideas almost too quickly (so many great instrumental intros that get 16-32 bars and then disappear forever), so to have them really settle into the central musical ideas for each song is something I welcome.

I've been trying to get some friends into Mastodon for years; this album has a few songs that aren't 'radio rock' that might finally appeal to my mates.

 

[DiezelMonster]

Does it at all sound like Crack the Sky?