Year in Rock 2011 Nominee: Mastodon

MASTODON
Curl of the Burl

From: The Hunter
Released: September 27

After taking their concepts just about as high as they would go, Mastodon decided to strip it down to the basics for The Hunter.  Naturally, a legion of haters cried foul, proclaiming the album to be a sellout rock record.  Sure, it has some elements of classic rock in a handful of its tracks, but it's still metal at its core.  If you need evidence, check the blistering Blasteroid, or the very much Mastodon-sounding Spectrelight.  In fact (and especially given the album's context), Spectrelight sounds like the kind of mind-blowing art-metal jam that Mastodon can write in their sleep.  That's why it's so refreshing to hear them unrestrained by concepts or expectations and just cut loose.  By doing away with the rigid guidelines that their concepts require, the band has gotten out of the corner they'd painted themselves into years ago, leaving them free to try new flavours and expend their sonic repertoire.  There are two glaringly awesome results to be found on The Hunter: the oddball dirge Creature Lives and the groovy, tasty Curl of the Burl.  These are songs that have their own identities, rather than simply exist within the limited realm of a common thread.  Now, don't get me wrong; I'm a fan of concept albums, especially when they're done right (i.e. Mastodon's first four albums).  But hearing a band so conceptually driven as Mastodon uninhibited is refreshing, exhilarating, and a shitload of fun.  This band, it seems, can do no wrong.