![]() Brent Hinds pours the right balance of feeling and technical prowess into the guitar solo and the lead guitar has a classic metal-sounding tone that fits perfectly with the quasi-psychedelic approach the band is going with. This song works very well thanks to a combination of a riff with the right amount of groove, an effective vocal performance and melody, and intricate drum work that doesn't distract from the song the way it has with other Mastodon songs. Interestingly enough, one of the best songs on the album is the one that sounds as if it was tailor-made to be a single, and that is "The Motherload". ![]() The song "Aunt Lisa" even goes so far as to have rather spacey, "Dark Side of the Moon" style sound effects added into the midst of the song to give the song an even greater connection to Mastodon's progressive influences, as if the otherworldly vocal approach (more on that in a bit) and opening riff that calls to mind a creepier version of Rush's "Free Will" wasn't already doing that. ![]() The guitar solos are all fairly well written, and never sacrifice emotion in exchange for fancy fretwork. Songs such as "High Road", the title track, "Feast Your Eyes" and "Asleep in the Deep" all follow a straightforward Sabbath inspired approach to the riffs and rhythms, but with lighter, more melodic musical qualities reminiscent of Alex Lifeson's work in Rush adding a sense of variety that keeps this from being mere Sabbath worship with a wild drummer. Mastodon have by now mostly figured out how to write songs where all the musicians flow together, and this album is a testament to that. Mastodon has always been a group of talented musicians, but as songwriters they have always been spotty, largely because their early work consisted of attempts at marrying groove, sludge and progressive metal in ways that made their songs sound horribly chaotic, with the drums sounding like they were playing a completely different song from the what the guitarist was playing, which would be different from the vocals etc. The strong point on this album are the individual songs and the talents of the musicians pumping the songs out. "Once More 'Round the Sun" takes the simpler, more straightforward approach of Mastodon's previous album "The Hunter" and mixes it with their progressive influences, coming up with a sound that resembles the Melvins mixed with Rush or some other progressive rock act. Why bring this up? Because this here is a fine example of cover art revealing what is in store for the listener. "Once More 'Round the Sun" caught my eye with a psychedelic cover that looks as if it was conceived by someone listening to 60s and 70s stoner rock while tripping on Peyote. In the case of Atlanta based prog/sludge metal outfit Mastodon, you have a band who have a knack for putting some eye catching cover art on their albums, even if the content inside is spotty at best. While you should never judge a book by it's cover, I think it's safe to say that nine out of ten time you can do so with an album cover, since the cover art of a band's album can tell you a lot about the experience you will undergo by listening to it, especially if it's a metal album.
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