Mastodon - The Hunter review
| Band: | Mastodon |
| Album: | The Hunter |
| Style: | Progressive stoner metal |
| Release date: | September 27, 2011 |
| A review by: | BitterCOld |
01. Black Tongue
02. Curl Of The Burl
03. Blasteroid
04. Stargasm
05. Octopus Has No Friends
06. All The Heavy Lifting
07. The Hunter
08. Dry Bone Valley
09. Thickening
10. Creature Lives
11. Spectrelight
12. Bedazzled Fingernails
13. The Sparrow
14. The Ruiner [limited-edition bonus]
15. Deathbound [limited-edition bonus]
With The Hunter, Mastodon are out of their element. Or rather out of elements. Fortunately, after releasing albums loosely themed about fire, water, earth, and air, the Georgia quartet ignored Metalstormers' pleas for a Captain Planet album to tie it all together.
So as for the new album, the immediate TL;DR is this: If you were expecting Leviathan 2.0 or Remission MMXII, you'll likely be disappointed. If you were cool with Crack The Skye, it's a safe bet you will enjoy this one as well.
The band continues with the direction taken in CTS, which is to say less with the sludged-up noisecore or whatever, and more with the 70's prog loving alternative rock/metal approach. While less METAL! than their first few albums - this means almost entirely clean vocals and dialing the distortion down - these guys are all extremely talented musicians capable of crafting some awesome songs that can be both complex and catchy. Just because they toned it down doesn't mean they dumbed it down.
Tracks like "Curl Of The Burl", "Dry Bone Valley", and "Blasteroid" are upbeat and tuneful enough that you'll find yourself singing along? yet still have musical complexities to give them depth and keep you intrigued.
In addition to those rockin' tunes, the band changes up with "Stargasm" and the title track which capture some of the same hypnotic style as Skye? hell, "The Hunter" features a riff which harkens back to "The Czar: The Usurper" on their last release.
Their penchant for the weird goes well beyond silly-sounding song titles as well? "The Creature Live" starts off with some Whovian-Pink Floyd circa 1970 trippy synthesizers (and chuckles) before going into a sad, lighter (smartphone) hoisting ditty about a swamp creature who, like the Octopus, seems to have no friends aside from the singer/narrator, backed by a choir to enhance the sorrow? woe is us.
The mood gets a nice 180 immediately after the sad tale and those craving their older works do get tossed a bone in form of "Spectrelight" - a pummeling tune that will have you waving a harpoon around like the good old white whale chasing days of Leviathan.
The band seems to embrace the more open concept and just bounce, stylistically, all over the place across the album. This album is chock full of songs that are ripe for radio play? but only if your zip code has a really cool station.
Well, and they can somehow get past Brent Hinds snarling "I wanna drink some fucking blood/I wanna break some fucking glass!"
Rating breakdown
| Performance: | 9 |
| Songwriting: | 8 |
| Originality: | 8 |
| Production: | 8 |
 | Written on 28.09.2011 by BitterCOld has been officially reviewing albums for MetalStorm since 2009. |
Comments
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Comments: 38
Visited by: 641 users
| Lit. Account deleted |
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| Death_95 Posts: 201  |
Written by [user id=101272] on 28.09.2011 at 18:49 I think it sounds like The Czar.
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| Unhealer Eclecticist Posts: 2311  |
Awesome record, nice review. This album is pretty much a recollection of all the styles Mastodon had through all their career (expect for Remission maybe) displayed on this set of straight-forward songs mostly. This album is pure fun, expect for some "deeper" moments like Stargasm, The Hunter and The Sparrow.
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| Troy Killjoy perfunctionist Staff Posts: 21306  |
Written by [user id=28526] on 29.09.2011 at 00:01 Classic rock? Maybe if you're the kind of person who refers to Black Sabbath as classic rock, ya.
---- "Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools because they have to say something."
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| Introspekrieg Totemic Lust Elite Posts: 2749  |
Great review... this album really gets me pumped, some good running music until it get all Floydian... then I start to lose oxygen to my brain.
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| Marcel Hubregtse Grumpy Old Fuck Elite Posts: 40071  |
The band have finally found the way up again after having gone down with every album after remission. This one is so much better than Crack the Skye. Only downpoint are the horrendous clean vocals especially when they sing together and try to harmonize.
---- Member of the true crusade against European Flower Metal Yesterday is dead and gone, tomorrow is out of sight Dawn Crosby (r.i.p.) 05.04.1963 - 15.12.1996 
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| malaikat Posts: 405  |
Written by Marcel Hubregtse on 29.09.2011 at 11:23 OFFTOPIC Sometimes, Marcel, I wonder do you even listen to the same music as all of us. I have yet to meet a person that has more diametricall opinion than you about almost everything, in comparison to almost everyone. TOPIC: A spot on review, although I would rate it higher - I was mildly dissapointer with CtS, and this is the Mastodon I loved during Blood Mountain release. Anyway, my definite vote for album of the year! *take that Opeth*
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| Marcel Hubregtse Grumpy Old Fuck Elite Posts: 40071 |
Written by malaikat on 29.09.2011 at 15:44 What's so weird about my opinion on Mastodon? I know loads of people who regard Mastodon't albums as I do.
---- Member of the true crusade against European Flower Metal Yesterday is dead and gone, tomorrow is out of sight Dawn Crosby (r.i.p.) 05.04.1963 - 15.12.1996
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| malaikat Posts: 405 |
Written by Marcel Hubregtse on 29.09.2011 at 15:46 Nah, man, I mean your opinion(s) in general, nothing personal. Btw I think you are the first person I know to preffer Remission over every other Mastodon album - but, different strokes for different folks.
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| malaikat Posts: 405 |
Written by [user id=4365] on 29.09.2011 at 16:46 Really? Well, ok then. I mean, yes, it's a great album, but Leviathan and Blood Mountain are just almost legendary to me. PS - Although I don't give a flying sh*t for MA reviews since I read UltraBoris and a few others. There's something called difference of opinion, and there's being a self-proclaimed pseudointellectual. Don't like those other guys, they always ruin my trips to MA.
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| Windrider Raureif Posts: 684  |
Well, the track titles are worth a 10, like Curl Of The Burl, Bedazzled Fingernails and, of course, the most metal title ever: Octupus Has No Friends 
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| Opethian Posts: 1757  |
Nice review BitterCold! I personally love this album. Octopus has No Friends is by far my favorite track. This really shows the band evolving while still keeping their modern sound  I would give this a solid 9 Mastodon 
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| Troy Killjoy perfunctionist Staff Posts: 21306 |
Written by [user id=4365] on 29.09.2011 at 16:46 Plus I think Marcel says it's the best Mastodon album. So you know it is.
---- "Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools because they have to say something."
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| Marcel Hubregtse Grumpy Old Fuck Elite Posts: 40071 |
Written by Troy Killjoy on 29.09.2011 at 19:16 I am always right 
---- Member of the true crusade against European Flower Metal Yesterday is dead and gone, tomorrow is out of sight Dawn Crosby (r.i.p.) 05.04.1963 - 15.12.1996
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| Paradox0 Unasuming Madnes Posts: 592 |
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| DahliaRock Posts: 153  |
OH HAI GUISE! YOU GOT IT ALL WRONG! Not really, well, kinda, but did that to get your attention (and if you read this, you did! huzzah!) Anyways, one thing for sure, the Hunter experience dramatically changes when you play it while driving, you have to get a bit pumped and aggressive.. well at least it's the case with the traffic here  I like it much more than CtS and BM because it's more catchy, go out run around get naked crazy, delivering all the goodies in a packed amount while leaving nothing in the air. Still not a Leviathan for sure, but definitely Leviathan 2.0 in the sense that it has that strike and go attitude, while having the maturity encompassed by all their past albums!Mom thinks all songs sound the same, gotta make her opinion change! Oh and, I never embraced Remission as I have embraced Leviathan.. something is so different, so energetic that it makes you want to go on a violent trip (which you can satisfy by going to the gym.. hell yeah, it's great to have everyone looking at you like you are mad Blood Mountain was an immature step towards CtS while trying to nurture the metal side with the prog roots.. CtS blew my mind, but got cold and tiring pretty fast because the songs lost their nature of catchiness and only stood with epicness. Mastodon is like an energy drink, and you don't want to chug a whole keg of it; grab a shot and you're on the move! But all in all, great review, kinda worth like 8.5 or 9.0.. Have given it around 30 replays while driving.. Trying to change the playlist else I will not like it anymoar 
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| afu Posts: 260 |
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| Daniell _爱情_ Elite Posts: 6101  |
Written by Marcel Hubregtse on 29.09.2011 at 19:17 Maybe in the densely populated premises of your own apartment  What I think is that Mastodon have never failed so far. Be it Remission or Crack the Skye, I appreciate all their albums. As I appreciate this one. Simpler than the predecessor, but to make up for it, more intense and in-your-face. Mastodon is one of the brightest stars on the metal heaven without doubt.
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| JÄY Metal slave Posts: 1567  |
If youre reviewing the special edition, maybe use that cover? its definitely nicer to look at.
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| Panterica Posts: 341  |
Sounds interesting
---- Li'ed - Prog-Metal from Jerusalem https://open.spotify.com/artist/7aZWDrAAvDSLMaSmDSE8zA https://www.facebook.com/LiedBandMusic http://lied-band.bandcamp.com/
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| Opethian Posts: 1757 |
Oh theres one that really disappointed me, it was that the 'Bonus Tracks' for the Deluxe Edition werent on Disc 1, there on the DVD. Just like Heritage ..  Just a heads up for those planning on buying the Deluxe Edition 
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| @gent_-_orange Posts: 905  |
Written by Opethian on 04.10.2011 at 03:46 Its one of my pet hates yet I bought the deluxe edition anyway... Mostly for the artwork.
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| Opethian Posts: 1757 |
Written by @gent_-_orange on 04.10.2011 at 04:01 the dlx cover is 10x's better , i agree
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| afu Posts: 260 |
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| BitterCOld The Ancient One Admin Posts: 15287  |
Written by afu on 07.10.2011 at 07:17 or you could go to Zia...
---- get the fuck off my lawn. Beer Bug Virus Spotify Playlist crafted by Nikarg and I. Feel free to tune in and add some pertinent metal tunes!
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