Miss Piggy Lunchbox

Before drafting up this review, I revisited my last Mastodon review. (I could have sworn I gave that disc five lunchboxes, but now I’m not sure if I accidentally missed one or really intended to grant it just four. I heart it five lunchboxes worth, and that’s important because this review reads as if I gave it five.) As it turns out, my notes for Blood Mountain say a lot of the same things my review of Leviathan said: vocal styles varying from singing to amelodic growling, complex rhythms and melodies, and a wide range of musical styles slammed right up next to each other. Lyrically the albums are similar, too: both are concept albums and head straight into the metal cliché realm of D&D-like mythical creatures (“Circle of Cysquatch” is about creatures that are one-eyed bigfeet). I even invoked Yngwie Malmsteen both times as a counterexample to illustrate that all of Mastodon’s technical wizardry isn’t for show, but is instead done in the service of the song.

So with all these similarities, the question I’m trying to answer with this review is why does this album not even come close to entertaining me as much as I remember Leviathan doing? Is it Mastodon, or is it me? Do I need something different one year later, or are you not providing what you used to?

Let’s look inside first. Mastodon may have grown beyond me. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, as I’m sure I can catch up. It just means they wouldn’t get a fair shake in my review process due to my inability to comprehend the new stuff. Evidence for this theory exists primarily in that, with each listen, I grab on to more and more recognizable riffs that appeal to me. It’s possible that with several more listens I could come to love Blood Mountain as I did Leviathan.

That doesn’t feel satisfactory, though. After all, there should be something that compels me to invest in those additional listens, and I just don’t hear that. Sure, there are fantastic moments still, and the overall energy and edginess is awesome from start to finish, but the thrill is gone. If I had to put my finger on it, I’d say that the record seems to be missing tunes. There are melodies, mostly carried by the guitar, that I can grab on to, but I don’t think I could sing back a single one. saying it lacks tunes, I also mean there’s a lack of cohesion within each song. That makes sense when you consider that, according to the band’s website, Blood Mountain was originally intended to be a single, lengthy piece. Knowing that evolution, though, doesn’t fix the problem of most of these songs lacking identities.

Take “Capillarian Crest,” for example. Breaking it down, there’s a lot in this track I really like. There are some fast, trippy vocals and a high-pitched, compellingly awkward guitar riff at the beginning that remind me of Voivod. Furthermore, the band’s maturing songwriting skills are in full effect as you are simultaneously thrilled and fearful as the song gradually speeds up and takes you toward some imminent, explosive conclusion. I love those parts when I listen to them, but the song as a whole doesn’t stand as something I necessarily want to come back to listen to.

There are other things to recommend this album as well. Sonically, this is one of the most impressive things I’ve ever heard. Credit producer Matt Bayles with significant achievement in the area of sound reproduction, as I feel as if every single air molecule has been manipulated in exquisite detail to produce just the right effect on my ear drums.

So, there is a lot on this album to like, from the fleeting moments of terrific musical cohesion to the jaw-droppingly fast and brilliant drumming of Brann Dailor; from the amazing sound quality to the sophisticated compositions. All those positives are enough to make me think that, Mastodon, it’s not you, it’s me. However, I still think there’s a lot missing here. It may be me, but it feels more like this was a bit more of a stretch than they were ready for. It’s incredibly difficult to follow up a masterpiece, though, and Blood Mountain may end up being a necessary stepping stone for the band to get to greater things than Leviathan. 3.5 lunchboxes is nothing to be ashamed of at any point, and even less so if they still managed to crank out that kind of quality in a retooling effort.

Rating:

DMP Keepers: “Colony of Birchmen”
Filed Between: Mastodon’s Leviathan and a promotional cassette for Material Issue titled Chatter – An Audio Profile

This entry was posted on Thursday, March 29th, 2007 at 9:43 am and is filed under CD reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.