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Mastodon – Once More Round the Sun (2014)
It is ironic (and tragic) that a band celebrated for being progressive are criticised so roundly when their sound…….progresses. When Mastodon’s released their previous record – 2012’s ‘The Hunter’ – they put one foot into rock, simplifying their sound somewhat and building upon shorter songs with more prominent vocal melodies. This was certainly a more to-the-point approach that the prog-metal labyrinth of ‘Crack The Skye’ (2009) or the full metal bluster of ‘Remission’ and ‘Leviathon’, but Mastodon were hardly Heavy Metal Judases – the frenetic riffs, crazy drumming, swirling melodies and warped lyrics were all present. ‘Once Round the Sun’ continues ‘The Hunter’s’ trajectory. In one sense, it’s still very Mastodon – there are moments of maniacal, demented genius at work, moments where riffs and melodies are guzzled by the belly of the beast. And yet, in another sense it’s an optimistic, colourful record bursting with choruses which tempers the ‘don’s metallic fury with a wider range of rock sounds. But it’s hardly a Foo Fighters record. Critics might spit the word ‘rock’ at them, but in this instance it’s no synonym of ‘conventional’, for ‘Once More…’ is a challenging, inspiring and awesome rock ‘n’ roll record.
‘The Motherload’ opens the album with stoner rock vibes and more than a little Southern Rock. With an upbeat tone and lyric, this is Mastodon you can rock out too, rather than demolish buildings. But it’s still music with a panoramic vision and cinematic quality, music made by a band that are so in tune with one another they work as an organism. ‘Asleep In the Dream’ is equally a point of departure, a spacey, translucent, shimmery song possessed of an eerie beauty of whispered melodies and sparkling guitar, whilst the title track has an psychedelic feel to it, with the band almost sounding like Hawkwind in places are they sweep from melody to melody. This is a band stretch it’s musical limbs and scratching multiple creative itches, a band that feels – if not quite sounds – miles away from the beardy beasts who bellowed out tunes about Moby Dick.
That’s not to say that there isn’t some heavy stuff here, however. Far, far from it! ‘Chimes At Midnight’ comes in at a gallop, battering ears and necks alike and propelled with and surging power which this band does like no other. It is as good as anything they’ve done before. ‘High Road’ is the most old skool of the tunes here, a lurching, riff-guzzling behemoth of a song oozing primordial power, and ‘Halloween’ is a swirling morass of groove and power. And epic, 8 minute closer ‘Diamond In The Witch House’ is full of the eerie bluster and grandiose majesty you’ve come to expect from this band, a truly crushing, almost claustrophobic musical experience. If this is Mastodon ‘selling out’, don’t be expecting you’re average Mumford & Sons fan to be jumping on board just yet.
But, as great as this is, there’s something missing. Like ‘The Hunter’ – and unlike Mastodon’s very finest records – ‘Once More…’ does not have an overarching theme. Even if you didn’t understand what ‘Crack The Skye’ was about (who did?) there was, at the risk of sounding pretentious, a certain musical unity to the album as a whole, a sense of a symphony which carried band and listener somewhere truly beyond themselves. That is no longer present and as a result, like ‘The Hunter’, ‘Once More….’ is a collection of great songs rather than a great album proper. Is that a criticism? Not really – how many bands achieve music on ‘Crack The Skye’ or ‘Leviathan’ level? Mastodon may no longer be exclusively ‘metal’, but I’d be very, very surprised if ‘Once More Round the Sun’ is not on the ‘best of 2014’ lists of most metalheads.
Stunning, stunning music.
It is ironic (and tragic) that a band celebrated for being progressive are criticised so roundly when their sound…….progresses. When Mastodon’s released their previous record – 2012’s ‘The Hunter’ – they put one foot into rock, simplifying their sound somewhat and building upon shorter songs with more prominent vocal melodies. This was certainly a more to-the-point approach that the prog-metal labyrinth of ‘Crack The Skye’ (2009) or the full metal bluster of ‘Remission’ and ‘Leviathon’, but Mastodon were hardly Heavy Metal Judases – the frenetic riffs, crazy drumming, swirling melodies and warped lyrics were all present. ‘Once Round the Sun’ continues ‘The Hunter’s’ trajectory. In one sense, it’s still very Mastodon – there are moments of maniacal, demented genius at work, moments where riffs and melodies are guzzled by the belly of the beast. And yet, in another sense it’s an optimistic, colourful record bursting with choruses which tempers the ‘don’s metallic fury with a wider range of rock sounds. But it’s hardly a Foo Fighters record. Critics might spit the word ‘rock’ at them, but in this instance it’s no synonym of ‘conventional’, for ‘Once More…’ is a challenging, inspiring and awesome rock ‘n’ roll record.
‘The Motherload’ opens the album with stoner rock vibes and more than a little Southern Rock. With an upbeat tone and lyric, this is Mastodon you can rock out too, rather than demolish buildings. But it’s still music with a panoramic vision and cinematic quality, music made by a band that are so in tune with one another they work as an organism. ‘Asleep In the Dream’ is equally a point of departure, a spacey, translucent, shimmery song possessed of an eerie beauty of whispered melodies and sparkling guitar, whilst the title track has an psychedelic feel to it, with the band almost sounding like Hawkwind in places are they sweep from melody to melody. This is a band stretch it’s musical limbs and scratching multiple creative itches, a band that feels – if not quite sounds – miles away from the beardy beasts who bellowed out tunes about Moby Dick.
That’s not to say that there isn’t some heavy stuff here, however. Far, far from it! ‘Chimes At Midnight’ comes in at a gallop, battering ears and necks alike and propelled with and surging power which this band does like no other. It is as good as anything they’ve done before. ‘High Road’ is the most old skool of the tunes here, a lurching, riff-guzzling behemoth of a song oozing primordial power, and ‘Halloween’ is a swirling morass of groove and power. And epic, 8 minute closer ‘Diamond In The Witch House’ is full of the eerie bluster and grandiose majesty you’ve come to expect from this band, a truly crushing, almost claustrophobic musical experience. If this is Mastodon ‘selling out’, don’t be expecting you’re average Mumford & Sons fan to be jumping on board just yet.
But, as great as this is, there’s something missing. Like ‘The Hunter’ – and unlike Mastodon’s very finest records – ‘Once More…’ does not have an overarching theme. Even if you didn’t understand what ‘Crack The Skye’ was about (who did?) there was, at the risk of sounding pretentious, a certain musical unity to the album as a whole, a sense of a symphony which carried band and listener somewhere truly beyond themselves. That is no longer present and as a result, like ‘The Hunter’, ‘Once More….’ is a collection of great songs rather than a great album proper. Is that a criticism? Not really – how many bands achieve music on ‘Crack The Skye’ or ‘Leviathan’ level? Mastodon may no longer be exclusively ‘metal’, but I’d be very, very surprised if ‘Once More Round the Sun’ is not on the ‘best of 2014’ lists of most metalheads.
Stunning, stunning music.
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