Mastodon's "The Hunter"

Being released on September 27th (my birthday) and with my name in the title, I was anticipating this one for months before I even heard anything off of it. With the band coming off of the massively successful "Crack The Skye" and multiple tours for it, I was really surprised that this album was finished as fast as is was, and even though the album was completed rather quickly, the songs are still very good. It has everything you'd want and expect from a Mastodon album, Stoner-rock riffs, spacey atmosphere, thick harmonies, and trippy lyrics. It also includes a very catchy single ("Curl of the Burl"), which is something a little new to Mastodon.

The album starts off with the song "Black Tongue", which in my opinion is the perfect opener for this album. It has a very memorable and hummable opening riff, a great chord progression, and very catchy lead lines throughout the entire song.

The next song is the first single off of the album, "Curl of the Burl". This song is even more catchy than "Black Tongue" with lots of guitar harmonization and vocal harmonies. For some reason this song seems very "90's" to me, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. The video for this song is very funny and B-movie-esque, with a tweaked out mountain man going around the forest with a chainsaw cutting down trees to get his fix of drugs, which seems like a very strange idea, but apparently it does happen in the Pacific Northwest. With this song having similar traits as a majority of Mastodon songs, but not really sounding like anything else they've ever done, this one is probably a good starting point for newcomers.

Following "Curl" is the song "Blasteroid". This song is very up-tempo and lyrically aggressive, despite the fact that most of the riffs are in a major key. (happy sounding for you that didn't know)

The next song is "Stargasm". This song really sounds like it belongs on "Crack The Skye", with a very similar feel and a space concept. Nevertheless, it's still a very good song and definitely worth checking out.

The seventh song and title track "The Hunter" is very drone-y and mellow for the majority of time, but there is a very great bluesy solo for the latter half of the song, which is a must listen for all you guitar players.

The next song "Dry Bone Valley" is a breath of fresh air for Mastodon with the majority of the vocals sung by the drummer Brann Dailor. The song itself is still very Mastodon, but I'm very happy to hear some much needed change in the vocals, this one also has another really good solo.

The tenth song "Creature Lives" is one huge trip-fest. This one is a must listen for fans of Pink Floyd

The next one is "Spectrelight". This one sounds much more reminiscent of the first half of the album and other material from Mastodon. Very straightforward and to the point.

The closing track "The Sparrow" has a very slow start with some group vocals and what-now, but the song really starts getting good once the main riff comes in. A little after mid-way through the song, the solo kicks in. With a very crunchy tone, similar to that of Adam Jones from Tool, this solo takes the cake as my favorite from this album.

All in all, this album is a must buy for any Mastodon fan and a great starting point for anyone new to the band. I'll definitely be going to my local record store and picking this one up on Tuesday, and I recommend you to do the same.

Welcome to the blog!

Hello everyone. So this is the first post of the blog and I just wanted to start by saying that I will probably post at least once a day on here, whether it's an album review, video game review, promoting a band, or anything else, there should be a new post every day. With that being said, lets begin.