MEDIUM RARITIES

As one may expect from the title, the brand new release from Mastodon is a collection of material which is difficult or impossible to obtain, bringing together cover versions, soundtrack contributions, instrumentals, B-sides, and live recordings on one complete package. This means we get the likes of "A Commotion" (Feist), "A Spoonful Weighs A Ton" (The Flaming Lips), and "Orion" (Metallica) while also featuring soundtrack cuts such as "White Walker" (Game of Thrones), "Cut You Up With A Linoleum Knife" (Aqua Teen Hunger Force) and "Rufus Lives" (Bill & Ted Face The Music). If that isn't enough, they also include instrumental versions of "Asleep in the Deep", "Toe To Toes", "Jaguar God" and "Halloween". Given that many of the songs are unavailable elsewhere then this is obviously something that fans are going to be interested in, especially as it includes brand new song "Fallen Torches", which features guest vocals by long-time friend and collaborator Scott Kelly (Neurosis).

Due to the nature of the music contained within this, it is aimed only at Mastodon diehard fans and those people will really enjoy this, yet in reality this is not something which normal punters will rush out to obtain, and rightly so. There are a few numbers which do stand out musically, but overall this is something which many people will listen to once and then go back to the "normal" releases. Rarities albums sometimes produce a few gems, such as Jethro Tull's "Jack A Lynn" and "Coronach" which many people were unaware of until they were put out on such a set, but for most people they can be safely passed by until the next new album comes out, and this falls into that bracket. But if you really did want some of those rarer Mastodon songs then now you can do just that.

Released in 2020 and preceding the band's eighth studio LP, 'Medium Rarities' is the second compilation album from Mastodon and this 16-track release covers unreleased or rare recordings from the Atlanta-based quarter, featuring the single and overall new song 'Fallen Torches', a powerful and well-composed entry that bolsters the typical sludgy sounds and menacing riffs, several live recordings from some of the band's earliest albums (most of these appear as B-sides on some of the singles accompanying the albums released from 2006 onwards), a few instrumental versions of selected songs, mostly newer ones, among which fans of the band will discover 'Toe to Toes' or 'Jaguar God', three cover songs of Metallica, Feist and The Flaming Lips as well as three more lesser known singles used in soundtracks or TV shows. The entirety of this collection is rather interesting and should serve as a real treat for the most dedicated of Mastodon fans. However, outside of this circle of hardcore collectors, the material on here should not be of interest to the more average music fan, while it might intrigue the regular Mastodon enjoyer, since it covers all periods of the band's history and offers a glimpse of the more "underground" side of the band's discography.