Reviewed! Mastodon - The Hunter
Mastodon
The Hunter
Reprise
Though Mastodon have clearly scaled back the epic factor
a few notches on their latest full length the
Hunter, meaning this new slate of songs features less wandering and less
mountainous meandering, the band’s core dynamic remains unphased. Blistering
duel guitars and crashing waves of thunderous drumming still rule the day throughout,
it’s just that now on the Hunter
Mastodon handles their business in a more focused manner – in about five or six
minutes as opposed to 12 or 13. Through the portion size may be a tad smaller; the Hunter still delivers like a seven
course meal rather than some mere ala carte entrée.
Mastodon doesn’t take long in making it obvious that with
the Hunter they mean business as
opener “Black Tongue” hits like a tidal wave, employing razor-sharp guitar
leads that fuel overwhelming anthemic moments, proving early that the band has
lost nothing since their 2008 release Crack
the Skye. The Hunter delivers the
heavy again and again, unleashing towering riffs and an unmatched blazing
guitar attack (“The Octopus Has No Friends,” “Curl of the Burl”), though from
time to time the band tosses a monkey wrench into the works via keyboards and
clean vocals (“the Creature Lives”). The late comer “Spectrelight,” a track
that features the help of Neurosis’ Scott Kelly, challenges for the title of
most heavy, and those looking to consume every last second of the Hunter will be rewarded thusly in
the form of the album’s most brilliant solo, which comes on the closing track
“the Sparrow.”
While in the grand scheme of things the Hunter might be a better fit in a commercial setting rather
than hard rock’s seedy underbelly, there’s no denying that Mastodon has
effectively and decisively ascended to the throne of modern hard rock/metal, a
seat they seem primed to occupy for years to come.
Grade: A-
Listen to: “Black Tongue”
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