Artist: Mastodon
Label: Relapse Records
Release Date: 8/21/01
Rating: 3 Skulls
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Title: Lifesblood Artist: Mastodon Label: Relapse Records Release Date: 8/21/01
Rating: 3 Skulls |
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Reviewed by Equinox (1/31/02):
This five song EP is basically a teaser; just a sampler of what's to come on their soon-to-be-released full-length. Mastodon (as some of you may already be aware) features, among others, ex-members of Today Is The Day, and it definitely shows through vividly on this release. These guys are a classic example of a band that "sounds" sloppy and dissonant, due to abnormal song structures and purposely raw production, but in actuality is very talented and plays very tightly. The overall sound of Lifesblood is pretty similar to that of other "noisy" bands like Converge, Botch, and (strangely enough) Today Is The Day.The first track, "Shadows That Move" starts with a classic Slayer style riff with crazy drumming, then flows into a slower half Math Rock/half Desert Rock section, with screamed and growled vocals all the while. After a repeating waltz-time riff (with cool, Keith Moon-ish non-repeating drum patterns beneath) the song suddenly ends. "Welcoming War" is a faster one, containing touches of blast beats, crazy jazz metal drumming and an apocalyptic wall of guitar and bass sound, supplied generously by Bill Kelliher and Troy Sanders (who also share the vocal duties on this EP). "We Built This Come Death" starts off in Dillinger Escape Plan fashion, opening with some kooky, high pitched circus riffery, but soon the song drops tempo dramatically, becoming quite echoey and ominous, with almost-singy vocals similar to those of Jake Bannon of Converge. Extremely talented skinsman Brann Dailor, whose playing calls to mind images of a 40-gallon drum of golf balls being poured on the drumset, is "in the zone" on this track, bludgeoning his poor kit into submission. Like a demented homing pigeon, the crazy opening riff returns to close the song out, well under three minutes but feeling like an hour. Immediately, "Hail To Fire" starts in with a squealy, electric riff and some tasty double bass drumming and super fills. The tune becomes a little thrashy after a short while, and there is a point where you can almost get a grasp on what these guys are playing, then, just when you think you've captured the groove, it abruptly ends, shortly after the two-minute mark. Lastly, the lonely, balladic "Battle At Sea" closes out the disk tastefully, with some light(er) percussion, distant vocals and floaty acoustic guitar.
Mastodon can accomplish a lot in a two-minute tune. In fact, they are one of the best I've heard in a while in that aspect, and Lifesblood is the proof of this. Though the songs are generally short in duration, they are certainly long on energy and variety. There are some instances when everything becomes a sonic blur and it becomes hard to figure out what's going on, but for the most part this CD is controlled chaos, and an interesting listen.
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