Review by Rexorcist for Mastodon - Blood Mountain (2006)

Mastodon is the kind of band I used to have super-strict opinions on concerning their first four albums.  Even though I wasn't the most vocal about those opinions, they hadn't changed for years until recently, when I began re-evaluating my sludge metal standards.  After finishing Leviathan again, not seeing the need to play Remission again yet, I went straight for Blood Mountain, an album I always thought was one of the best sludge albums ever, like Leviathan.

It was pretty clear from the start that Mastodon hadn't forgotten their punk side just yet from their punkish opener, The Wolf Is Loose.  You wouldn't know after the dramatic shift to riff-heavy sludginess being the focal point of their sophomore.  Each song felt different from the last, while it was obvious that consistency was the main focal point, which means there are plenty of songs that won't be as "catchy" as the ones on Leviathan, which is fine by me because that means more general prog.  I had no way of knowing those raspy mechanical vocals would make an appearance on the third act of Circle of Cysquatch, and then just flow right into a somewhat folksy riff opening up the next track, bringing to mind some Zeppelin songs before going right into a chaotic mess of Quicksilver the Mutant speed that's practically just mocking punk and then going back into the catchy instrumental riffs.  This is the kind of wacko behavior you can expect from this album, as well as the kind I demand from an album, especially an experimental or progressive one.

People seem to like like Leviathan more because of its more consistent and riff-reliant behavior.  And I admit all the songs are fun and catchy.  But that's the kind of album that, despite having a lot of progressive structures, feels a little poppy in the way the songs are delivered.  Whereas you have a mix of the avant-garde and the pop-structure here on this ever shifting and always consistent album.  I wouldn't say that Mastodon proved that they can do anything they want with this album the way that Acid Bath did with their debut, but I was always on my toes with this album.  This album recalled the personalities of both Remission and Leviathan while adding new tricks.  I'd say that makes this album quite the success.