ONCE MORE 'ROUND THE SUN

I was introduced to Mastodon by a youthful co-worker many years ago, who recommended their album Leviathan to me after hearing that I liked Dream Theater and Opeth. I wasn't impressed, and sort of hated it. I gave the band another chance with Blood Mountain. I didn't hate it, but wasn't impressed. The band's style of noisy, distorted, "sludge" metal failing to grab my attention despite the group's instrumental talent. With Once More 'Round the Sun, the third time seems to do the trick, because I think that this is actually a entertaining, well executed, and ass-kicking piece of heavy metal.

The band has shifted their sound to feel a bit more bite-sized, relying more on melody and hooks than walls of distorted noise. The song writing isn't very ambitious or complex, but the energy the group puts into the savage riffing, explosive drumming, and tone of the songs out weighs this short coming. Take for example the very catchy "The Motherload," which is a heavy, fuzz-filled crunch fest that features blistering and gymnastic riffing, a prodigiously busy rhythm section, and memorable vocals that grabs hold of, and sticks with you.

The consequence of this is that the band is leaning more mainstream, which may not appeal to fans of this web site. I feel like Mastodon is what a band like Isis would sound like if they opted to sell more albums to stoners in their early 20's instead of those seeking a full-blown art rock experience. I'm not passing judgement, just saying that the band has focused on hooks backed by their instrumental chops, so don't expect any epic compositions or experimentation.

While more listenable than other Mastodon albums, Once More 'Round the Sun will probably only appeal to fans of the heavy "tech metal" genre. A confident 3 star release.

Songwriting: 2 - Instrumental Performances: 4 - Lyrics/Vocals: 2 - Style/Emotion/Replay: 3