Mastodon is one of those bands that just can’t disappoint you. After they finished their elements tetralogy (Earth, wind, water and fire) many thought that future work will not be as strong because inspiration is somehow disappeared. Without any elements left people thought that they are finished delivering quality music and will go into mainstream waters. Then The Hunter came and transformed those concerns into joy, they just continued with delivering great material. And with their last album, Once More ‘Round the Sun (that was released in 2014) Mastodon are still traversing through path filled with stoner sound, enclosed with progressive elements, with a little bit of sludge left on the ground.
Massive sound, that completely justifies psychedelic cover of the album, is present from start to finish; Heavy guitars, pounding drums and the ever-present bass are the main ingredients of this shroom tea, with powerful vocals being the cherry (or a sip of lemon juice) on top, just for greater potency of the concoction. Spot on production, making the music shine as a diamond.
Songs are varied, most of them combine heavy-bass stoner with excellent progressive elements making them immensely intense although the level of heaviness found on Blood Mountain, or Leviathan, can only be found in bits scattered throughout this album. Nevertheless, the mixture is of high quality with traces of their savannah sludge origins appearing in the second part of the album, especially in the album-closing Diamond in the Witch House and the madly varied Aunt Lisa, tightly entangled of course, with progressive arrangements.
Stone storm found on Thread lightly, bursts of progressive rock incorporated in The Motherload, or sixth gear madhouse that is Chimes at Midnight are just some of the record highlights. There are really no filler songs, not all songs can reach stellar quality found in the standouts, but most of them got really close.
Another strong offering from Mastodon, confirming again that they are one of the biggest, and finest, acts in metal right now. Highly recommended.
