Mastodon - Emperor Of Sand review
| Band: | Mastodon |
| Album: | Emperor Of Sand |
| Style: | Progressive stoner metal |
| Release date: | March 31, 2017 |
| A review by: | ScreamingSteelUS |
01. Sultan's Curse
02. Show Yourself
03. Precious Stones
04. Steambreather
05. Roots Remain
06. Word To The Wise
07. Ancient Kingdom
08. Clandestiny
09. Andromeda
10. Scorpion Breath
11. Jaguar God
Emperor Of Sand follows after Once More 'Round The Sun and The Hunter before it as a mixture of streamlined hard rock and periodic bursts of classic Mastodon fury, with a psychedelic alt-rock haze seeping into a few riffs. As with any Mastodon album, Emperor Of Sand houses some inspired musicianship now and then, especially from Brann Dailor, but in keeping with the band's recent trend, the album centers around less kinetic displays and aims for commercial heaviness.
Clearly Mastodon have been looking for a way to take the multifaceted proggy sludge sound that they helped define into the commercial realms, and while Once More 'Round The Sun hinted that The Hunter did not spell the end of classic and inventive Mastodon, Emperor Of Sand trips back into artless safety. The deadpan vocal delivery and generally unadorned instrumental tracks on "Show Yourself" and "Precious Stones" sound like they're setting up the album to be something that it isn't, or at least shouldn't be: a straightforward, indie-influenced singalong that doesn't go very far and criminally under-utilizes the immense musical talents this band possesses. Taken on their own, "Show Yourself" and "Precious Stones" are some of the least interesting songs in Mastodon's entire catalogue.
A couple of other songs throughout the album ("Ancient Kingdom," for example) fall back into a very standard and unadventurous method of songwriting that can feel disappointing when "Scorpion Breath" and "Steambreather" try so hard to pull the album back into the dynamic, progressive, and just plain impressive territory of Crack The Skye. "Scorpion Breath" even has some moments that sound like blackened stoner, which would be a great new avenue for Mastodon to pursue if they didn't spend so much time trying to strip layers off their sound. The usual bright, jangly guitar riffs and harmonized choruses paint a Mastodon sheen over some otherwise unremarkable, grungy, radio rock tracks, but without the heavy low end, dynamic song structures, and impassioned delivery of past albums, Emperor Of Sand lives up to its name: it's just a little sand castle compared to Blood Mountain.
Emperor Of Sand doesn't have a lot of new ideas; some of those ideas that are new to Mastodon aren't new to the rest of the world. I enjoyed this album a lot at first, but the initial appeal wears off after comparison with the band's older material, and there are only a few songs I could see myself revisiting after giving the album its requisite handful of full playthroughs.
Rating breakdown
| Performance: | 8 |
| Songwriting: | 5 |
| Originality: | 5 |
| Production: | 7 |
 | Written on 30.04.2017 by I'm the reviewer, and that means my opinion is correct. |
Comments
Comments: 29
Visited by: 524 users
| RichardPickman Posts: 16 |
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| bloodwrage Pagan Angel Posts: 447 |
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| Auntie Sahar Drone Empress Posts: 5989  |
Whew lad, thanks for giving this one a sensible score, but.... get ready for some butthurt on this thread 
---- I am the Magician and the Exorcist. I am the axle of the wheel, and the cube in the circle. “Come unto me” is a foolish word: for it is I that go. ~ II. VII
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| Kuroboshi Posts: 1208  |
I gave it a higher rating, but then again I only listened to it twice. Good review. Kind of happy I didn't listen to it more, as my rating probably would have dropped more. 
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| nikarg Staff Posts: 7508  |
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| Devil Eyes Posts: 17  |
Harsh man... harsh. It's no Crack the Skye or Blood Mountain, but ifor me, it's at least a 7.
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| Silent Creeper Senile Veteran Posts: 303  |
The butthurt fanboy I am, I will try to attack your credibility by focusing only on the final rating of the review: You gave this album a 5.9, but you gave Babymetal - Metal Resistance a 9.0 and you gave Lulu from Metallica 7.4. !?! I apologize for stooping to this level but my fanboyness was hurt.
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| Marcel Hubregtse Grumpy Old Fuck Elite Posts: 40071  |
Written by Silent Creeper on 02.05.2017 at 13:16 And latest Sabaton even higher than that 
---- 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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| Fallen Ghost Craft Beer Geek Posts: 732  |
Can't say I agree with this review, Precious Stones is awesome! Oh well, each person with their taste! I fully enjoy this album, I may think this is even better than OMRTS. And I agree, I just cannot take anyone who gives Babymetal such a ridiculous score seriously..  
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| Zombie94 Posts: 460  |
Not a bad album by any means but, as you say, definitely does not compare to older albums like Crack the Skye or Leviathan. It seems like Mastodon's best days are behind them. I sensed this when I saw them all the way back in 2011 live and they sucked compared to older footage I'd seen from when the first album came out. Maybe just bad chemistry within the band? Brent Hinds seems very uninterested and is a shitshow live.
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| Unhealer Eclecticist Posts: 2311  |
While the album doesn't mark Mastodon's return to greatness, I for one am glad that they are doing concept albums again. Unlike The Hunter (which had a lot of standalone great songs) and OMRTS (which had a few standalone great songs), there's something that goes beyond just the music in this one and I can feel the full album listens to be more rewarding. All that said, yeah, it gets boring at some points and it is a really standard Mastodon album overall. It sits between 7 and 8 for me.
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| BitterCOld The Ancient One Admin Posts: 15302  |
Liked it more than SSUSMNT$$$, would score a 7, but need a few more listens. Loved the Sandcastle compared to Blood Mountain bit, though. great wordplay to illustrate the point
---- 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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| flightoficarus Stamp Tramp Posts: 1118  |
Glad to see another review that isn't just "ermagerd Mastodon album!!!"
---- Daily underground metal recommendations at Metal Trenches. Watch metal content on the Metal Trenches YouTube Channel.
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| The Galactician Posts: 404  |
When I saw the score pre-read my initial thought was, "Hey, that seems unfair!" Then I read your conclusion and said to myself, "Eh, that's totally me too." While I would give it closer to a 7, I think you're pretty spot on overall. Some good moments on this album, and maybe it would be better were it a composed by a new band without a past to compare against, but that's not the case. It's a Mastodon record; a pretty ho-hum one comparatively speaking.
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| Ace Frawley The Spaceman Posts: 1459  |
I enjoy this album, probably give it about a 7.7 rating.
---- The sun shines over The Fool...
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| Cynic Metalhead Ambrish Saxena Posts: 7650  |
Written by flightoficarus on 03.05.2017 at 04:05 You meant ermahgerd, right?!
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| Daniell _爱情_ Elite Posts: 6117  |
Written by Silent Creeper on 02.05.2017 at 13:16 Those 3 releases are completely different and comparing their rating is pointless.
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| Silent Creeper Senile Veteran Posts: 303 |
Written by Daniell on 03.05.2017 at 15:39 Of course they are completely different if you are reffering to the musical style/(sub)genre and I am not comparing that, I am talking about their ratings which are meant to be some sort of standardised way of evaluating an album - therefore the comparison of ratings is possible, no matter the (sub)genre. If this would not be true then for example the whole top 200 albums chart on this site is utterly 'pointless' because it features so many releases that are 'completely different'.
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| flightoficarus Stamp Tramp Posts: 1118 |
Written by Cynic Metalhead on 03.05.2017 at 09:04 
---- Daily underground metal recommendations at Metal Trenches. Watch metal content on the Metal Trenches YouTube Channel.
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| Marcel Hubregtse Grumpy Old Fuck Elite Posts: 40071 |
Written by Daniell on 03.05.2017 at 15:39 No it is not pointless since scoring one of the worst albums ever (Lulu) i(objectvely speaking) than than this okay album is just ridiculous.
---- 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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| Marcel Hubregtse Grumpy Old Fuck Elite Posts: 40071 |
Written by Daniell on 03.05.2017 at 15:39 No it is not pointless since scoring one of the worst albums ever (Lulu) i(objectvely speaking) than than this okay album is just ridiculous.
---- 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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| ScreamingSteelUS Editor-in-Chief Admin Posts: 6077  |
Written by Marcel Hubregtse on 04.05.2017 at 02:28 How would you prove categorically, empirically, scientifically, unassailably that Lulu is "objectively speaking" one of the worst albums ever?
---- "Earth is small and I hate it" - Lum Invader I'm the Agent of Steel.
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| Daniell _爱情_ Elite Posts: 6117 |
Written by Marcel Hubregtse on 04.05.2017 at 02:28 You seem to have forgotten that no rating of an album is ever objective. You said it yourself, numerous times.
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| Alex F Posts: 3521  |
Written by Marcel Hubregtse on 04.05.2017 at 02:28 No album is objectively better than another. Don't diminish someone's opinion by acting as if there's some objective metric by which you can measure quality of music.
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| Dr. Strawberry Posts: 698  |
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| chaotica_mortis Posts: 3  |
I find this record to be a perfect synthesis of their older and newer styles. EoS is the culmination of everything they've tried injecting into their sound since The Hunter came out, and I'd say it easily stands up to the best of their older material. The cancer / death sentence concept lends an extra weight to much of the album, and makes songs like "Roots Remain," "Ancient Kingdom," and "Jaguar God" not only stand out instrumentally, but vocally as well. This is probably Mastodon's catchiest album as far as the vocals go, but even though there are times that get a little too poppy ("Show Yourself" is the band's admitted radio single), the sludgiest of Mastodon's older work, the proggiest of their middle era, and the streamlined punch of their newer material all shows through in almost every song. There's a balance present that previous albums lacked; the band knows when to noodle, when to riff, when to groove, and when to get emotional. In the case of a couple of tracks, specifically "Jaguar God," they do a little bit of everything. With Brann Dailor cemented as the band's third vocalist, their range of vocal color, intensity, and delivery is so expansive that whatever feeling needs to be conveyed can be done so accurately. I'll stop before this turns into a full review. To close, I'd like to mention my favorite songs: "Steambreather," "Ancient Kingdom," and "Clandestiny," the latter of which has one of the most outer-space bridges of any Mastodon song. The whole album is just so damn cool. As a fan of all of the band's work, I find that this one has a lot to be appreciated, and would easily give it an 8 out of 10. Totally respect differing opinions though, as Mastodon tend to be a pretty divisive band.
---- Life is too short to be doing things you don't love doing. - Bruce Dickinson I don't see any boundaries between any of the art forms. I think they all interrelate completely. - David Bowie
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| pdepmcp Posts: 141  |
Based on MS votes, 5 is "NOT GOOD", 6 is "AVERAGE". I think 5.9 is misleading. This is by no mean a less than average album, unless you compare it with the band's past. It may not be the record to start with (or maybe it is, because it's a bit more easy listening than before, like the review says) if you want to get into Mastodon and can be disappointing for some fan, but It's for sure above the average of the genre for a general listener. 5.9 is out of context. ps: where does the "7" to production come from?
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| ScreamingSteelUS Editor-in-Chief Admin Posts: 6077 |
Written by pdepmcp on 08.07.2019 at 16:09 I'm not entirely sure what you mean by this. An album always has to have context. It's true that some people will be coming to this album with no prior Mastodon experience and won't know how to process a review that judges Emperor of Sand based on other Mastodon albums, but many people reading this review will be Mastodon fans wanting to know how Emperor of Sand stacks up to Once More 'Round the Sun and The Hunter, so for that reason, and because I myself am a returning Mastodon fan, I thought it most sensible to review this album from the perspective of a familiar listener. As for its quality to a "general listener," that's a very subjective thing, since we don't know what the exact "average" of the genre is or what context the "general listener" is bringing to the table. I gave it a 5.9 because I thought it was not quite "bad" but below average and not especially enjoyable to me at many points. I think that's a fair assessment. Written by pdepmcp on 08.07.2019 at 16:09 The production sounded fine. I'm no expert; all my promos are mp3s anyway, so my production score tends to be "good," "bad," or "whatever" more than a specific number I'm prepared to defend.
---- "Earth is small and I hate it" - Lum Invader I'm the Agent of Steel.
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| Zap Posts: 3589  |
I have come to really like this one lately. When it was released I would have ranked it at the bottom of their releases, along with The Hunter. Nowadays I think it's about on par with Once More Round The Sun. It's the only 2010's Mastodon album that scratches some of my Crack The Skye itches. There are definitely some weaker tracks here (the ones mentioned in your review come to mind,) and overall it feels much more simple and radio friendly than CTS --some of the choruses are a bit too catchy-- but it more than makes up for it with its highlights; tasty riffs, Brann's signature amazing drumwork, some very satisfying heavier sections and to top it off this album has some of Brent's best solos.
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