Mastodon

Once More ‘Round The Sun (Reprise Records)
12/20

With vast, hirsute legs straddling credibility and popularity, Mastodon are by some definitions the most significant metal band of their era. The beast that went before – the squealing, sludgy brute who kicked the world in the gut with 2002’s Remission – is now long gone; the journey since has been a gradual foray into the tangled, knotted undergrowth of classic prog rock. They’ve hit stunning heights, but 2011’s The Hunter hinted that the evolution may be hitting expiration point, and while Once More ‘Round The Sun fares better, it’s difficult to shake the feeling.

That said, first single High Road is the one, built around a stop-you-in-your-tracks jaw-dropper of a HFM riff and a clean chorus hook which is totally forgivable when it feels this right. Aunt Lisa is mulched up and nasty and wonderfully weird, while freaked-out, chugging closer Diamond In The Witch House descends into the depthiest pits of fiery fucking damnation never to return.

But the studio-pristine vocals of The Motherload will reduce you to a cringing heap, the cocky swagger of the title track feels decidedly safe, and while there’s technical mastery everywhere you look – Brann Dailor continues to carve his niche as the most musical metal drummer in the world, possibly ever – those switches in time signature and voyages to nowhere and beyond too often feel uninspired, even impotent.

It’s not about commerciality. This is, in almost every instance, dense, difficult and daring music. Mastodon’s expansion is a journey that should have been taken, executed without compromise. Their body of work is a fine achievement, and one for which they should be applauded: they are, by most definitions, the most significant metal band of their era.

But that doesn’t stop you missing the beast that went before.

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Words: Rich Bitt