The Mastodon Thread v. Emperor of Sand!

[DoctorAction]

This. Extraordinary band. Looking forward to new stuff.

[Kotowboy]

I've been watching some of Brann's Meinl Cymbals performances on YouTube, and wow, dude is just a machine. All I could think of is, how is he going to play this music if Mastodon ever lasted as long as Rush? I broke a sweat just watching him.

I seriously think he is the Keith Moon of metal. He plays drums like a lead instrument and is just insane.

If he's got good technique it shouldn't be that hard. You don't have to hit the drums as hard as you can. If you use Moeller technique and just relax it's not hard at all. Drums have microphones

You just need stamina but adrenaline helps with that ! playing a show would probably feel like nothing.

Lars Ulrich doesn't have great technique and still plays 2 hours a night at the age of 57.

[Lonk]

I've been watching some of Brann's Meinl Cymbals performances on YouTube, and wow, dude is just a machine. All I could think of is, how is he going to play this music if Mastodon ever lasted as long as Rush? I broke a sweat just watching him.

I seriously think he is the Keith Moon of metal. He plays drums like a lead instrument and is just insane.

I remember a few years back I saw an interview where he talked about just that. He pointed out how he tries to imitate what a guitar would do but on drums, and that's where his style comes from.

And yeah those Meinl videos are insane. Great sound and even better performance. That drum set is beautiful too.

[lordxizor]

Love Mastodon. I'll take anything new from them that I can get.

[Kotowboy]

Love Mastodon. I'll take anything new from them that I can get.

Truth. I love Metallica dearly but chronologically - Emperor Of Sand is their Reload. They're more consistent than Metallica AND their discography has a similar progression to it

Kill Em All , Remission - the no holds barred noisy debut
Ride The Lightning, Leviathan - the much more accomplished and polished follow up. Way more confident.
Master Of Puppets, Blood Mountain - their first classic. Most people's go to album.
And Justice For All, Crack The Skye - Both feature long intricate songs and are considered both bands second classic album in a way
Metallica, The Hunter - Both bands took a more concise and commercial turn on their next album. Hunter isn't the Utter Behemoth that METALLICA is though. ( My fave Mastodon album ).
Load, OMRTS - neither are their best work but dig deep and theres some gems on both.


However - Mastodon have yet to put out a Saint Anger or a Death Magnetic. OMRTS comes closest to Death Magnetic for me. Both are *decent* but there's just something missing.

[wolfking]

Big fan and have been since Remission but truthfully, I really didn't enjoy EOS.  I should revisit it however.

[Buddyhunter1]

Their last two albums were of roughly the same quality, I think.

[Dedalus]

I've been watching some of Brann's Meinl Cymbals performances on YouTube, and wow, dude is just a machine. All I could think of is, how is he going to play this music if Mastodon ever lasted as long as Rush? I broke a sweat just watching him.

I seriously think he is the Keith Moon of metal. He plays drums like a lead instrument and is just insane.

Interesting way to view his style.

Sometimes I feel he is overplaying, like "C'mon Brann, take it easy!", sometimes I feel he totally rocks. It depends on my mood.

Great band and great drummer.

[Shadow Ninja 2.0]

Emperor of Sand
Crack the Skye
The Hunter

others

[DoctorAction]

Their last two albums were of roughly the same quality, I think.

I think so, and are the Mastodong albums I reach for the most. I don't listen to CTS or Hunter much, but don't have anything against either. I'm surprised that OMRTS gets a bit of a shrug from a lot of fans.

[Elite]

Blood Mountain all the way

[wolfking]

Leviathan is still number one in my book.

[Kotowboy]

The track listing for MEDIUM RARITIES is on iTunes.


https://music.apple.com/gb/album/medium-rarities/1523356137

100% an Odds and ends album.

Also the single is out at midnight wherever you are. It sounds like OMRTS / EOS era.


------


We all love a good rank....

1. The Hunter
2. Crack The Skye
3. Emperor Of Sand / Blood Mountain
4. Leviathan
5. Once More Round The Sun
6. Call Of The Mastodon
7. Remission - only cause I don't listen to it much. Still has Crusher Destroyer, Fire Ants, and Mother Puncher on though.

[wolfking]

The track listing for MEDIUM RARITIES is on iTunes.


https://music.apple.com/gb/album/medium-rarities/1523356137

100% an Odds and ends album.

This is cool.  I haven't really followed the bands songs outside the albums so I'm looking forward to this.  Some live stuff which is cool too.

[The Realm]

Just gave Fallen Torches a listen, it's available now to stream. I liked it.

[Kotowboy]

Yeah it sounds like a leftover from between Once More Round The Sun & Emperor Of Sand.

Because Scott Kelly is there it reminds me of Diamonds in the Witch House & Jaguar God.

The tracks with Scott Kelly on are amongst my favourite Mastodon tracks.

Also - Neil Fallon from Clutch's guest vocals on Blood and Thunder...

Not that I don't love Troy and Brann's vocals of course.

[lordxizor]

I think Emperor of Sand is their best album. I still listen to it a ton. I think it has the best combination of accessibility, technical skill, classic Mastodon quirkiness, etc. It did take a while for it to grow to that level for me though. It's definitely different than some of their classics like Blood Mountain or Crack the Skye, but I love it. I wouldn't even put it in the same league as OMRTS, which is pretty mediocre.

[Mladen]

Yep, that was truly a fantastic album that will be difficult to top. I kind of prefer Crack the skye, but it's still remarkable.

[faizoff]

Man I used to obsessively listen to Mastodon up until The Hunter, I remember liking Once more round the sun a lot but couldn't listen to it much because of how the production made my ears bleed. Emperor of Sand was amazing too, the band just sorta dropped off my radar.

[Lonk]

Their last two albums were of roughly the same quality, I think.

I think so, and are the Mastodong albums I reach for the most. I don't listen to CTS or Hunter much, but don't have anything against either. I'm surprised that OMRTS gets a bit of a shrug from a lot of fans.

This is where I stand. I think OMRTS is a great album. On first listen I remember going back to Chimes at Midnight, Asleep in the Deep, Ember city and Halloween. by the third listen I was hooked on every song and still today find myself playing the whole album back to back.

Anyways, listened to Fallen Torches. Not bad, I thought it was enjoyable.

[Kotowboy]

Man I used to obsessively listen to Mastodon up until The Hunter, I remember liking Once more round the sun a lot but couldn't listen to it much because of how the production made my ears bleed. Emperor of Sand was amazing too, the band just sorta dropped off my radar.

Probably since Emperor Of Sand was their most recent album :sassy:

I think Emperor of Sand is their best album. I still listen to it a ton. I think it has the best combination of accessibility, technical skill, classic Mastodon quirkiness, etc. It did take a while for it to grow to that level for me though. It's definitely different than some of their classics like Blood Mountain or Crack the Skye, but I love it. I wouldn't even put it in the same league as OMRTS, which is pretty mediocre.

I loved Emperor Of Sand instantly. Brendan O Brien makes them sound amazing. I pray they never work with Rick Ruin. . . Garth Richardson would be good though !

Yeah and as for Once More Round The Sun... I'm not a fan of Nick Rascal's production. Apart from maybe Trivium's Shogun - I don't think he gets the very best out of his artists.

And his Mastodon album was muddy as fuck. And not in a good way.


EDIT :

It looks like MEDIUM RARITIES is a digital only release except for a limited double vinyl. Bummer I guess i'm gonna have to get the vinyl....


...Welp - not for $30 and $15 for shipping. I don't want it that badly...

[wolfking]

Digital release only?  That blows.

[ProfessorPeart]

I think so, and are the Mastodong

Wow, that must be huge!

[Kotowboy]

Digital release only?  That blows.

Maybe it will come out on CD / Standard vinyl later.

[ProfessorPeart]

Digital release only?  That blows.

Maybe it will come out on CD / Standard vinyl later.

If there is no physical then I will look over at HD Tracks. Mastodon has most of their stuff up there. I have started turning to them for these digital only releases as I have found I can get many in an uncompressed format.

[Kotowboy]

I've often thought it weird that nobody sells digital albums at Wav quality.

I'd pay a bit extra to buy a digital album at WAV quality for sure.

If they included a digital booklet - you could burn it straight to CD and print off the pages at 12cm each and make your own CD copy...

[DoctorAction]

I think so, and are the Mastodong

Wow, that must be huge!

Eye-wateringly so. 

I crave more lossless buying options. Really odd that someone like Inside Out or Amazon (iirc) does MP3 but not wav or FLAC. Just doesn't seem like it would be much work to add lossless. If I were king, it would always have been available...

[ozzy554]

Digital release only?  That blows.

Usually when I see something like that I get suspicious that a 2CD edition of the next album is in the works

[Kotowboy]

I don't follow...

Anyway - I hope for the next album we get another 90 minute in the studio DVD.

The one for Crack The Skye was great.

Even if they upload it to YouTube like for Emperor of Sand. - Basically costs nothing then.

[ProfessorPeart]

Details on the release and a new song for the new Bill and Ted:

https://www.loudersound.com/news/mastodon-detail-medium-rarities-collection-listen-to-fallen-torches

Mastodon have revealed details about their Medium Rarities album – a compilation that will feature instrumentals, covers and live tracks.

The band teased the release earlier this week along with a snippet of the song Fallen Torches. Now they’ve shared a stream of the song, which features guest vocals from Scott Kelly of Neurosis.

The track was recorded in Atlanta in early 2019, but its release was put on hold so Mastodon could concentrate on their cover of Led Zeppelin classic Stairway To Heaven in memory of their manager Nick John.

Medium Rarities will be released on September 11 through Reprise Records and will feature 16 tracks, including their take on A Spoonful Weighs A Ton by The Flaming Lips, A Commotion by Feist and Orion by Metallica.

Also included is Mastodon’s Game Of Thrones song White Walker.

Back in May, guitarist Bill Kelliher revealed the band had recorded a new song for the movie Bill & Ted Face The Music. It’s now been confirmed it’s titled Rufus Lives and will appear on the film’s official soundtrack – details of which will be revealed in due course.

1. Fallen Torches (Previously Unreleased)
2. A Commotion (Feist Cover)
3. Asleep In The Deep (Instrumental version)
4. Capillarian Crest (Live)
5. A Spoonful Weighs A Ton (The Flaming Lips Cover)
6. Toe To Toes (Instrumental version)
7. Circle Of Cysquatch (Live)
8. Atlanta (Feat. Gibby Haynes)
9. Jaguar God (Instrumental)
10. Cut You Up With A Linoleum Life (Aqua Teen Hunger Force)
11. Blood & Thunder (Live)
12. White Walker (Game of Thrones)
13. Halloween (Instrumental version)
14. Crystal Skull (Live)
15. Orion (Metallica Cover) 
16. Iron Tusk (Live)

[DoctorAction]

Sounds like an entertaining listen.

[ProfessorPeart]

Amazon has the CD up for pre-order, so we are getting a physical release. Already got mine locked in.

[Kotowboy]

I'd love the double red vinyl.

Maybe i'll just order it and hope that I can afford it when the time comes

Oops just ordered the double red vinyl for £36. It's not out til Oct 16 for some reason so i'll just put a few £ away each week so it's not a big surprise when I remember I ordered it hehe.

The only other red vinyl I have is Metallica's Hardwired to Self Destruct. I wasn't going to buy anything - but I went in a record shop for a browse

and it was there with a sticker saying " Ltd Ed. Red Vinyl " and I bought it immediately

[ProfessorPeart]

Just finished listening to Medium. Totally worth the purchase. I am not usually a fan of instrumental versions of songs that were written for lyrics, but Mastodon's music is so chaotic that it just works. I actually heard some things I don't think I heard before in them.

Fallen Torches just slays. What a track.

[Kotowboy]

Not listened through yet. But my Red Vinyl (from Amazon UK) is arriving on Oct 16.