Mastodon

I dig Show Yourself. Sure, at first I had a wtf moment with those pop rock vocals, but it's very catchy and pretty fun. Unfortunately Sultan's Curse did nothing to me. It's a bland song IMO, sounds like a filler. Love the art direction of this album. Both the cover and the Show Yourself image look great.
 
I'm ok with Show Yourself as long as there are no other songs like that. It wasn't very good but I can live with them trying different things.
 
JudasMyGuide said:
I sometimes am a follower... and then I'm not. There's always this impulse, when I start to listen to them a lot and I think they're the best thing since sliced bread... and three days later I can't stand them, hating their tone, thinking they're way too pretentious (not really having the chops of the prog bands, yet trying to pass off as prog), thinking Brann should stop overdrumming absolutely everywhere and thinking they're not that original after all.

Doesn't help the most musically interesting album for me, Skye, has the most vocals by that Ozzy imitator, whoever that is. I actually like all of their albums, including Remission, but so far there hasn't been that long-term love. There's definitely something missing, but I'm not sure what as of yet.
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You know, this kind of sums up my own experience with them too. It's been ages since I've listened to them though so I went back yesterday and today and had a listen to their recent albums/singles. Once More 'Round the Sun is certainly consistent and not bad, enjoyed The Hunter, and their new single Sultan's Curse is good too (not sure what to make of Show Yourself). It also prompted me to revisit their older stuff that I listened to back in the day.

I'm not sure if there's such a thing as good background metal but I'm starting to think that's where I'd place Mastodon. Gotta say though, their art style is very nice. It's the kind of thing that works well as tattoo's...maybe that's the idea?
 
I listened to Andromeda and it definitely has a CTS vibe. I enjoyed the opening riff a lot, but somehow the song in its entirety falls a bit short of expectations. My favorite single from the new album is still Sultan's Curse.
 
I begin to really appreciate the album. My first impressions were really negative. I wasn't sure I wanted to listen to a record that was centrered on cancer, and I was quite shoked by Show Yoursel: they said a few years ago that they wouldn't go further than The Motherload on the pop path, and they did. But, actually, it's an OK song. Furthermore, there are some great instrumental passages, as always, and I like what Brent is trying with his voice on some songs. But this cover, really, no, I can't, my kids would do better.
 
Cool, I thought they scrapped it.

How's Empire of Sand holding up for everyone? Honestly I only listened to it a few times. It was pretty good but it didn't keep my interest. I'll give it another try when I'm more in a Mastodon mood. Part of my problem is that there are a few songs early on that are pretty offputting.
 
Mosh said:
Cool, I thought they scrapped it.

How's Empire of Sand holding up for everyone? Honestly I only listened to it a few times. It was pretty good but it didn't keep my interest. I'll give it another try when I'm more in a Mastodon mood. Part of my problem is that there are a few songs early on that are pretty offputting.
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Holding up well for me. I actually listened to Empire and the Hunter a lot lately. I like the approach they took on that album and think those two work well together. Curious to hear the new one and interesting they are calling this a Mastodon album since presumably it has only 3 members of the band on it.
 
Mosh said:
Cool, I thought they scrapped it.
How's Empire of Sand holding up for everyone?
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Honestly, this is a kind of disapointment. Not a bad album, but definitely not as good as the previous ones. Many of the riffs are not that good, I dislike the way the singing almost always begins after a very short intro (Maiden bias I suppose :cool:), and, most of all, most of the vocal melodies are rather dumb. They seem to concentrate on choruses, and tend to be quite formulaic with a flashy chorus sung by Bran. Once in a while, this is fine, but not that often.
I've never seen them live. They play Paris on november, but if the setlist is mainly based on the last album, I will hesitate to buy a ticket.
 
I finally saw them yesterday, in a small (ca 1.000 people) concert hall in Paris. I was rather dubious, fearing I would not be fully convinced. I was absolutely wrong. It was fantastic. I was a few meters in front of Brent, and the guy is a show in himself. And Bran is really impressive. The show was in two parts: for the last 6 songs, they were joined by Scott Kelly. The man is incredible. I don't know if he was under some substance, but he moves like a turtle, sooooo slowly; but when it comes to singing, wow. I'm really happy I kicked myself to try and see them, and I will definetely attend all their tours in the future.
 
Night Prowler said:
Holy shit, they finally played Diamond In The Witch House :eek:
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Yes. Kelly was great on that one, but the drum parts are really hypnotic. You already know the setlist ? :eek: I was also very impressed they began with The Last Baron. My only (little) disappointment was they didn't play Blood and Thunder: while I'm not a big fan of the first part (too basic), I'm crazy with the break and the Scott Kelly parts. Hell, I wish I had a ticket for another gig.
 
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