As if my writer's block wasn't enough, I find myself struggling with what more there is to say about Mastodon? They are one of the few metal bands that enjoy both critical and popular success, and who are long enough in the game that you should know what to expect from these guys. Yet, "The Hunter" finds the band switching gears and moving away from the complex concept albums they are known for. Instead, the record is a collection of stand-alone songs that run the metal and hard rock gamut. The end result is easily the band's most accessible album to date, but accessible does not mean "false metal."Sounding at times like Rush meets Black Sabbath, at others like classic Queens of the Stone Age and Alice In Chains, these songs are easy to like. Yet, even at their most poppy, as on the Torche-like "Blasteroid," the band is as tightly coiled as ever. Throughout the record, the band proves that catchy is not a bad thing, even in metal. Lead single "Curl of the Burl" is full of incredible hooks, but maintains the band's signature beefy sound. For my money, it's one of the best songs of the year, and proof positive that metal doesn't have to be alienating to be powerful. Other songs, like "Stargasm," sound like a Mastodon album crammed into a single four-minute plus song, while still others find the band exploring new territory entirely, such as on ballads "The Hunter" and "The Sparrow" or the bizzaro Celtic/monster movie mashup that is "Creature Lives."
While not having a central concept to form songs around has freed the band to produce incredibly tight and varied epics in miniature throughout "The Hunter," there is certainly an argument to be made that the record lacks the consistency in feel and sound that was evident on the band's other records. In truth, there is a grab bag quality to the record, and you will inevitably like some song more than others. At the same time, the band never loses themselves in pointless interludes or overly technical bridges and segues. Everything here is played with an immediacy that was arguably lacking from some of the band's other work. In the end, it's Mastodon, and it's pretty damn great. There is plenty here to satisfy long-time fans, while new comers will find countless points of entry into the band's sound.
"Curl of the Burl"
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