IN REVIEW: Mastodon - "Once More 'Round The Sun"

By freeing themselves from their self-imposed concepts and opening up to a whole world of sonic possibilities, Mastodon sounded energized and eager to explore on 2011's The Hunter. The results were sometimes unexpected, and longtime fans were quick to dismiss the album's more "radio friendly" moments, but I found it consistently engaging and far more rewarding than most gave it credit for.

Once More 'Round the Sun picks up where The Hunter left off, but only insomuch as it also eschews a larger narrative in favour of a well-rounded, diverse album. It's lazy to simply call it a continuation, though; it's more a refinement of the exploratory spirit they conveyed on that previous album. There isn't anything that screams out as a bid for airplay such as, say, Curl of the Burl, nor a shocking sonic left turn as Creature Lives. That's not to say OMRTS isn't accessible or experimental, it's just that the songs on the album seem somewhat focused toward a sense of cohesion that The Hunter didn't really have.

More to the point, this album is the product of maturity; just one listen to opening pair Tread Lightly and The Motherload reveals a band that's learned a lot in its first decade plus, and applied its lessons appropriately. These are songs that are quintessentially Mastodon, swirling and busy prog-metal at their heart, but free to explode into majesty whereas a younger version of the band would have preferred to pummel and suffocate. The Motherload's chorus yields an especially large payoff that is only matched by that of Ember City later in the album. Then, there's lead single High Road, a baby brother for Blood and Thunder that shows less teeth but more range.

The title track exhibits, of all things, kind of a Foo Fighters vibe, albeit Foo Fighters as filtered through Mastodon. Aunt Lisa shows a little Queens of the Stone Age influence before perhaps the album's most striking moment, as The Coathangers show up to take the track home cheerleader style. And closing track Diamond in the Witch House is absolutely massive, making use once again of Neurosis main man Scott Kelly (thus, debut album Remission remains the only Mastodon studio album to not feature him). However, perhaps the album's finest overall song is Asleep in the Deep, a seemingly effortless epic that combines all of what makes Mastodon great into one (relatively) concise track; it's as though we're hearing a play-by-play of Mastodon's career highlights in six minutes, and it's glorious.

The prevalent feeling that keeps coming back as I listen to the songs on Once More 'Round the Sun is that, as much as they play around with different moods and textures, they remain undoubtedly and overwhelmingly Mastodon. As many pale imitations reside within metal's ranks, Mastodon has a sound that's theirs alone, and Once More 'Round the Sun, perhaps more so than any other album they've created, is a clear definition of what that sound is.

June 24, 2014 • Reprise

Highlights The Motherload • High Road • Asleep in the Deep