I wasn't too sure at first listen, but somewhere around 2nd/3rd listen I just couldn't stop listening anymore. I thought the singles were getting better with each release. In the beginning I was still getting used to the production and I initially was a bit disappointed to hear so little of Hinds' vocals throughout. Not that he's my favorite per se, but I like how all three vocalists work together in Mastodon.
I thought Emperor of Sand was a particularly strong later period album from the band. To my ears they really tapped into the Crack the Skye vibes again on that album.
But after having had my first weekend with Hushed & Grim, my premature evaluation is that they've knocked it out of the park this time. Watery eyes, goosebumps, they just make it happen on this album. My album of the year for sure, and that's coming from a moderate Mastodon fan.