BLOOD MOUNTAIN

A great album, a true masterpiece of modern prog metal. Mastodon has basically become the Opeth of America. The mix of clean/growl vocals strikes the same chord in me that it did when I heard Akerfeldt do it. Keep in mind, the actual sound of the vocals is much different between Mastodon and Opeth, but the basic idea of clean vs. growl is present in both and is done very well by both bands. I could write a lot of positive things about this album, but the bottom line is that if you like metal and you like prog, you need to get it. I will mention a couple of things that I don't like about it, mostly because I think no review is complete without some criticism. I have two issues with the album, both due to weird vocals. One is the strangely processed vocals on part of "Circle of Cysquatch", which are a little irritating to my ears. Secondly, much more disappointing, is Cedric Bixler-Zavala's guest appearance on Siberian Divide. That otherwise great song is marred by his multi-tracked ear-piercing vocal line in the chorus. Now, I LOVE Mars Volta, yet I can't stand Cedric here. Despite these two flaws, this is still a five star album. As I said, you can't afford to pass it up, unless you hate metal.