Mastodon: Blood Mountain

Alrighty i'm in a huge Mastodon mood so lets crack into their discography. It's sometimes hard to choose a favorite album from a band like Mastodon because their albums are all incredible, and it's even harder to choose a least favorite. But i'm going to have to say this IS indeed my least favorite, which doesn't mean it's a bad album at all. I have reasons i'll explain later to why I feel like I feel about it.

So this is Mastodon's 'concept' album that deals with the 'Earth' Element, and does a damn good job. I find it to be one of their most complex albums when it comes to the drums. I mean my god Brann Dailor goes absolutely nuts on the drumset, the first 10 seconds of "Crystal Skull" will have you attempting a damn Rain Dance because you'll feel like you're 300 miles into Indian Territory. The first track off this album pounds into your ears like a wild animal, rightly named "The Wolf Is Loose." "Sleeping Giant", the third track which follows after "Crystal Skull" is a heavy, powerful, very lyrically oriented song, which is followed by one of the albums finest songs, "Capillarian Crest". Everything about this song is awesome. Drums, Guitar, Bass is all spot on, and very complex and in your face. There is a lot of chicken picking guitar playing throughout, not really any heavy riffs, just fast, precise playing and it sounds really great. The next highlight in my opinion is "BladeCatcher", a freaky instrument featuring guitars imitating sounds of beasts/noises in the forests, and the first time I had it cranked through my speakers I almost shit myself because I thought it was real. The last track that really does much for my is "Colony of Birchmen", a heavy song with a very forestlike message coming through the vocals. I wish I could say more about the last 5 tracks, it's not like their bad at all, they're actually a really good listen, it just seems to mesh at times. Overall this album nails it's element on the head, sometimes you really get the feeling you're trapped on a mountain or being chased through the woods and discover some weird sh*t.

HIGHLIGHTS AND SCORING

Alright sonically this album is a masterpiece. The instrumental work and vocals are awesome, and give a great vibe to the album's "Earth" concept, it's just that not all the tracks really did enough for me to be recognized a great bunch, but it is still an awesome album to listen to and enjoy. Now if you'd excuse me i'm going to live in the deep forests and high mountains of Mastodonland

8.5/10