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Metal in the Media

HAVE MASTODON’S LIVE VOCALS GOTTEN BETTER?

 Thursday, October 6th, 2011 at 2:30pm by

I saw Mastodon perform material from Crack the Skye three times during that album cycle, and the vocals were, frankly, cringe-inducing each and every time.  I understand that live performances won’t always be perfect, but I generally expect singers’ performances to be at least vaguely steady and in the same key as the rest of the song. So listening to Mastodon’s The Hunter, one of my major concerns was that there was no chance the band would be able to duplicate the vocal performances live.

But the band performed “Curl of the Burl” on The Late Show With David Letterman last night, and the vocals actually sounded pretty good! I mean, not like Dio-good or anything, but definitely not distractingly bad. I hope they sound this good when I see them in concert next month; this is a level of quality I could totally live with.

The Hunter is out now on Reprise/Warner Bros. You can get tour dates here.

-AR

[via Metal Underground]

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  • Rsh923

    I thought the same thing. good thing was, Brent seemed relatively sober.

    the thing they have to realize is that Troy is an absolutely horrendous singer and never will be. they should never let him sing ever again.

    • McThulhu

      He is good when he isn’t bellowing the notes. Hearts alive has some good vox.

    • Rsh923

      *always will be that is

    • Anonymous

      I always thought Troy was the best one out of them. Brann running a close second. It’s whatever when it comes down to it though. Mastodon, man.

  • Andy

    My god this band sucks. Glad i stopped listening to them after middle school..

    • Stu1

      So you’re, what, 19??

      • Guv’na

        Depends on how many times he went through 8th grade…and what album was out when he started listening to them.  My guess is he is 14 and thinks he & his friends having a Guitar Hero ‘jam session’ are talented enough to get signed & go on tour.

        • Andy

          21, actually. I don’t see why that matters, though. I saw them on the unholy alliance tour, and they were alright, I guess… Glad I dont listen to those bands anymore, I sure wouldn’t want to be one of those leather/boot/stud wearing basement dwellers like at that show.

          • Stu1

            Because the grown ups are talking. 

          • Andy

            The grown ups have to get their ears checked then, cause they clearly can’t hear these shitty whiny vocals and generic radio rock instrumentals.

          • Guv’na

            Hey man, I was trying to give you an out, but you didn’t take it.  It’d be better if a 14 year old was whining like a school boy, but for a 21 year old, it really loses that quaintness. 

            Wait…don’t you have to go buy your first ‘grown up beverage’?

          • Chtcap50

            I’m not whining..just pointing out that I think this band sucks…

          • Xplio

            Then what do you like?

          • Anonymous

            This band doesnt suck. This song does.

          • Stu1

            “Instrumentals?”

            So, Andy, tell us, what do you like?

          • Andy

            Haha, yeah, maybe instrumentals isn’t the right term, but you get the point. I like bands like emmure, asking Alexandria, bmth. Not really…I listen to btbam, after the burial, the human abstract, periphery. Hate all you want..

          • Stu1

            I think you mean “the music.”
            So you’re into “djent?”

          • Buttly

            If 21 year old “Andy” actually believes that boy bands masquerading as heavy music are truly better than Mastodon, he seriously needs to go and unfuck himself. Hard. Andy, these “leather/boot/stud wearing basement dwellers,” as you refer to them so endearingly, probably have better taste in music than you could ever comprehend beyond a “totally sweet ass breakdown, bro” and more passion than you have brain cells. My only hope for you is to throw down a little too close to someone and eat a couple teenage fists.

          • Come On Amarth

            You do know that Asking Alexandria is like .001% better than Attack Attack and will give you the cancer of the ears?

          • Andrew Hedgecock

            See I love BTBAM and Periphery and I also love Mastodon. Being able to enjoy different styles of music is a wonderful thing. Just because some music is more complex or “deeper” doesn’t mean it’s better or more serious music. On a different note, I do think this is one of the weaker songs on the album and not representative of their abilities. Spectrelight is an excellent Mastodon-formula song so to speak. If they were able to pull of the vocals in Bedazzled Fingernails I would be impressed.

      • http://twitter.com/JOE2369 Joe Moor

        lololol he now has such agreater understanding about music, and listens to “real music” now

    • andy

      Don’t confuse this dude with me! I actually love Mastodon! *brainstorms name change*

    • http://www.facebook.com/ken.wilhelm Ken Wilhelm

      Your mom sucks at tossing salad, but you don’t hear me complaining.

    • Andrew

      I don’t like this band either, but you don’t have to try and insult people that like them…

      Also, what person named Andrew wants to be called Andy past the age of 10? 

      • Alexmonro83

        Andy Garcia

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Fabian-Grün/100001053737775 Fabian Grün

    big suprise to me. When i heard the Hunter first i thought they would not be able to perform the vocals live.

  • Dogs 2000

    I saw them twice supporting Crack The Skye, sounded great both times in a live setting (I wear high end earplugs, so a lot of the excess noise is filtered out)

    Seeing them on AOL sessions, I thought they were pretty weak but everyone has off nights

  • Ninja Bike

    Love “The Hunter”, hate this song like poison. 

    I’d now like to take the time to voice my appreciation of the Troy Sanders powerstance.

    • Mike

      Mastodon is in my top 5 favorite bands. I saw ‘em live last year and the vocals were really bad. I chalked it up to the fact that they were playing a small theater with arena size amplification. Seriously.

      Opening band Baroness sounded awesome and they were playing little tiny amps. So, since Mastodon sound awesome singing in the studio, I’m thinking they can’t hear themselves well in a live venue (and they’re probably half deaf from years of playing at jet engine volumes).

      • http://twitter.com/non_sensei M. R. P.

        Also, Brent Hinds is pretty adamant that using ear plugs is “for pussies”. Wouldn’t be surprised if they needed hearing aides by the end of this next tour cycle.

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Gaston-Ayala/100002578803880 Gaston Ayala

    wait, since when has Mastodon been using Orange amps?

    • andy

      Right?

  • McThulhu

    Giving brann a mic was a good choice, he has some pipes. And last nights performance wasn’t too bad vocally. In the pre chorus someone was off key but it kinda worked out alright. They should’ve done dry bone valley or octopus has no friends though, that would’ve dazzled the crowd a bit more

    • Kyle

      yeah, it sounds like his backing vocals help out a lot.

    • KRANG

      Brann’s vocals are my favorite. 

  • blackjustice

    Brent is so nasally live. This is slightly better than normal, but it’s like comparing a D- to a D+. Better, but some big improvements still needs to happen. 

    With that said, I could see them starting to use backing tracks if they continue down this path with future releases. As much as people are against that, it might be a smart move on their part. 

    • Rsh923

      or they could just hire a real singer like I’ve always wanted them to do. Is mike patton available?

      • metalguy

        Why the fuck would anyone want Patton to sing Mastodon songs? 

  • http://twitter.com/MikeDuch Mikaël Ducharme

    What’s with Brent giving that sexual predator look at the camera when he’s singing/not playing guitar? His dance is also pretty disturbing.

    • Anonymous

      He busted out the snake at one point. I lol’ed. God I’m excited for Asheville. 

      • http://www.facebook.com/jordan.oates1 Jordan Oates

        Yeah I was just laughing and like “is that Axl Rose’s move?”

    • Metalwolf

      Brent is a weird, weird person and kinda just does whatever he wants/what the drugs tell him to do.  Which is totally and completely metal as hell.

  • CRGuy

    They sound fine to me, as they did at Heavy TO.

  • Anonymous

    I’ve seen them a few times, and thought the vocals were spot on… The only song they struggled with was “This Mortal Soil” the first time I saw them. I really didn’t know that their live vocals were poorly thought of until this album came out.

    • Cr38

      This Mortal Soil is one of their best songs hands down. I’m surprised they dont play lit live a lot more. 3 other tracks from Blood Mountain also haven’t been done live yet. All they do is play the singles and skip the rest. Confusing really. Yet Crack the Sky (for Brann’s sister) needs to be done all the way through live. And then Brent gets sick of playing the same songs live for some reason every damn night. Hmmm..

  • Bryano

    Not perfect, but better than the Live at the Aragon (not sure about the spelling) album.  It’s funny, the improvement of the vocals was the first thing I noticed.

  • CrusherDestroyer

    I think people are way to critical of the vocals with this band.  I’ve seen them live a number of times and there was never anything noticeably wrong with the vocals.  

    On a side note, The Hunter is an awesome listen with this song being my least favorite on the album.

  • Fred

    Wonder how much their label paid to get them on there…

    • Guv’na

      Letterman will settle for material goods and snuggle time.

    • Anonymous

      I think Warner’s pockets are deep enough to handle it.

  • Frampler

    Yes, Troy sounded really good at Sonisphere. Brent’s vocals were an insane mess, but that’s fine by me, he is an insane mess!

  • http://twitter.com/thejamminjabber thejamminjabber

    Eh… I have to disagree. Don’t think this sounds so great. Not terrible, but…
    I saw them live a few times on Crack The Skye, and I think depending on the venue, the off key vocals kind of blend in and it isn’t so bad. Looking fwd to the NYC show with Dillinger.

  • http://www.facebook.com/FlannelBastard Dylan Jones

    I saw them live during their CtS run and I didn’t think the live vocals were bad at all, but this really makes me want to see them again, even though Kvelertak will be breaking my wallet.

  • pringlebells

    Playing rudimentary guitar rifffs that require little thought instead of ones that are interesting and different allocates more brainpower to concentrate on vocal performance. That combined with basic vocal melody and a standard 4/4 beat make the vocal part easier to sing. Equaling…..a better vocal performance. Great article, real fucking rocket science.

    • Names

      bro, its just an article on a blog. calm down

      • pringlebells

        calmer than you are.

  • Anonymous

    This is one of their worst songs. Glad I didnt bother to watch it last night

  • Anonymous

    Since they’re going a more radio friendly route, they should just hire Scott Weiland, make their milly’s, and be out. Velvet Revolver style.

  • http://twitter.com/orbsonb Ben Robson

    it says something when you get 100 times better at something and you’re still not very good at it…killer album though

  • metalhead616

    wait! didnt the bassist be the front man?….

  • Anonymous

    ,..awesome.., 
    my best friend’s mom makes $77 an hour on the computer. She has been out of job for 9 months but last month her check was $7487 just working on the computer for a few hours. Read about it here CashSharp.com

    • http://www.facebook.com/ken.wilhelm Ken Wilhelm

      OH GOD NOT THIS SHIT!  This bullshit has been on autoblog.com for months, FUCK!

    • Anonymous

      my best friends mom is a crack whore that makes about $120 an hour selling herself on the street corner. You can go check her out on the corner of N 15th and Utah St.

  • Sebastian Ramirez

    THE BURL HAS BEEN CURLED…

    I FOUND THE MEANING…
    it is a kind of tree, a deformed one who grows when the soil
    have injuries, virus or something like that…

    Watching the video, we can asociate this tree and his history,
    to a guy who is on drugs nad it’s growing in a bada way, or “burled”

    here is the link http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burl

    Greetings from COLOMBIA i love you website, and i read it everyday.

    • Stu1

      Meth heads in the south are known for looking for “burl” to sell to furniture companies.

      • Sebastian Ramirez

        No, the burled wood isn’t good for furniture…

        trust me, i’m an architect/industrial designer….

        • Stu1

          So who are they selling it to for big money? I’ve seen specials on this… what’s it being used for?

        • Standingdead

          burl is very popular in rustic furniture.
          trust me i see it everywhere.
          pompous asss

    • Gubbah

      Here, burling is the noise deers make when they’re horny.

  • metalguy

    I feel like I’m the only person who loves this song more than the other on the album

  • http://twitter.com/CoryJWKamermans Cory Kamermans

    The Drumming was exceptional.

  • Ray

    That’s interesting because the vocals I am hearing sound AWFUL.  I really want to like them but god they are so bad.

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=537636633 Keith Brown

    I personally think that the instant they move Brent’s microphone in front of someone else, the band’s live show will improve temendously.  Brann is a good singer, and so is Troy.  It’s just fucking Brent Hinds…

  • Lmccabe87

    This sounds like one of the easier songs to sing off the record. Just sayin’

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Jesse-Radon/1099286815 Jesse Radon

    I saw them twice on the Crack The Skye tour, once on the first leg, and once on the second, and all the vocals sounded great, or at least way better than b.s. negative hype said.  There might have been a flat harmony here or there, and Brent seemed to forget the lyrics and repeated a couple of verses here and there, but by and large, they sounded really good.  I think a lot of fickle internet douchewads watched the old Blood Mountain tour vids, with Brent squealing like a dying cat trying to replicate the screams on the album, and co-opted it and acted like they had experienced it firsthand.  Anyone who parrots that line in threads like this should immediately be discounted. 

    • Stu1

      Saw that tour 2 times, twice on the first, and once on the second, and his vocals were very ‘iffy” by the second. And I love the band, for the record.

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Jesse-Radon/1099286815 Jesse Radon

    I’d like to add, the second time I saw them was at that supposedly “disastrous” set at Missing Link Fest in Oakland that some anonymous blowtard sent a (mostly fabircated) report into this very site about (and you guys ran with it, like a bunch of bandwagon-jumping fuckwits.)  And honestly, Mastodon fucking destroyed that night, and were far tighter than they had been the earlier show I’d seen them play CTS at.

  • mrstuprigge

    i’ve seen a lot of videos where they sounded pretty bad, but when i saw them last summer they sounded pretty damn good. maybe i got lucky 

  • Anonymous

    Haha, amazing how Axl is ready to lower his standards to accept Mastodon! But yeah, they do sound a lot better than earlier live performances. And Brent’s swaying hips are hip-notic!

    • http://twitter.com/non_sensei M. R. P.

      *Rimshot*

  • http://www.dysonfanreview.org Hardcore Shirt

    I thought they sounded embarrassingly bad on Letterman. Not even close to the album.

  • Dontemailme

    Mastodon has their own style I call it “Shit laden dirtcore crust metal”

  • Cr38

    Which is why I think they should do heavier songs and stay away from simple rock songs.

    Seems Crack the Skeeeiye took a lot out of them. Its their most clean sounding album but the song arrangements are ambitious without the heavy technical riffing and the vocals are more much more refined with the caveman grunting (ahaha) they are normally known for.  NRUGHG NGHAUGRHG. Besides isn’t this how Brent “sings” anyway. The dude hates heavy metal and he loves side projects. Sounds like Mike Portnoy. Will he threaten them to take a break or leave as well?

  • Andrew Hedgecock

    Their vocals definitely aren’t as good as on the record. They’re decent but not great by any means. I haven’t been able to hear them live any other times though so I can’t comment on if they’ve improved or not.

  • ray finkle

    sounded great live, new album is fucking brilliant, did think they top crack the skye, but they did with ease. what a band