• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Mastodon - The Hunter

#21
I've listened to it a couple of times. I don't think it's bad, the musicianship is still there, but Crak the Skye was a great concept album and for me that beats every album with "standard" songs. To say it in another way: the first impression is that album lacks a bit of "heart", while Crack the skye got into me almost instantly. The songs themselves are ok, but the whole thing as a complex suffers in comparison. Maybe I liked more the vocals too, but it's soon to say for sure.

Also, what about the beginning of "Creature lives"? It seems they are simply toying with the Moog Taurus... :scowl:
 
#22
The more I'm listening to it, the more I am gravitating to particular tracks and skipping past the ones I don't particularly care for... I have a feeling this album is one of those ones where I pare out a few tracks for a playlist, but don't really appreciate as a whole until about 3-5 years later... It happened like that with Aenima and that became one of my favorite records. So far, I still think Crack the Skye sets the bar.
 
#26
ChrisDieci said:
I've listened to it a couple of times. I don't think it's bad, the musicianship is still there, but Crak the Skye was a great concept album and for me that beats every album with "standard" songs. To say it in another way: the first impression is that album lacks a bit of "heart", while Crack the skye got into me almost instantly. The songs themselves are ok, but the whole thing as a complex suffers in comparison. Maybe I liked more the vocals too, but it's soon to say for sure.

Also, what about the beginning of "Creature lives"? It seems they are simply toying with the Moog Taurus... :scowl:
Click to expand...

That's pretty much my opinion on the album. Stand-Out tracks for me are Black Tongue, Curl of the Burl, Stargasm, The Hunter (my favourite), Bedazzled Fingernails, The Sparrow.

As an overall album, I think it's not as good as Crack The Sky. I'm aware they were going for something different this time, which is absolutely fine.

Also, "Creature Lives" is soooooo Pink Floyd at the beginning, Dark Side of the Moon. Made me chuckle tbh.

Jeramaya said:
They're doing what they want and good for them.
Click to expand...

Why should they ever do anyhting they wouldn't want to do? I think this is a very important aspect of music and should be applauded, regardless of style.
 
#27
So after listening to Crack the Skye and The Hunter looped continuously for several days now, I actually think the two albums compliment each other really well... I'm no longer skipping any tracks. I'm even enjoying Creature Lives. When you put musicians together with the kind of collective talent that Mastodon have, you can't expect them to make the same record twice... and who would want that anyway. I find it hard to believe that even diehard fans of the older material won't enjoy this album if they give it a few good hard spins. The Hunter is maybe a kinder, gentler, wiser, introspective Mastodon (OMG it actually sounds like they're having FUN on Blasteroid), but still Mastodon through and through... And it is good... :bassist:
 
#28
handofseven said:
So after listening to Crack the Skye and The Hunter looped continuously for several days now, I actually think the two albums compliment each other really well... I'm no longer skipping any tracks. I'm even enjoying Creature Lives. When you put musicians together with the kind of collective talent that Mastodon have, you can't expect them to make the same record twice... and who would want that anyway. I find it hard to believe that even diehard fans of the older material won't enjoy this album if they give it a few good hard spins. The Hunter is maybe a kinder, gentler, wiser, introspective Mastodon (OMG it actually sounds like they're having FUN on Blasteroid), but still Mastodon through and through... And it is good... :bassist:
Click to expand...
i've been doing the same with The Hunter and Blood Mountain. i think it is fair to say that the new one compliments much of their older material, the one exception maybe being Remission. it is such a great distillation of their strengths and their development as composers to this point.
 
#29
I've been listening to Mastodon since Leviathan came out. Remission, Leviathan, and Blood Mountain are all brilliant,...but I thought Crack the Skye pretty much sucked in all respects. The vocals, the song writing, and the horrendous production that buried Bran's drums in the mix, all the layering, etc. I guess it just seemed to lose that "raw" feel, and I actually found the album to be kind of a mood killer anytime I tried to listen to it. Being a big fan of the band, I wanted to love it. Hell, I had it pre-ordered a month in advance. I must have listened to it twenty times, and still came to the same conclusion.

Unfortunately, what I have heard of the Hunter seems to be the band going in even more of a "Crack The Skye" direction. The vocal harmonies sound terrible. Who knows, maybe when I hear it in it's entirety I will change my mind, but their choice of producers and the type of production they are now going for just boggles the mind. I'm sure they will make boatloads of money off this, and good for them if they do.

I am not at all opposed to bands finding commercial success, or changing/evolving their sound and song writing style. I had pre-ordered Opeth's new one (Heritage), and find it to be absolutely brilliant. Two spins in, and I think it's my personal pick for album of the year. High on Fire is one of my favorite bands. They went in a different direction from a production standpoint on their latest, and I still think it crushes.

Mastodon is one of those bands where it seems their success, big label affiliation, so called "big time" producers, and possible substance abuse issues have really affected them in a negative way. I realize I am in the minority on this, and I certainly am not knocking anyone who feels differently. This is all simply my opinion. I'd have loved to see them head down to Mana studios in Florida and let Erik Rutan produce The Hunter.
 
#30
WhiteNinja said:
Why should they ever do anyhting they wouldn't want to do? I think this is a very important aspect of music and should be applauded, regardless of style.
Click to expand...

I don't applaud something that should just naturally be, but since they are following their path I am happy for them. It also makes me more open to what they're doing. I wasn't a huge fan of "Blood Mountain" when it came out either, but it grew on me to some degree. Maybe this one will as well. It just came out, of course. Time will tell. And I hope they bring the tour back around to Madison like they did last time. So much better than Milwaukee to me.
 
#32
Jeramaya said:
I don't applaud something that should just naturally be, but since they are following their path I am happy for them.
Click to expand...

Of course, you're right, but I believe that bands that do follow this path should be at least recognised, especially today where egos tend to stand in the way of the most important aspect of being a musician: the Music itself.
 
#34
I like it, but it didn't "wow" me like CtS and Blood Mountain did. I think it lacks a consistent vision. A few tunes (the Hunter, Stargasm) sound like CtS outtakes or B sides. Others seem to be going for a lighter (mood, not heaviness) vibe.

I also think one thing that isn't being talked about is that they struggled pulling off CtS live vocally. This album is going to be even harder to do with more layers and Troy and Brann seeming to have extended their ranges a bit (Brent's whole career has been out of his range, but it works for his style better than the other guys).

Overall, a fun, listenable album, but not the masterpieces that CtS, Blood Mountain, and to a lesser extent Leviathan were.
 
#37
J-O said:
I've been listening to Mastodon since Leviathan came out. Remission, Leviathan, and Blood Mountain are all brilliant,...but I thought Crack the Skye pretty much sucked in all respects. The vocals, the song writing, and the horrendous production that buried Bran's drums in the mix, all the layering, etc. I guess it just seemed to lose that "raw" feel, and I actually found the album to be kind of a mood killer anytime I tried to listen to it. Being a big fan of the band, I wanted to love it. Hell, I had it pre-ordered a month in advance. I must have listened to it twenty times, and still came to the same conclusion.
Click to expand...
With respect, I think you need to listen to CtS again with better stereo/headphones. I honestly can't see how anyone can say the drums are "buried in the mix". I find the production to be rich and wonderfully 3 dimensional. Perhaps you simply prefer the less polished sound of Remission.

J-O said:
Unfortunately, what I have heard of the Hunter seems to be the band going in even more of a "Crack The Skye" direction. The vocal harmonies sound terrible. Who knows, maybe when I hear it in it's entirety I will change my mind, but their choice of producers and the type of production they are now going for just boggles the mind. I'm sure they will make boatloads of money off this, and good for them if they do.
Click to expand...
I disagree with the vocal harmonies being terrible. How does their choice of producers boggle your mind? What is wrong with the production? Is there some correlation between the musical/artistic merit of the album and how much money they will make? How is that relevant?

J-O said:
I am not at all opposed to bands finding commercial success, or changing/evolving their sound and song writing style. I had pre-ordered Opeth's new one (Heritage), and find it to be absolutely brilliant. Two spins in, and I think it's my personal pick for album of the year. High on Fire is one of my favorite bands. They went in a different direction from a production standpoint on their latest, and I still think it crushes.
Click to expand...
I don't think you need to justify your distaste for the direction Mastodon are headed. You are well within your right to prefer their older sound.

J-O said:
Mastodon is one of those bands where it seems their success, big label affiliation, so called "big time" producers, and possible substance abuse issues have really affected them in a negative way. I realize I am in the minority on this, and I certainly am not knocking anyone who feels differently. This is all simply my opinion. I'd have loved to see them head down to Mana studios in Florida and let Erik Rutan produce The Hunter.
Click to expand...
I don't think any of those things influenced the writing of this record, save perhaps the substance abuse. I think Mastodon does what Mastodon wants. Success, big label affiliation, so called "big time" producers, IMO are silly reasons to not like the record. A better reason is that it simply doesn't turn your crank. I'm going to go give Remission a spin and see if I like the drum sound better. :)
 
#39
J-O said:
Mastodon is one of those bands where it seems their success, big label affiliation, so called "big time" producers, and possible substance abuse issues have really affected them in a negative way. I realize I am in the minority on this, and I certainly am not knocking anyone who feels differently. This is all simply my opinion. I'd have loved to see them head down to Mana studios in Florida and let Erik Rutan produce The Hunter.
Click to expand...

At first I was thrown by the production too, at times it seems like they have even used pitch correction on the vox:scowl:

I don't think their substance abuse has affected them in that way but it CERTAINLY has affected Brent, he just honestly sucks live (seen em 6 times, he gets worse and worse). Someone needs to sit the guy down and tell him to chill with the crack and take some singing lessons.

And +1 for the guy who said Troy is one of the best metal bass players around, he really knows when to play and when not to play and that is RARE in metal.

however after a couple of spins I really do enjoy this album and I cant wait to actually buy it when the special edition vinyl comes out :bassist:
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back