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THE NEW MASTODON ALBUM ARTWORK SURE IS DIFFERENT

 Thursday, July 7th, 2011 at 11:20am by

Mastodon - The Hunter

Our inbox blew up with links to the new Mastodon album cover last night, but as far as I can tell MS artist Rodney Githens was the first to break the news to the world on his brand new site MetalBandArt.com. Nice work on the scoop!

The first thing you’ll notice is that the artwork is stylistically completely different from all of Mastodon’s past album covers, and that’s because it wasn’t done by Paul Romano. Romano drew all four of Mastodon’s previous covers, including some associated singles and special releases along the way if I’m not mistaken… so why the switch? Perhaps the Mastodudes just decided it was time for a change. Or perhaps this album is so different from past Mastodon albums that it warranted a switch in artwork styles; DUN DUN DUN!!!

MetalBandArt.com tells us that the cover for The Hunter was done by AJ Fosik, whose work recently appeared on the cover of Hi-Fructose Magazine. I’d really like to know more about the process for this cover and how Mastodon decided to go with Fosik; perhaps we’ll find out more when Rodney interviews Fosik for his site.

-VN

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  • Rusty McThulhu

    Awesome fucking cover! If that’s the general feeling if the album I think that’s just the return to brutally that we all need. btw wood carving is metal.

  • Igottawocket

    Still not sure what I think about it. I mean, it’s a decent enough cover I guess, but Mastodon has set the bar so high with past covers I can’t help but feel slightly let down by Fosik’s cover. Paul Romano is such an incredible artist and his stuff just screams Mastodon. So still on the fence. But hop it doesn’t mean too huge a change in Mastodon’s sound. And on that note, what’s with bands changing their cover styles? Opeth?

    • The Ghost With The Most

      Yes. We can only “hop”.

      • http://www.facebook.com/people/Colin-Frazier/100002182298476 Colin Frazier

        Does correcting silly little things like that make you feel special?

        • The Ghost With The Most

          Does giving a good scolding to someone for correcting somebody else make you feel special, Dad? Does the pot call the kettle black?

          • Tom

            Does the tin-man have a sheet metal cock?

          • The Ghost With The Most

            I sure hope not. Otherwise, Lucy’d have some splainin’ to do.

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/David-McHank/1152006260 David McHank

    Fosik is awesome! that dude makes those things out of wood. He carves and paints each piece and then assembles it

  • jd091

    I’ve heard a lot of hate for this cover so far, and I can understand since Remission, Leviathan and Blood Mountain are 3 of my favorite album artworks of all time. But personally, I love it. It looks crazy and zany, and the new name logo looks sick.

    And seriously, 3 jaws and 4 ears. This is disturbing me deep inside!

  • Kyle

    “perhaps this album is so different from past Mastodon albums that it warranted a switch in artwork styles”

    I’m willing to bet that’s a fairly accurate statement. I dig the artwork, and I can’t wait for the release.

    • Brian

      I agree. To back that up, not only did the artwork style change, but so did their logo…which isn’t getting much attention.

  • RedXIII

    I don’t know about this. First Jonah Hex and now this? I’m a little butthurt right now. I mean, opeth did something different with their art but at least it’s still the same artist and still looks trippy and cool. This is just a shitty looking horse. There is a horse on the cover of remission as well so maybe it has something to do with a return to that sound, or something similar. I dont mind a change in sound, but this shit is borderline silly. I don’t want some silly shit, not from mastodon.

    • andy

      There’s nothing wrong with silly when it comes to this band. They’re all silly dudes and you can easily tell when you look at their interviews. Look at those commercials Brent did for that bar whose name and area I forget. I believe they’re going back to their “Call of the Mastodon” and “Remission” roots and those albums have more of a silly/crazy/jumpy feel to them. It seems like they’re breaking their concept album streak with this one, so this makes sense.

    • Metalwolf

      Yeah, I feel like a little humor is fine after Crack the Skye, which was deadly serious and deep. I mean, look at the song titles for the new album. I’m fine with it, hope the record is a blast.

    • atlas shrug

      It’s a gazelle, not a horse. DURR!! But imo, the only complaint I have with the cover is the lack of a background. The devil-gazelle thing is fucking badass, but Its to bad AJ couldnt find something to put it in front of instead of the color red. Yawn.

      Stoked for the record tho.

      • Silly?

        They’re making a mistake if they’re _regressing_ back to their roots. I’m cautiously optimistic for the new record.

        • Silly?

          Oops, wrong comment.

          To each and own, and all that good stuff. Personally, most of the older material sounds incoherent and messy. There’s gems like Hearts Alive, but CTS was on a different level.

  • brookh

    Reminds me of the Dance of Death cover… CG art that looks 10 years old

    • James M.

      This looks more like a wood carving than CG.

    • http://www.facebook.com/people/Miguel-ngel-Prez-Ventura/531616501 Miguel Ángel Pérez Ventura
      • The Ghost With The Most

        …..who gives a shit?

        • http://www.facebook.com/people/Evan-Clark/1822866049 Evan Clark

          People who enjoy good art and the work that goes into said art.
          Which is a large amount of people.

          • The Ghost With The Most

            Yeah………does that include everyone who’ll walk by and ignore the CD in Best Buy because it looks like something a twelve year old rendered on their computer? You need to look up the definition of the word “large” in a dictionary.You can do it online now! Don’t worry, it won’t affect all the music you’ve illegally downloaded. You know, that “good art” you enjoy and “the work that (went) into said art”.

    • brookh

      oops, you’re right

  • Metalguy

    Pretty sure I read this was just fan art. Hope so, and everyone was tricked

  • B-RAD IS RAD

    the new logo is the best part of the cover

  • Zsa Zsa Gabor’s amputated leg used as a dildo and a bludgeon to beat people to death with

    Even if this was just fan art, it’s pretty fucking awesome.

  • live free or die

    Cover arts pretty bad! Hopefully they bring back the heavier sound and harsh vox for this new one. CTS to me was soooo boring! I know alot of people loved it,but i miss Leviathan,even Blood Mnt.

  • John

    Amazing album art.

  • Matt Pike’s Lost Shirt

    This is a joke, right?

    • Ryan

      like your name?

      • jd091

        Hahahhahaha oh my god that is the greatest forum name I’ve ever seen

  • http://www.schenkeltown.com SchenkelTown

    Looks like a chick I hooked up with in college

    • cougar party

      Damn, she must have been fine as fuck.

  • Nonsensei

    Paul Romano created some fantastic album art, but this AJ Fosik piece is really jarring and interesting. Although, I’m kinda apathetic about the typography on the name.

    Like others had mentioned, the last album cycle had ended with Crack the Skye and I’m guessing this artwork is indicative of heading back to the band’s Remission era with new eyes. That Deathbound song is very similar to the songs on that first LP, but has more of a restrained and mindful feel than “Fire Ants”. I’m kinda hoping the lessons learned writing and recording CtS will accent the next couple albums, leading to the eventual Double Crack the Skye.

    • But Her

      My gut feeling is that this album will be somewhere between CTS and Remission. More tracks like Divinations (See: Madden, CBS, etc). But really, I don’t know what they were thinking in not bringing back Brendan O’Brien. You don’t fix it if it ain’t broken.

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Kyle-Timothy-Palmer/582086079 Kyle Timothy Palmer

    Kind of reminds me of Judas Priest’s cover for “Defenders of the Faith”. I’m not quite sure why, but that’s what popped up first.

    • Greg

      I thought the same thing. It reminds me of the the Metal Bird from Screaming for Vengeance and the Metal Cat from Defenders of the Faith. Now we have the Wooden Bull.

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Jordan-Lunsford/100000821886561 Jordan Lunsford

    It’s kinda rare anymore you get an album cover that makes you go “Woa!” Well, let me tell you. I said “Woa!” when I seen this one. Pretty cool.

    • Nonsensei

      1

  • pixelate

    At least they put effort into having a cover respectfully done that wasn’t made by a kid in a community college 3D class (looking at you prog bands).

  • obc

    maybe they felt it was time for a change with the cover art as their elemental cycle has been completed. new art style signifies change of thematic approach?

    as for the woodcarving art, didn’t Brent start woodcarving on his front yard during the recording of “Crack The Skye”? probably reflect his interest in that process.

  • ferris

    Again, artwork that makes no sense. The thing has, what, three mouths and tongues?! How is THAT supposed to work? The coloring isn’t even realistic!

    • Sickboy666

      huh?

      • DarthMammogram

        +1 haha

  • WhozGonnaBurn

    who is is “Masfodon” anyways..derp

  • Kye

    I like it. Not as much as their older ones, but I think it’s pretty cool.

    I’m kind of curious about the new logo, though. The old one changed slightly with each album and had symbols related to the element the album was meant to represent. It’d be really easy to argue Crack the Skye represents air and not aether, like originally stated, but I’m very curious to know if this is supposed to be their air album or if that was abandoned for the Hunter.

    • Nonsensei

      The elemental album cycle was finished with CtS.

      • Kye

        And thus I must ask, what happened to air?

        • Zsa Zsa Gabor’s amputated leg used as a dildo and a bludgeon to beat people to death with

          The fire album killed it off like in Avatar: The Last Airbender. Nerd jokes.

      • CrestalMyth

        No plasma? A space-themed Mastodon album would be worth all of my possessions.

  • lost goat

    it reminds me of ren & stimpy for some reason

  • WZILLA13

    I knew this was going to happen- after my 2nd favorite Opeth revealed their shitty new cover I had a feeling my favorite band would do the same… Paul Romano’s artwork is so amazing and Leviathan is my favorite album, and album cover, ever. Why break the consistency? And if they were going with a new logo, couldn’t they have used the one from Live at the Aragon? Ugh….

    Hopefully Meshuggah’s new art won’t be strike 3……………

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Evan-Clark/1822866049 A Whore Called Golgotha

    I like it quite a bit. It shows that the band is open to levity despite the circumstances of the past few years.

  • Hipsterkiller

    Wacky cover art,crap band.nuff said

    • VladRedEmperor

      dont like it? walk out. we still have all your fucking money.

  • Wayn

    I LIKE IT. Especially after looking at the “in progress” photo from Fosik’s FB page – very nice!

    Since the bull’s head is real wood piece, and not CG, it would be cool of Mastodon and Fosik to do some sort of fan give-away, with the prize being the bull’s head. Then again, if I were a member of Mastodon, I’d probably want to keep it for myself!

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Daniel-Nyari/26302381 Daniel Nyari

    fucking love it. Their art always represented a detailed, progressive style, which again reflects their music. This is just moving in a modern direction with Fosik’s work. All the elements are still there. I’m very familiar with the artist’s work and it can be argued it’s even more Metal-like than Romano’s in many ways.

    Kudos to Mastodon for changing things up a bit. Keeps things fresh, re-livens their brand which should keep evolving, not staying stale. They’ve progressed so far so this is nothing surprising.

  • Adam

    This is pretty fucking badass, especially considering the dude carved it out of wood and then painted it! That takes EXTREME amounts of hard work and talent to do either of those.

    • The Ghost With The Most

      Nah, crafting something made out of wood and paint doesn’t take “EXTREME amounts of hard work and talent”. Now metal on the other hand……

  • Fecal Transplant

    I wouldn’t worry too much if you hate the album artwork. Your illegal copy probably won’t come with it anyway.

    • stu1

      haha

    • sweatdripsfrommyballs

      QFT

    • Pete

      +1,000,000

  • Meth-Smoker

    Between the bullhead’s style/color scheme and the logo font, it has a Native American feel to it.

  • stu1

    This happened last year (can’t remember with what band) when they used a different artist. I’m shocked people get so butt hurt. There’s a laundry list of reasons a band could use a different artist. Maybe a different theme? Maybe they don’t want to be like Maiden and have the same type of look for their whole career? Maybe the artist wasn’t available? Maybe they had a falling out with the artist?

  • CultureVulture

    It’s diffidently strange, but I love strange. I know eventually the cover will grow on me. The new band logo is hella sick though.
    All Mastodon needs to do now is release a single. Then I’ll give my judgement.

  • Big Jesu Trash Can

    It’s an interesting cover, kinda reminds me of some sort of aztec god. Plus, I’m digging the runic-looking logo.

  • SENTINEL

    Reminds me of 90′s Primus album covers, which were the opposite of suck. With a little “Screaming For Vengeance” thrown in…

  • sweatdripsfrommyballs

    As an art nerd I approve of this, haters can go suck a nigerian scammer’s huge veiny penis

  • David

    The style reminds me of the artist who did the album cover Earth’s latest.

    I like it.

  • BDAWG

    At least it ain’t as bad as devin townshend’s new one

    • andy

      Yeah. That’s another reason why I couldn’t take that album seriously.

  • Blut

    Ughhh, bad shit. Seeing this CGI crap is just disappointing after the beauty of their previous artwork

    • atlas shrug

      Its wood bro; painted wood.

      • The Ghost With The Most

        Painted wood that looks an awful lot like…….a computer generated image. I agree that the overall impact of this image is weak. I hope it turns out to be fake.

  • Manbearpig…deer?

    I agree with what’s his name above me, a background besides red would be nice…

    • atlas shrug

      Deerbulldevilgazelle. I super cerial.

  • VD

    hey guys we are a new band from Los Angeles. We have a sampler up. GIve it a listen if you have some time.

    http://www.facebook.com/voiceinthedark

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Marcus-Bautista/100001251670768 Marcus Bautista

    the hunter…taxedermist head mount..i get it..

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Jonathan-Conley/12821911 Jonathan Conley

    I can’t wait to buy this as an LP and put the sleeve on the wall!

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Dustin-Leider/16110062 Dustin Leider

    As long as the music is good then I could really care less about the artwork.

  • Rodríguez

    It looks like a goddamn piñata. Not sure whtat the hell they were thinking. They probably went to Mexico, got drunk and high at the same time and arrived at their studio with the worse hangover ever when making this cover.