MASTODON

The first Mastodon album that introduced me to their work was the masterful 2004 release Leviathan. So I put their previous effort into the player with some trepidation. Life is hard enough as it is, and there's no shortage of disappointments. My fears were dispelled in the very first seconds of listening, as from the speakers poured -- or rather, cascaded -- the familiar avalanche of sounds, rhythms, breaks, transitions, and instrumental passages so dear to the heart of any fan of complex musical-mathematical forms and structures. The familiar raspy, powerful vocals -- perhaps not as powerful as a death growl, but certainly no less serious in intent and in the retransmitted, frenzied core fury. The guitars -- winding and weaving into unimaginable jungles of solo runs; the meaty "chug-chug" is every bit as weighty as that of some of their butcher colleagues. The rhythm section simply defies description in plain words -- you'd need triple-decker differential equations or something else from an advanced algebra course to do it justice. How the band itself manages to play this material without getting lost in the alleyways of their own musical labyrinths is beyond my comprehension. I take my hat off and bow deeply. Bravo!