Mastodon- "Blood Mountain" review

Most metalheads have been complaining for years that the US metal scene is dead and stagnant, with most of the exciting new bands coming from Europe (especially that frozen Mecca of metal, Scandinavia). Well, they've got their savior in Mastodon, who've created a style that sounds like an unholy mixture of Iron Maiden, Slayer, Pink Floyd, and The Melvins. Propelled by the incindiary guitar duo of Brent Hinds and Bill Kelliher (who maybe one of the best duos since the Dave Murray/Adrian Smith alliance of old), they've garnered huge praise from both the media and fans alike. 2004's Leviathan, an epic piece of crushing prog-metal centered around the tale of Moby Dick, made people stand up and pay attention. On their 4th album, Blood Mountain, they've taken that sound even further into more experimental waters, so to speak, to create one of the most dynamic, captivating, and satisfying metal albums in years.

The record starts off with a thundering drum intro by the brilliant Brann Dailor on the opening track "The Wolf Is Loose," a thrashy, riff-filled bruiser of a song. On previous records, bassist Troy Sanders handled most of the vocal duties, but nowadays the maniacal hollering is split pretty evenly between him and guitarist Hinds. The vocals are much cleaner than they used to be, but it doesn't take away from the heaviness at all. "Sleeping Giant" borrows heavily for Led Zeppelin and classic rock in general, and it's one of the more mellow songs. It's very catchy, and is sure to be one of the more accessible and popular songs on the album. The onslaught resumes with "Capilliarian Crest" and "Circle of the Cysquatch," a song about a fictional cross between a cyclops and Sasquatch invented by Hinds while smoking, and I quote, some "killer weed." "Bladecatcher" is the first of two instrumentals, starting off with a feverish tornado of noise and gibberish before settling into an amazing dual guitar riff that would make the guys in Iron Maiden or Judas Priest very proud. The album also has its share of guest musicians, most notably Josh Homme of Queens of the Stone Age (contributing vocals to "Colony of Birchmen") and Cedric Bixler-Zavala of The Mars Volta, who lends backing vocals to "Siberian Divide." The album closes with a second instrumental, "Pendelous Skin," a spacey Pink Floyd-ish piece of prog-rock that features an absolutely stunning guitar solo.

It's hard to follow up a record like Leviathan, especially in a year that has seen many great new metal albums. However, Mastodon shows that a band that has only been around for about 6 years can put out masterful pieces of music that can hang with the big boys and totally blow people away. If you've been looking for this generation's Metallica or Maiden, your search might be over.

Rating: 10/10