Mastodon consistently have been
one of the best metal bands around for the last 15 years or so. Yet the
different eras of their work mean that they have both gained and lost fans
along the way. Those who liked the complex prog-metal of their early material have
been unhappy with the more mainstream riff-heavy leanings of the last few
albums and the band’s appearances on Jimmy Kimmel; newer fans sometimes complain
that their back catalogue is full of impenetrable self-indulgence. Emperor Of Sand in many ways looks to
bridge that gap, and, as such, will have fully satisfied nobody while partially
satisfying everybody. Personally, I like proggy and straight-ahead Mastodon in pretty much equal measure,
so this mixture (e.g., chart-friendly on ‘Show Yourself’ vs. odd thrash time
signatures followed by haunting piano outro on ‘Roots Remain’) adds up to their
best record since Blood Mountain way
back in 2006. Lyrically, it’s a concept album, focusing on cancer and the devastation that
it causes, albeit through the lens of a weird tale about an outcast traveller in
the desert. Yet while this, lyrically, easily is Mastodon’s most coherent (if that’s the word – concept albums about
desert-wandering as an allegory for cancer will be the sort of thing that
infuriates some) record, musically it leaps around more than anything they’ve
put out in the past. For me, that variety is a real boon, and adds up to one of
the most unexpected records released by an established metal band I can think
of (perhaps matched only by Machine Head’s
amazing return from the wilderness on The
Blackening in 2007). Lyrically it’s prog, but musically it’s prog, thrash,
grindcore and more. Heavy, weird and yet often very accessible too. Emperor Of
Sand may not surpass Mastodon’s very
best previous work, but it comes pretty close. It’s interesting that 2017 also
saw the release of two high-profile side projects featuring members of the
band: the atmospheric post-metal of Gone
Is Gone (featuring Troy Sanders, along with Queens Of The Stone Age and At
The Drive-In members, amongst others) and the 80s-tinged synth-prog of
Brann Dailor’s Arcadea. Both were
great records but neither were strong enough to find a spot on this list: so
perhaps the biggest benefit of these excursions has been that fresh ideas were
brought back to the day job. 15 years in, and Mastodon still have a huge amount to offer.
sample track: Show Yourself