Comments on: #13: MASTODON – BLOOD MOUNTAIN

By: Mancubus

Mancubus — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 03:54:51 +0000

This was my soundtrack to and from work in Summer 07. This brings back so many memories of when I was…. a janitor. Still, it brings back memories!

By: GuuGuu

GuuGuu — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 18:30:21 +0000

so your saying 7th son isn’t better than Fear of the Dark? or No Prayer for the Dying? can i have some of your crack-cocaine?

By: groverXIII

groverXIII — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 21:53:13 +0000

See, I thought it was a pretty good album. It took a few listens to grow on me, beyond ‘A Sight To See’ (which I love for some reason), but it really did grow on me. Maybe it’s just that it’s fairly unconventional, maybe it’s something else entirely, but I found that I rather enjoy it.

By: groverXIII

groverXIII — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 21:49:14 +0000

Hahaha… I can’t argue with that.

By: Leviathan696

Leviathan696 — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 21:10:38 +0000

even though im happy that Mastodon showed up already twice on the list… im starting to worry that my favorite two albums of theirs wont show up…where are Leviathan and Crack the skye??? And if Leviathen does show up it better be a high number becasue that shit destroys!!!

By: SourDeez

SourDeez — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 19:32:27 +0000

The riffs are quirky and original, the bassist actually plays his own audible melodies sometimes even employing counterpoint with the guitar, the drumming is obscenely good, and the songwriting and album structures are excellent. None of their songs are repetitive, especially on Remission, and each song is crammed full of rhythmic twists and turns, but not too many twists and turns like a lot of overly technical bands. The lyrical concepts are, just like the guitar riffs, quirky and completely fit the atmosphere of the music. They have broad appeal because if you look at their first and last albums (which I think are their best), Remission is easy for metalheads to get into because of its volatile, massive-beast riffage and incendiary drumming, but challenging for others, while Crack The Skye is easy for others to get into but really forces a metalhead to be open to new ideas. I think it’s great that such an interesting, unique band with real personality have managed to break into the mainstream and still do whatever the fuck they want. Watching the DVD that came with Crack The Skye gave me even greater respect for this band. They were well aware of all the attention on them, yet they still went into the rehearsal room and the studio with a mentality of “we are fucking MUSICIANS, and we have all of these insane ideas, and we are going to experiment and create exactly the record we want to make”. So from someone who’s loved them since Remission came out, that’s why we love Mastodon.

By: SourDeez

SourDeez — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 19:18:51 +0000

Dude. Yes.

By: SourDeez

SourDeez — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 19:16:41 +0000

Soul Of A New Machine is the only Fear Factory album worth a shit IMO. At least that album has riffs and not just chugging machinery bullshit.

By: SourDeez

SourDeez — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 19:13:23 +0000

All of Mastodon’s fans like them for their music, not because they’re “cool” or “in” right now. Therefore, they are not “trendy”. They’re growing in popularity, because their music is interesting. That’s the only reason.

By: SourDeez

SourDeez — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 19:00:41 +0000

Even though it’s not metal, Songs For The Deaf is so excellent that it belongs on any list with the word “best” in it. Even shit like “Best Opera Records”. Don’t question the questionable logic, it’s just that good.

By: Ziltoid

Ziltoid — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 17:44:50 +0000

Although I don’t like them, I can see their appeal. They’re a heavy band that got mainstream success by being signed, yet have also not really compromised their sound. Sure their not nearly as heavy today as they used to be, but they’ve made up for that in progressiveness. For a mainstream metal band, they’ve done an excellent job of keeping old fans loyal, while also making music easy enough for new fans to get into.

By: Ziltoid

Ziltoid — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 17:32:07 +0000

‘ihateyou’ is an idiot. Insulting people without substantiation is a dumb thing that juveniles do. But I am completely serious about the Gojira album. The first song sounded cool for a few minutes, then I just didn’t care anymore. The album has no good riffs whatsoever and relies entirely on mindless chugging. The vocals are passionless, the drums are too loud in the mix considering how bland they are, and bass is a non-factor. Drag that out over 60 minutes, and yes, you have a very boring album.

By: Ziltoid

Ziltoid — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 17:27:56 +0000

ZILTOID’S TOP 21 ALBUMS OF THIS CENTURY! And I’m including everything released to this day, because there’s one released this April that’ll be here:

Kamelot – The Black Halo
Arcturus – The Sham Mirrors
Impaled – Mondo Medicale
Meshuggah – Nothing
Symphony X – The Odyssey
Devin Townsend – Accelerated Evolution
Tyr – Eric the Red
Mercenary – 11 Dreams
Strapping Young Lad – Alien
Mercenary – The Hours that Remain
Cynic – Traced in Air
Theocracy – Mirror of Souls
Anubis Gate – Andromeda Unchained
Vortech – Posthumanism
Primordial – To The Nameless Dead
Amon Amarth – With Oden on Our Side
Dark Tranquillity – Fiction
Suidakra – Emprise to Avalon
Windir – 1184
Augury – Concealed
Ne Obliviscaris – The Aurora Veil

I guess that’s a decent list off the top of my head (and I’m not ranking them). I would add Ulver’s “Blood Inside,” since it’s a fantastic album, but it’s not one of Ulver’s metal albums. There’s a lot of different sounds in there, and they’re all excellent metal albums. But this list also shows that past decades were much better for metal, with some of the older veterans releasing not-top-21 material this century.

By: groverXIII

groverXIII — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 17:18:59 +0000

You may be the biggest troll on here… but you’re more effective and intelligent than ‘ihateyou’, so at least there’s that.

By: groverXIII

groverXIII — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 17:15:57 +0000

I hate to say it, but seeing as you’re in the minority on this one, you’re pretty much wrong. Metallica’s first four albums are great because they move beyond simple thrash metal and into a different realm of metal altogether. And Lars may not be the best drummer ever, but he’s certainly capable enough on those albums that he doesn’t ruin them at all.

You have your opinion, and you’re certainly entitled to it… but in this case your opinion sucks.

By: Ziltoid

Ziltoid — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 17:09:35 +0000

Metallica did not invent thrash. Overkill was playing thrash since 1980, way before Metallica. But I will say that Metallica matured on RtL. Unfortunately, that mean that everything slowed down, and that felt like boring thrash. Really, the instrumental is the only good song on the album (and admittedly, it’s very good). Exactly how am I wrong? You can listen to other 80s thrash to prove my point (and I was nice enough to list some earlier). That music is faster, more creative, and more aggressive overall.

Also: Influence =/= good. Influence = popular.

There’s a reason that most/all influences a band lists are popular ones. It doesn’t make them bad, but it certainly doesn’t mean that they’re good.

By: seagoat

seagoat — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 17:02:49 +0000

*Guess you’re not old enough to have seen “Family Ties” to get the joke.

By: Sin and Death

Sin and Death — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 15:31:56 +0000

How much green does one have to smoke in order for Mastodon to be interesting? I must be stopping, like, fifteen b.t.’s too soon, because I really don’t see how M-don is all that great. I’ve heard all of their albums, and only felt that Blood Mountain was worth buying. That said, I don’t feel it deserves to be this high on the list.

Can someone please enlighten me as to why everyone LOVES Mastodon so much? Seriously, I just don’t get it.

By: Fufkin

Fufkin — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 15:05:32 +0000

King Troll rides again.

By: ryan

ryan — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 14:52:54 +0000

I love mastodon, probably one of my all time favourtie bands, I’m just hoping we dont see to many repeats on the list. Though i guess Mastodon just cant help being awesome, they were just born that way.