They've been watering down their sound so much so I fear they'll eventually become some kind of Nickelback band. This single is so shallow it's hard to believe it comes from the same people who composed The Last Baron, The Sparrow, Ghost of Karelia, Blood and Thunder, Roots Remain, This Mortal Soil, I Am Ahab, Colony of Birchmen, Jaguar God, among many others.

Much like with Gojira, I pretend Mastodon stopped making music around 2010. Saves me quite a bit of disappointment.

Excellent! My favorite tracks were: Gobblers of Dregs; Savage Lands; More Than I Could Chew.

Either I missed something, or this does not feature Scott Kelly! Unforgivable if so...

Written by Zap on 29.10.2021 at 11:30

Either I missed something, or this does not feature Scott Kelly! Unforgivable if so...

It would be the first Mastodon full length to do so since Remission.

Written by RaduP on 29.10.2021 at 11:36

It would be the first Mastodon full length to do so since Remission.

Yes, I'm really surprised and disappointed, but maybe there is a good reason he wasn't on this...

Enjoyed this quite a bit, "The Beast" was really nice. Better than EoS. Expected a bit more sludge though.

Judging from the first song title, it seems like they had a rather unpleasant meeting with Alestorm..

Jokes aside, is it just me or do this feel very uninspired and bland? Up to now my favorites are Pushing The Tides and Teardrinker but that's about it. A clear step down from Emperor Of Sand imo, and up to now, one of their weakest

Stop doing double albums. This album is 2x as long as it should be, and at most half the songs are passable. Most of this is very boring. And I'm a Mastodon fan

A lot of known bands decided to release in this october 29th heh?

I will keep it simple but ... I am enjoying this album and much like Opeth i think this new sound kinda fits them. Even Baroness started out heavy and put out more commercial albums ... but then again Metallica should have never went there > ah i digress....

90 minutes of material, 40 minutes worth listening to (some of which even borders on greatness). At this point they're just playing beneath themselves. But they're paying bills better than ever, so good for them.

Written by Troy Killjoy on 30.10.2021 at 09:29

But they're paying bills better than ever, so good for them.

I'm not sure if you are implying that money influences their song writing, but if so, I doubt it. I think if they kept pumping out albums like Once More Around The Sun it would be more successful in terms of gaining popularity and generating money.
That album is far more catchy and cohesive than this, and therefore more easily accessible. Listening to this album really gave me the impression that they are doing whatever they want.
I could be wrong, but that's my take.

As for the music on this album, I'm not sure what I think of it yet. I didn't have the best first impression of Emperor Of Sand but ended up really enjoying it a year or so later. I hope the same happens here because one listen hasn't convinced me, although nothing stood out as particularly bad.

Written by Karlabos on 29.10.2021 at 23:24

A lot of known bands decided to release in this october 29th heh?

Right before no nut november.

Written by Mehrad on 30.10.2021 at 13:48

Written by Karlabos on 29.10.2021 at 23:24

A lot of known bands decided to release in this october 29th heh?

Right before no nut november.

You mean nonstop nut november?

Written by Karlabos on 30.10.2021 at 14:40

Written by Mehrad on 30.10.2021 at 13:48

Written by Karlabos on 29.10.2021 at 23:24

A lot of known bands decided to release in this october 29th heh?

Right before no nut november.

You mean nonstop nut november?

Yup

Written by Zap on 30.10.2021 at 11:54

I'm not sure if you are implying that money influences their song writing, but if so, I doubt it.

Not at all. I just meant they're able to pay their bills with the financial success they've achieved and while I don't appreciate their more commercial direction, I'm happy their passion can support their lifestyle.

A little too rambling, but the good bits are so good they deserve an 8 at the very least.

Not really fancy Mastodon, but Sickle and Peace is quite a pleasant surprise!

Written by Troy Killjoy on 30.10.2021 at 18:58

Not at all. I just meant they're able to pay their bills with the financial success they've achieved and while I don't appreciate their more commercial direction, I'm happy their passion can support their lifestyle.

Okay, I read too much into it then, thanks for clarifying.

On first listen, I'm simultaneously impressed and indifferent. There's a lot of really interesting stuff happening throughout, far more so than Emperor Of Sand, and I'm happy they've ploughed into the more mellow, subdued vibe of Cold Dark Place. Still, if you're going to take a more muted approach, doesn't seem like the best album to choose to make a near-90-minute double record for; I'd say almost every song on it has impressed me to some degree, but there's few 'killer' moments that stood out after about track 4, so it does begin to drag a bit around track 10, particularly with the production flattening things a bit, although it does recapture my attention with the last couple of songs. Also, feel like every album since Once More Round The Sun has had at least a few vocal melodies that really don't gel with the music they're accompanying. Still, it's stronger than I was fearing, and I can see myself warming to it quite a lot with repeat listens; just wish those repeat listens weren't such a slog. Pain With An Anchor, The Crux, More Than I Could Chew, Gobbler Of Dregs and Gigantium are the highlights first time around

Written by musclassia on 31.10.2021 at 11:41

On first listen, I'm simultaneously impressed and indifferent. There's a lot of really interesting stuff happening throughout, far more so than Emperor Of Sand, and I'm happy they've ploughed into the more mellow, subdued vibe of Cold Dark Place. Still, if you're going to take a more muted approach, doesn't seem like the best album to choose to make a near-90-minute double record for; I'd say almost every song on it has impressed me to some degree, but there's few 'killer' moments that stood out after about track 4, so it does begin to drag a bit around track 10, particularly with the production flattening things a bit, although it does recapture my attention with the last couple of songs. Also, feel like every album since Once More Round The Sun has had at least a few vocal melodies that really don't gel with the music they're accompanying. Still, it's stronger than I was fearing, and I can see myself warming to it quite a lot with repeat listens; just wish those repeat listens weren't such a slog. Pain With An Anchor, The Crux, More Than I Could Chew, Gobbler Of Dregs and Gigantium are the highlights first time around

This is a perfect summary of how I feel about the album. I was really worried after the first two singles. Frankly, I thought those two songs sucked. In the context of the whole album they’re acceptable. They should have just condensed this down to 45 to 50 minutes and cut the rest or released it as a b side or something. It’s too long for what it has to offer.

Written by Chobo_jokeR on 31.10.2021 at 16:20


This is a perfect summary of how I feel about the album. I was really worried after the first two singles. Frankly, I thought those two songs sucked. In the context of the whole album they’re acceptable. They should have just condensed this down to 45 to 50 minutes and cut the rest or released it as a b side or something. It’s too long for what it has to offer.

I liked Teardrinker quite a lot, but didn't really care for Pushing The Tides when it came out and didn't really care for it on first play this time - I feel like that Pushing The Tides->Savage Lands stretch of songs is the obvious place to consider trimming the album; on a leaner album, I'm sure I'd rather like most of those songs, but I really felt like that was when the record dragged when digesting it in one sitting

Written by musclassia on 31.10.2021 at 16:37

Written by Chobo_jokeR on 31.10.2021 at 16:20


This is a perfect summary of how I feel about the album. I was really worried after the first two singles. Frankly, I thought those two songs sucked. In the context of the whole album they’re acceptable. They should have just condensed this down to 45 to 50 minutes and cut the rest or released it as a b side or something. It’s too long for what it has to offer.

I liked Teardrinker quite a lot, but didn't really care for Pushing The Tides when it came out and didn't really care for it on first play this time - I feel like that Pushing The Tides->Savage Lands stretch of songs is the obvious place to consider trimming the album; on a leaner album, I'm sure I'd rather like most of those songs, but I really felt like that was when the record dragged when digesting it in one sitting

I'm in agreement with you both. It's far too long and could have been condensed more for a better listen throughout. At the same time, I feel there's enough that kept me invested and I never felt like shutting it off as a result. Dagger may have been the weakest song for me, but almost every other song had a riff or lyric I found interesting.

As a complete aside, this is their first album without red or orange in the artwork. In terms of artwork melding with soundscape, this grey/white/black mixture feels far more appropriate than the bright colors I've usually attributed to them.

I wasn't sure of what to expect for this record, as I didn't like two of the singles, but it turned out to be a good surprise to me after all. There's a very well marked sense of melancholy throughout the disc and I did enjoy that.

Every time people complain about an album being too long and dragging in the middle I just keep thinking "have you never heard of making a playlist?"

First 3 tracks are good, Skeleton of Splendour is cool but sounds like Baroness. Savage Lands is ok too. Most of the remaining songs are completely forgettable. Others are bare to the bones basic hard rock. I miss Mastodon when they were pushing the envelope. From Remission to Crack the Skye every album brought something new to the table. After that all albums are ok at best. Some cool new tracks but that's it. This might also be their most melancholic album to date. A lot of mellow (dull) songs.

This record has all I could ask for Christmas

A little disappointed by the lack of Brent. He's got the best voice in the band, IMO and he's really under utilized.

Written by Tuonelan on 01.11.2021 at 07:11

Every time people complain about an album being too long and dragging in the middle I just keep thinking "have you never heard of making a playlist?"

I think when ppl say that they mean too long as in there is too much filler. Like that interlude here, that soft passage there, that part that repeats too much... If they trimmed those the album would be a tad shorter but would be far more enjoyable