Just seen Mastodon have a new album out next month called Hushed and Grim, single and artwork has been released.
The art is pretty cool, kinda Game of Thrones-y, it was done by Paul Romano who did the art for the first 4 albums.
Not sure what to think of the single yet, it's more dissonant than the stuff they've been doing the last few years, but with a melodic Brann Dailor chorus which I think they've been relying on a bit heavily on the last few.
Hopefully the album is good anyway.
https://youtu.be/haT5ars6RXc
(https://cdn-mos-cms-futurecdn-net.cdn.ampproject.org/ii/AW/s/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/VLRs9zbdcP6g28oKBasSFf-720-80.jpg)
Class artwork. Given that song a few listens now and I'm really liking it. Main riff is very reminiscent of the Remission/Leviathan era style but works great with Troy's hoarse sounding vocals. The clean chorus does distract from the song a bit alright though.
I'm not the biggest Mastodon fan in the world but I like that track. I'm getting a bit of a Killing Joke vibe off it.
Sounds good but yeah, the chorus seems out if place, like it was lifted from another song. Not bad, though.
Good tune. Early period mixed with later period, will make for an interesting album if that's the vibe they explore for the whole thing.
Old and new. Love the angle.
Always felt like these lads haven't quite fulfilled their potential but maybe they have and that's it
Another new one. Something not quite like anything we've heard from them before. I'm digging it a lot this morning:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sx1L2XW1N0c
Really enjoyed both of those new tunes, that bass solo section in the newest one was unexpected and absolutely class.
Reminds me of recent Alice In Chains, definitely the most commercial thing they've done to date. Not bad though.
Really enjoyed that, seem to be one of the few bands left that put a bit of effort in their videos too and don't just go for the lazy lyric vid approach
Quote from: Bigmac on October 01, 2021, 09:09:27 AM
Really enjoyed both of those new tunes, that bass solo section in the newest one was unexpected and absolutely class.
Yeah, I think Sanders is really underrated as a bassist, he's got such a knack for knowing when to hold it down and when to add the right amount of flash and melody
At this point I'd be shocked if they released something I don't like.
Fuck. Can't wait to hear the full album!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6F76JslnhBo
It's up on Spotify. Just started it but not gonna make it the whole way through it tonight. As was evident with the preview tracks, a very clean but big and heavy production.
Sound. May be just what I need to keep plugging away for another hour and a half!
Listening to it now myself, just a few songs in but I'm digging the vibe, it's like they took the vibe of Cold Dark Place and made it more metal. Production is very clean but it's major label metal I suppose.
Quote from: Black Shepherd Carnage on October 29, 2021, 12:26:09 AM
Sound. May be just what I need to keep plugging away for another hour and a half!
Who said romance is dead!?
First impressions are that I don't think the production lends itself that well to being so melodic yet heavy. Given the scope, I will have to sit with it for a while. Enjoyable so far anyway.
It sounds brilliant on the first couple of listens anyway. Savage Lands has a cracker of a riff... but for sure it'll take a lot of listens....!
Couple of meh moments, but overall enjoying it so far.
Yeah it's not a bad album, but as with nearly every double album ever they should have really just trimmed it down to the best 50 or so minutes.
With there was more Brent Hinds songs, you can tell which songs he had a hand in writing, that country-ish tune is really cool.
And no Scott Kelly?!
Yeah even though they had the stand alone single with him last year a Scott Kelly appearance would have been nice.
The Kim Thayil solo on Had It All is cool though.
This album is starting to pay massive dividends after a few full listens. Still a niggle that one or two songs could have been left out, but for the moment I'm very happily buzzing through the whole thing over and over without wanting to skip tracks.
Got it in the post today, I'll try to give it a spin tonight.
Agree with the comment about most double albums benefiting from a trim, and this one is no exception i think alright. Great to hear Kim Thayil on it. The country song is my least fav on there though, find myself skipping over it each time. Highly enjoyable album overall tho...fair play to them
I actually like that one. There's a couple of bars of vocal in it that remind me of Nothing Compares 2U :laugh: :abbath: :abbath:
I've had it since Monday but annoyingly haven't had a chance to listen to it. I've it scanned onto the phone so I might go for a stroll with it after the rugby, if the weather clears up.
Found the country tune jarring at first but was into it by the second listen. Great album. Still unpacking it.
Only got 1 listen in so far but initial impressions are good. Very much a slow burn of an album and a bit on the long side but it's very enjoyable. There's a great sonic atmosphere created.
Still waiting on my copy to arrive, but I've listened to a few songs online and they all seem pretty good. Production sounds a bit off but that could also be just shitty youtube sound
Production definitely ain't off on the vinyl anyway. I've started my day with it all this week and it's been deadly. In fact, all I've been listening to this week is this and the new Kayo Dot.
Gave it one full spin so far and picked at a few songs off it. Not bad but first impression is fairly bloated. Couple of great tracks in there though. Won't write it off as quick as the last one anyway, I'll give it a few more goes to see how it opens up.
Quote from: Black Shepherd Carnage on November 13, 2021, 10:57:30 AM
In fact, all I've been listening to this week is this and the new Kayo Dot.
Yeah that is lethal. No Hubardo mind (but sure what is?) but still excellent as expected.
Great tunes but too fuckin many of them and they're at the same mid pace for the most part. That's my read of it, as of now.
Kind of in a similar camp in that I enjoy it each time I spin through it, but with stop/start cause of work calls or whatever and nothing necessarily stands out. When I resume, I could be on track 4 or 11. Often happens when streaming vs throwing on the record, but usually easier to catch a moment/riff/hook when its 8-10 songs than 15. That said, I am getting into it more with each listen, but I can't see me shifting the idea that trimming *some* of the excess would probably serve it best overall. Some super choruses and leads for sure though.
I was thinking this morning that I might have a stab at listening to it the way I most often listen to Physical Graffiti, either disc 1 or disc 2. It'd be interesting to see how it comes out of that. If Physical Graffiti came out today people would say it could have been trimmed of some excess, and while that's an understandable reaction, it's also obviously a mental idea.
Yeah, for sure. Nobody was distracted making PowerBI Dashboards when Physical Graffiti was released, Hushed and Grim deserves similar respect.
All I can say is stay with it. I felt it was too long and meandering to begin with too, and I'm not a huge fan of theirs (I only like the recent albums). This new one for me is their best to date. Stunning album.
Yeah, I think it's great. My interest in Mastodon has waned over the years, they kind of lost me after Crack the Skye, but I'm really enjoying this. I also wouldn't be a fan of double albums in general but I think this one works well and doesn't drag too much.
I'd kind of put off checking this out the last few months, not sure how it would turn out, but I shouldn't have worried. It's cool as fuck, excellent renditions of the tunes, and a great setlist:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CFJisKSY2SY
Was just going to post about how excellent that acoustic - well, partially acoustic - set is. It works for their stuff so well, The Czar in particular is outstanding in that format. I'd love to see some proper release of those versions.
Tbh they were a band I had a lot of time for but had fallen off my radar a bit in recent years. The new album is great and it made me go back through the back catalogue again. You've got to hand it to them, they really are an amazing band.
Making of documentary up on YouTube now:
https://youtu.be/9Rgi5C0JbRs
Now, this really is too long, but the bits in studio are good.
Watched the documentary last night. I could watch studio work all day long regardless of the genre, however I personally feel it's a little cringe in places.
Yeah, all the "quirky" sketches fall on their arse. Except for Brent's, because it's all too easy to imagine him as exactly that character :laugh: