First Impressions
We've finally made it to be big boy. The whale, the myth, the legend.
When it comes to progressive metal, I think there are very few albums that reach the praise this album gets. In my experience, this album has been hailed as one of the biggest things to happen to this niche of metal, ever.
I had actually listened to this album ways back, but it was years ago, and most of it completely left my mind, so this was a pretty blind experience. How was it?
This album kicked my ass in the best of ways.
There is no other way to put it. This is one of the finest outputs in heavy music of this century so far. It's got monster riffs, monster vocals, absolutely insane drums. One of the darkest and most intense energies I've heard in a high adrenaline album. And all tied up by one of the most classic monster stories out there.
While I felt like Blood Mountain was a very choppy and not the most cohesive experience at times. THIS is the exact opposite. This has all the craziness of that album while keeping songs super concise and with everything in it's place even if it's chaotic.
This album is based on the Herman Melville novel, Moby Dick. With that novel already being about chasing a giant otherworldly monster. With psychological undertones and metaphors for obsession and everything else that is wrong with man... Yeah, I'd say it's a perfect fit for a heavy record.
There is no abiguity here either. Some albums based on books or stories take a more metaphorical approach, but this album does not give you a chance to let you interpret it another way. It is a desperate and bloody battle with an actual killer whale that results in a massacre. The music reflects this perfectly.
Every song here is pretty much just based a killer riff. There are legendary ones that can carry the whole song, like Blood And Thunder, Megalodon, and Iron Tusk. Then there are others feel much more progressive in nature, they use the whole song to build upon their ideas and usually have a killer climax, like Seabeast and Aqua Dementia.
But whether they're here just to be bangers or to be more complex than that, every single one of these songs had me about to detach my head with how much of a banger they are.
The riffs are so damn crunchy, with just enough amount of looseness to feel psychedelic while still being heavy. Paired with Brann once again absolutely decimating his drumkit in every song. This man will not let up with his insane snare/tom fills. There is not a single span of 30 seconds in this album where he can just take a break and not pop off.
Now comes my usual list of highlights and favorite moments from the album:
The entirety of Blood and Thunder is a masterpiece. It is a quintessential track not just for progressive metal, but metal of the 21s century in general. Every single riff in it is incredible, and honestly it might be the best song they ever wrote.
I Am Ahab carries this heavy momentum, the best part of this song is the post verse sections where Brann is just choking the hell out of those cymbals. It's odd time signatures feel like it was a precursor to what they did in Capillarian Crest.
Seabeast might be the most underrated song of the album for me. It has Brent's signature akward melodies, which he just makes them work so well. His voice almost sounds like a drunken desperate sailor it's perfect. But it's all about the build in this song. That riff at the end... that is a top 5 moment of this band for me. It is incredible. And then Brann switching up the drums for like a bar and a half? Nah, this one destroyed me.
Iron Tusk is just way too solid. If I had to choose a song that is packed with the most consistently good riffs and sections besides Blood And Thunder, It would be this one. The main riff is so groovy it almost makes me wanna dance!
Okay I lied, Megalodon is the most underrated pick for me. It starts off all right, but then we stop everything to have a... twangy banjo-esque guitar solo? And then BOOM the song absolutely explodes. The riff that comes after the solo is one of the biggest adrenaline pumps I've ever felt in my life. It genuinely feels like you're being chased by this impossibly fast monster. And they know how good this riff is because it lasts for quite a while. It's almost a power metal moment with the drums holding a solid double bass and Brann destroying that ride cymbal.
Does this album have low points? No, not really. There is not a single song here that I would say is bad. There isn't a song here that I would say isn't great actually. However there are some songs that I do feel fall just short of the standard the others set up. And this might be a little controversial.
I didn't love Hearts Alive.
I've heard so much about how amazing this song is. And while it did grow on me, and I appreciate that it's the moment the album lets you breathe and taps into that psychedelic sound they'd develop and peak at in Crack The Skye. I definitely felt a little underwhelmed by it.
It felt like the sections lasted way too long with not enough substance to justify them. Mastodon can absolutely write long epics. But I feel like every other long epic they've written is better than this. The Czar, Jaguar God, Gobblers Of Dregs, The Last Baron.
And maybe it is BECAUSE I've pretty much worked my way backwards to this album and already listened to those epics that this one feels underwhelming. So I'm not knocking it down. There are some really impactful riffs here, and Brent's final solo is amazing. But it didn't blow me away like the rest of the album.
Is this album worth the hype? Absolutely. It's one of the best super heavy albums I've ever listened to. It's so tightly packed with incredible riffs, drums and songwriting. It had my headphones flying away from the headbanging.
Ranking
Blood And Thunder
Megalodon
Seabeast
Iron Tusk
I Am Ahab
Naked Burn
Hearts Alive
Aqua Dementia
Island
Joseph Merrick
Rating