Mastadon – ‘The Hunter’ Special Edition Review

By any standards it has been a cracking year, and indeed couple of months, for Roadrunner records who have conspired to bring us the latest offerings from Opeth, Trivium and Dream Theater, all of which have been blinders. Now, within a week of Opeth’s magnificent new album we have a copy of Mastadon’s latest effort ‘The Hunter’ which follows hot on the heels of 2009’s quite astounding ‘crack the skye’ and showcases yet another tangential leap in the evolution of one of the most exciting bands on the metal scene at the moment.

Like many fans I arrived late at the Mastadon party with the release of ‘blood mountain’, a quite astonishingly complex album that continues to reveal hitherto hidden charms even now, some five years after its release. Nothing on ‘blood mountain’ prepared me for the massive stride forward made on ‘crack the skye’, however, an album charged with energy, passion and invention which has proved to be even more enduring on the CD player than its predecessor and which highlighted the progressive edge that underpinned the humungous riffs of ‘blood mountain’.

The step forward made on ‘the hunter’ is not as profound as between the previous two albums. There are developments and expansions upon the band’s previous outing, but whilst ‘crack…’ felt like a giant, and unexpected, surge forward, ‘the hunter’ feels more like a natural successor to its illustrious forebear and once again it is a complex, studied piece of work that requires (and rewards) patience and care when listening to it. Long gone are the instant fix rampages of tracks such as ‘colony of birchmen’ or ‘crystal skull’, although there are blisteringly heavy cut ‘n’ thrust attacks such as ‘blasteroid’; although it is notable that ‘the hunter’ offers up a more direct approach than ‘crack…’ with only two tracks stretching the five minute mark, and even then only barely. Nonetheless, it is on this album that Mastadon betray a love of psychedelia that takes the listener on a heavy, hypnotic journey not unlike the brain frying visuals of the ‘stargasm’ psychedelic visualizer that comes with the DVD on the special edition of the album.

That, however, is getting ahead of ourselves. The first track of the album (and also the first track that the public at large caught wind of) is the mighty ‘black tongue’, a heavy, stoned anthem which cruises on a massive black Sabbath-style riff and which also appears on the DVD in video form with footage of the album’s impressive sculpture being hand crafted by A J Fosick. It’s a great opening track that would not sound out of place on ‘crack…’ with its raw-throated vocals and overwhelming percussive attack showcasing that Mastadon have not forgotten how to rock when the mood takes them. No less impressive is ‘curl of the burl’, a masterly mix of melody and crushing guitar might. What is most impressive is the strength and power of the vocal harmonies on offer, whilst Brent Hinds’ fluid leads see the track out on a high. Opting for an adrenalin burst, ‘blasteroid’ has a goofily complex riff that is part progressive insanity, part heavy metal posturing highlighting the fact that even when Mastadon play it straight they do so with more complexity in one song than the average thrash band can manage over a whole album. The real revelation, however, is the psychedelic glory of ‘stargasm’, an intense, beautiful song that melds the very best of modern metal to the glorious musical explorations of vintage Pink Floyd. It is a stunning track and if you ever bump into someone confused by the critical acclaim Mastadon constantly receive, just play them this and watch their jaw drop.

The appropriately titled ‘octopus has no friends’ is next with bizarre vocoder vocals rubbing up next to some distressingly complex riffing whilst Brann Dailor does his best to drum like a human octopus in a manner that may well have Mike Mangini holding his head in his hands when he hears it. ‘All the heavy lifting’ is a rather simpler affair, although the rhythms are still as mind-boggling as ever, and the chorus is hewn of the stuff that has audiences screaming along in unison thanks to its simple, effective weight. The title track finally sees the band take their foot from the pedal, and it is only when things calm down that you realise quite how relentless the pace has been up to this point. With strangled consonants  the vocals take on a distinctly Ozzy Osbourne feel whilst the picked guitar line is in stark contrast to the earth-shattering riffs deployed elsewhere on the album, and it provides a moment’s respite amidst the chaos. ‘Dry bone valley’ eases itself in with an atmospheric opening that rapidly shifts into a blazing riff backed by ambitiously dextrous percussion. Like Kyuss given an adrenalin shot, it’s dry and yet utterly heavy and it leads perfectly to the seventies-referencing ‘thickening’ which boasts a bouncing bass line and wailing guitar solos, not to mention a bridge to die for with the guitars cranked up to 11 and an amazingly breathy vocal performance that perfectly fits the song.

With a sound that recalls ‘brain damage’ with its sinister laugh and phasing synthesiser, ‘creature lives’ is a dark, progressive track that is quite unlike anything else Mastadon have produced and a good indication of what Pink Floyd might have sounded like if they’d grown up on Sabbath. It’s electrifying and remarkable and a perfect introduction to ‘spectrelight’ which features none other than Scott Kelly (Neurosis) on guest vocals whilst Mastadon provide the sort of apocalyptic backing that they rose to prominence with on ‘blood mountain’. ‘Bedazzled fingernails’ is a complex being, with odd vocal effects masking the harmonies whilst the guitars rage away and the final, almost entirely instrumental, track ‘the sparrow’ closes things on a beautifully contemplative note with acoustic guitars, atmospheric effects and throbbing bass all coalescing to provide a brilliantly absorbing finale.

If forced to put it in to sound bite form, the simplest way to describe ‘the hunter’ is somewhere between the band’s previous two outings; there are progressive elements, heavy metal blasts and moments of almost surreal beauty. The band have lost none of their flair for creating original and challenging art and ‘the hunter’ does a great job of maintaining the impressive ground gained by ‘crack the skye’.  Another fantastic release from a band who just continue to grow, this is bound to be high up in the albums of the year listings.