Mastodon - Blood Mountain

In a recent interview Mastodon's drummer, Bränn Dailor, stated, "It's hard to be inside something and talk to people about it. And it's kind of a cliché that the people in the band think that what they're working on at the moment is the best stuff they've ever done. But I guess that's the way that we feel. It's just more intense, more — I mean I like everything we've ever done. But at the moment, I'm really digging on this stuff. It's hard for me to put into words what's different about it. It's just better. I hope we can start a prog revolution, because the timing's right."

Usually when bands say this, they are just trying to hype the fans up. Mastodon is a band that has been recieving a lot of hype especially after releasing their brutal debut, Remission and their more polished progressive sounding sophmore album, Leviathan. The question here is: does Blood Mountain live up to the hype? The answer is a definite yes. This is their masterpiece. Not only did they make an album that is better than their first two releases, they also expanded their sound and progressed as musicians. It seems like the hardcore and death metal elements from their last two releases have been replaced with more progressive and experimental influences.

Fans of the raw and brutal Remission may be upset to hear that Blood Mountain is even more polished sounding than Leviathan. This is not a bad thing. The production is a lot cleaner, the songwriting is a lot more mature and the playing is kicked up several notches. The guitar and drum work is more technical and involved on this release than their others. Brent Hinds and Bill Kelliher make a great guitar duo. Their harmonized leads are amazing and the riffs they come up with make you want to headbang until your neck snaps.

I think the main improvement are the vocals. I was never a fan of the vocals, but now I think they work. First off, the vocals aren't as upfront in the production as they were on their other releases. Second, there are a lot more clean vocals that actually fit the music real well. I still don't think they are the greatest vocals in the world, but with music this good it doesn't matter.

Mastodon has proved to the metal world that they are the real deal. They also proved that progressive metal isn't limited to bands that sound like Dream Theater. I will now place them on the same page with bands like Tool, Isis, Burst, Opeth, or any other new generation progressive metal band. Let's face it, Mastodon has secured a slot in the new progressive revolution with Blood Mountain. This album will be real hard to top. I can see this being looked at as one of the classic metal albums of the 2000's.