Emperor of Sand
Full of melodic singing and zig-zagging riffs, the new Mastodon LP reins-in the Atlanta metal band’s technical abilities without watering them down—though it smooths out some of their angular edges.
No two Pile albums are alike, and that’s what makes hitting play on a new one so exciting. Those first few notes open a door to a new world, one that could only be created by frontman Rick Maguire. With Pile, Maguire is fearless, willing to take country and bluegrass riffs and twist them around noisy post-hardcore and…
Riffs, doom, an epic concept - exactly what you'd expect from the new Mastodon record, then.
Unlike their other conceptual endeavors (i.e. Leviathan) Emperor of Sand's narrative is relatively simple.
After fully embracing their progressive rock roots with 2009's Crack the Skye, Mastodon looked to marry those influences with both their earlier stoned-to-the-bone riffs and simpler song structures on both The Hunter and Once More 'Round the Sun. Though neither record was a complete wash, the band's sonic strategizing worked better in some instances than others. Enter Emperor of Sand, which stands as the best full-length example of this marriage to date. Producer Brendan O'Brien, who helmed things on Crack the Skye, is back behind the boards to give musical direction to Emperor's themes of time, life and death. The band's concept follows a protagonist sentenced to death by a desert ruler who is forced to wander the sandy wastelands, a metaphorical tale inspired by the band's family members' battles with cancer.
It's hard to pin down exactly when it happened, but at some point between 2004's brutal 'Leviathan' and 2011's groove-heavy 'The
Oh, the dilemmas of high-profile tech wizards who, 30 years ago, would've faced less scrutiny than they do in the face of a sophisticated and far more opinionated metal community. Then again, people cried foul at IRON MAIDEN for utilizing synthesizers and writing a rock-friendly tune on "Somewhere i...
Mastodon return with their long-awaited new effort, Emperor of Sand. What stylistic twists will they throw at us this time?
A review of Emperor of Sand by Mastodon, available March 31st via Reprise Records.
In many respects, Emperor of Sand feels like the culmination of Mastodon’s career.
Mastodon - Emperor of Sand review: Mastodon are back in full force with a classic metal edge and subtle hints at their past.
Proggy metalheads consider mortality and the passing of time in an epic concept album. Review by Guy Oddy