By Carl Zielinski
Gargoyle staff reporter
Posted Tuesday, Nov. 28, 2006, The OG, arts

AT A GLANCE

— CD: Mastodon, “Blood Mountain”
— Released: Sept. 12
— Mastodon's Web site
— Mastodon's MySpace page (listen to sample tracks there)
— New York Times' profile of Mastodon: “Big-Thinking Band”

MASTODON'S “EVERYTHING-BUT-the-kitchen-sink” approach to playing has gone past astounding at this point. While hard to categorize before, their eclectic mix of metal, grindcore, hardcore punk, and progressive rock has essentially made them their own genre. As could be expected, this shows up in their newest release, “Blood Mountain,” which could easily be the band's best work.

Older fans will likely consider this to be “selling out” of the highest order, but in reality the expanded budget and access to better equipment has done nothing if not improve Mastodon's exploration of their unique niche.

The lyrics are a little strange, to put it lightly. They can be explained in that Brent Hinds, one of the main songwriters, has stated that he likes to keep himself “well medicated” on hallucinogens, marijuana, and various mushrooms.

“Pendulous Skin,” about a man trapped in an avalanche who is told by a God-like creature that he can eat his own flesh to survive, is a prime example of drugged-out songwriting gone berserk. Stories about living tree-men (“Colony of Birchmen”), giants (“Sleeping Giant”), a sasquatch with a Cyclops eye (“Circle of Cysquatch”), and other mythical beasts are abundant but don't affect the songs in any seriously negative way.

The music itself is impossible to describe in detail. “The Wolf is Loose” sets off the disc with an aggressive drum intro from Bränn Dailor, before switching to a pounding, metallic verse and a shouted chorus, before seamlessly changing yet again into an excellent interplay between guitarists Hinds and Bill Kelliher, before descending into the original verse to end the song.

So goes most of the album. “Sleeping Giant” is a progressive-influenced masterpiece, brooding, tense and atmospheric, featuring clean guitars and melodic solos. On the other hand, “Bladecatcher” features an excellent intro thanks to Hinds, but then collapses into chaos (although an occasionally irritating chaos).

Other notable moments occur throughout the disc's entirety. “Colony of Birchmen” and its music video rock out like no other, while “Siberian Divide” switches between drugged stupor and pure metal abandon.

For guitarists, just about every song features plenty of “How the hell are they playing that?” moments, as the solos, as well as various sections of the songs, are exceedingly complex and beautiful — and, as I found out the hard way, are also extremely difficult to play.

For everybody else, “Blood Mountain” just features solid, listenable songs that stand out from each other.

While Mastodon's previous release, “Leviathan,” plunged into the ocean depths in search of Melville's white whale, “Blood Mountain” soars high above the band's previous accomplishments as well as their competition's, and is one of the best releases by any band, of any genre, this year.