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mastodon

Mastodon have rightfully built a name for themselves as one of the biggest bands in modern metal. The foursome have time and time again successfully found a great balance of complexity and accessibility. This has been true since the heavy sludge-inspired metal of Remission to the progressive Crack the Skye and the more mainstream sounding The Hunter. The other great thing about this band is their dedication to progress. Each release sounds different and they certainly aren’t afraid to alienate fans. But has their new release, Once More ‘Round the Sun managed to keep these trends going or have the band faltered under the success of The Hunter.

Once More ‘Round the Sun is a difficult album to review. Hell, it’s a difficult album to describe. After the huge success of 2011’s The Hunter it seemed inevitable to me that Mastodon would continue down that road for the follow up, even if that no doubt means alienating many fans who aren’t fond of the band’s more mainstream sound. And Once More ‘Round the Sun does indeed continue that sound, but to what extent is debatable. The album somehow manages to be far poppier than The Hunter at times, and at other times far more complex.

The simplistic catchy riffs of songs like “Curl of the Burl” are mostly dropped, replaced instead by somewhat less catchy and more complex pieces. And despite this the album contains some of Mastodon’s poppiest music. In particular the choruses of “The Motherload” and “Ember City” are incredibly poppy, but also rank among Mastodon’s best songs, especially the former. Those two songs may be where the pop elements are most prominent but they feature throughout the album. The change in sound between The Hunter and Once More ‘Round the Sun may be the smallest change between any of the bands albums, but things like this give it somewhat of a new flavour.

It is undeniable however that this album doesn’t reinvent the wheel. I was hoping for something a little bit more different to The Hunter as I’m sure many fans were, but this isn’t it. And yet I’m not as disappointed as I thought I might be. Despite the similar sound, this album feels incredibly fresh, for reasons I can’t quite put my finger on. It may just be as simple as Mastodon refusing to phone an album in, like every release so far they put their all into it. Once again “The Motherload” is the best example of this. The track sounds like it was a blast to record, and that comes off in the final version. It’s easily the stand out song on the album, and one of the best of Mastodon’s career.

The one spot on the album where Mastodon do something completely new would be “Aunt Lisa” and I’m predicting it now, a lot of people are going to hate it. I’m not going to spoil what, but a portion of the song is pretty much the last thing I expected, and given how unpredictable Mastodon can be that’s saying something. I’m not sure it succeeds at what it’s trying to do, it stands out pretty strongly, and at no other point on the album do they use this style which just makes that all the more worse. And yet you just have to respect the band for sticking it in there. Mastodon aren’t a band that plays by the rules and “Aunt Lisa” proves that better than anything they’ve done before.

The reason Once More ‘Round the Sun is so hard to review is that it’s everything I didn’t want it to be and yet I love it. For a band known for changing things up, it’s mostly a retread of what we heard on The Hunter and while the pop elements mix things up a little bit, it isn’t enough to shake the feeling that the band may be playing it a little safer than usual. But I get the feeling listening to this album that Mastodon are continuing their more mainstream sound not because it’s safe or they feel they should, but because they want to. After a success like their last release, many bands wouldn’t hesitate to release a by-numbers follow up devoid of life and energy. I can think of plenty of bands guilty of doing just that, but Mastodon isn’t one of them. Instead Once More ‘Round the Sun is flowing with energy from start to finish. I knew that even if the album didn’t mix things up much it would still probably be good, after all it’s Mastodon. I wasn’t prepared however for it to be this good.

I really am shocked at just how good this album is. It’s too early to say, but I may ever prefer it over The Hunter. What Once More ‘Round the Sun lacks in creativity, it more than makes for in energy and fun songwriting. Most metal albums are afraid of being as fun as this is, and in that sense at least it’s a welcome burst of fresh air. The pop elements really add something new to the band’s sound, which may not be for everybody but certainly works for me. That’s not to say the album is straight up pop though. The guitar structures are still complex, the band still wear their progressive rock influences on their sleeve and they’re all still capable of pulling off immense, heavy metal tracks like “Diamond in the Witch House,” which, as is tradition for a Mastodon album, features a fantastic guess spot from Scott Kelly of Neurosis.

Overall Once More ‘Round the Sun features everything you expect from Mastodon, for better or for worse. Brent Hinds “noodles” as much as ever, Brann Dailor’s drumming is fantastic as usual and the three-way vocals between Hinds, Dailor and Troy Sanders is as uniquely Mastodon is it has always been. It’s a continuation of the sound heard on The Hunter but adds enough new elements that it still sounds fresh, although not as much as previous albums. I’m still trying to figure out why I love this album so much, aside from the obvious reason being the great music. Perhaps it’s that Mastodon didn’t change their sound. When you think about it, this was a pretty big risk. The band knew continuing down the path The Hunter left them on would alienate fans, and people expecting the usual change in style would be disappointed. But they did it anyway, which allowed them to perfectly refine a sound rather than jumping straight to a new one. I’m still undecided as to whether or not it’s better than The Hunter but it sure as hell gives it a run for its money.

Once More ‘Round the Sun comes out June 24 and is available for streaming on iTunes now.