Mastodon: Once More 'Round The Sun ALBUM REVIEW

Mastodon are a sludge metal outfit who made a name for themselves with albums like Leviathan and Blood Mountain, LPs that were heavy and full of technical, but not overly flashy playing. However, I think they made their finest LP in 2009 with Crack The Skye, an ambitious concept album that showed that the band could incorporate clean vocals and more prog-rock elements without sacrificing any of their ferocity. 

After that LP, the band started toying with slightly more immediate and rock oriented sounds, which is why their 2011 LP, The Hunter was such a shocking change of pace, and one that I just did not find myself enjoying. Tracks like "Curl of the Burl" were just so sterile sounding and mundane that I was beginning to fear that Mastodon would never again harness the same ambition and intensity of an album like Leviathan.

Fortunately, this latest album, Once More 'Round The Sun sees the band going back to what they are best at, but also showing what they learned from their last LP when it comes to more immediate and catchy material. The album starts off pretty well with the track "Tread Lightly" which may not be the most striking of openers, but it sets the mood for the rest of the album. The following track "The Motherload" is decent, but I feel as though it depends far too much on the hook to carry it for the five and a half minutes it lasts. 

"High Road" is a solid single and the first track I heard from the LP; some fans diss it for having a cleanly sung chorus, but I think it is well done and there is a pretty great guitar solo on the back end of the track. The other single "Chimes At Midnight" is also fantastic, and is both bone crushingly loud and eerily beautiful, which is something only Mastodon can pull off. 

The album hits a really nice stride in it's middle section with one great track after another, and despite missteps like the underwhelming title track and the awful ending to the track "Aunt Lisa" the band does manage to keep the quality level high til the end, especially with tracks like "Feast Your Eyes" and "Ember City" sitting in the back half of the album.

Overall, I was pleasantly surprised with OMRTS, it may not be my favorite Mastodon album, but it is great nonetheless, and gives me hope for future releases from these guys.

8.3/10