Are you ready waveriders?
It's controversial opinion time here at The Ripple Effect! Although it will surely cost me readers I am
willing to stand by my convictions. Yes,
despite the overwhelming opinion of the listening majority I declare that Mastodon is a good, nay, terrific
band! That's right. I said it.
Terrific. And
furthermore...what's that? A tremendous
number of music fans are quite fond of Mastodon? Oh.
Perhaps I was misinformed. Well
in that case let's simply move on and discuss their newest release, Emperor Of Sand.
This album rocks! From
the moment I first hit the play button I immediately connected with these
songs. Emperor Of Sand sees the band tweaking their sound and musical
approach again, but this go around those elements demonstrably hearken back to Blood Mountain
and Crack The Skye. These eleven tracks effortlessly combine the
hard-edged muscularity of Mastodon's
earlier records with the generous accessibility displayed on their more recent
releases. The results are phenomenal!
Before I get too carried away I need to specifically
highlight one aspect of this album which deserves special recognition, the
vocals. Emperor Of Sand, in my humble opinion, features the best vocals
that Mastodon has recorded to date. Troy
Sanders and Brent Hinds sound
stronger and more emotive than ever while Brann
Dailor continues to evolve into an increasingly formidable singer. In fact, on many songs I'd say Brann's vocal contributions steal the
show. The bottom line however is that when
the power of the three vocalists combine, which is on pretty much every song,
the listener is treated to endless peaks with no valleys in sight.
Waveriders this is an album you need to own/experience. Emperor
Of Sand rockets out of the gate with "Sultan's Curse" and doesn't
let up until the closing notes of the epic final track "Jaguar
God". If you're a long-standing Mastodon fan this record won't
disappoint, and if you've never investigated Mastodon and want to know why so many people adore this band Emperor Of Sand is a fantastic
introduction!
-Penfold
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