tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-49965438387767221582024-03-13T09:53:02.866-07:00FreethinkersA platform for people that refuse to follow the rules the shallow society tries to force upon usPhiliphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14416142484942486943noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4996543838776722158.post-84385150258506456952011-09-28T05:06:00.000-07:002011-09-28T05:06:52.860-07:00Review - Mastodon - The Hunter<div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><u><br />
</u></span></div><a href="http://a4.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/282154_10150268827712948_5748157947_7478452_2199128_n.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://a4.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/282154_10150268827712948_5748157947_7478452_2199128_n.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 600px;" /></a><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><u>Mastodon 2011</u></span></div><div><br />
</div><div><b>Cover-Artwork</b></div><div><b><br />
</b></div><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HKPPbawcJSY/ThqRez75MxI/AAAAAAAAHQw/F_4EMaczPdA/s1600/Mastodon-TheHunter-albumcover.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HKPPbawcJSY/ThqRez75MxI/AAAAAAAAHQw/F_4EMaczPdA/s1600/Mastodon-TheHunter-albumcover.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 500px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 500px;" /></a><br />
<div><br />
</div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Mastodon: The quirky prog-boys go back to their rock roots.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><br />
</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span">Crack the Skye was <a href="http://www.blogger.com/www.facebook.com/Mastodon">Mastodon's</a> proggiest effort ever. The sheer amount of different riffs, drum-fills, breaks and tempo changes made it the most complex Mastodon-record to date. At the same time, it was the end of a concept of the 4 elements, which had started with <a href="http://freethinker-blog.blogspot.com/2011/01/look-at-historical-releases.html">Remission</a>.<br />
<br />
So what does a band do after playing their most complex record as a whole every night on tour and now having a "new" artistic freedom at hand? They go back to their rock-roots, of course.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><br />
</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span">And in Mastodon's case those are, among others: Thin Lizzy, Foreigner, Boston and King Crimson. Not the shabbiest bands to draw inspiration from. Now imagine those classic/prog-rock roots combined with Mastodon's ability to write rocking riffs and their qurikyness: You get straight prog-rock songs with hilarious song-titles like "Octopus has no Friends", "Bedazzled Fingernails", "Blasteroid", "Creature lives" or "Stargasm".</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span">I don't even have to mention that the technicality of the songs is at an extremely high level, do I?</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><br />
</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span">While most of the songs deal with funnier, less serious stuff like 80s-games for example, the title-track is dedicated to the death of Brent Hinds' brother. You can definitely tell that Brend has poured a lot of emotions into this song. What also stands out, is Troy's (bass) vocals performance: he's never sounded more like Scott Kelly from Neurosis.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><br />
</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><a href="http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?id=458811782">The Hunter</a> to me seems like Mastodon combining the structures and energy of Remission with the feel of Crack the Skye. A big number of Mastodon fans probably won't like this record, because it is a step away from Crack the Skye. But, as the band has mentioned several times, the last thing they want to do is repeat themselves. And isn't that the main idea behind prog?<br />
<br />
<b>Video for <a href="http://www.mastodonrocks.com/news/troy-explains-curl-burl">Curl of the Burl</a></b></span></div><div><br />
</div><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/lAihDAJX8Ow" width="560"></iframe>Philiphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14416142484942486943noreply@blogger.com0