[Review] Mastodon - Once More 'Round The Sun

Mastodon are back and ready to get messy with another collection of experimental rock and roll and prog metal hybrids. After narrowing things down with their last album, the Atlantan band takes a step back to their roots with their latest release.
"Once More 'Round The Sun" shows the band working further on the sound of "The Hunter", but the result is much more spontaneous and wild. The band still retains some part of the formula, they generally don't stray too far from the verse-chorus-bridge blueprint, but when they do they really shine. "'Round The Sun" repeats the formula of headbanging verses and explosive, melodic choruses, albeit with a little less polish than they've done in the past.
Most of the album will sound a little bit familiar if you listened to "The Hunter" in depth but it feels more rough and messy. Even though Mastodon are heading further in the direction of their last album they aren't afraid to look into their past. Some of the songs have little hints of their earlier stuff, and while they are not as aggressive or fast paced it's still the roughest they've done in the last 8 years of their career.

Mastodon have never really been just a metal band and this album differentiates them more than ever, "'Round The Sun" is a modern rock and roll record with a taste of metal, progressive rock and stoner rock. Songs like "High Road" and the title track retain the narrowed down nature of their last release, but songs in the second half of the album are more spacey and progressive, and the closer track is probably the most "spread out" song they've written since "Blood Mountain".
Fans of their first three albums will probably welcome "Sun" with open arms, but I couldn't help but feel this album doesn't have the staying power of "Leviathan" or even "Remission". Some of the songs felt a little underwhelming or lacking, and at times I was wishing they would just let themselves loose. Brann Dailor seems to be the only member who's allowed to get crazy all the time and sometimes his drumming is what keeps the songs interesting when the rest of the music isn't on par.
Vocals have never been the band's strongest element and this album is no exception, their solos generally convey much more emotion and their riffs more fury and energy. The highest spots on this album (at least for me) are the instrumental passages on "The Motherload" and the outro to "Halloween". Actually I even enjoyed the introduction and the ending of "Chimes at Midnight" more than the song itself.
"Once More 'Round The Sun" may not be Mastodon's strongest effort, but at least they haven't lost the will to try new things.

Rating: decent

For fans of: metal (the crazier kind), stoner rock

Accessibility: average

Highlights: "The Motherload", "Ember City", Brann Dailor's drumming.

[Review] Linkin Park - The Hunting Party

Everyone needs some guilty pleasure music in their lives, sometimes I just want to listen to something catchy and simple no matter how silly it sounds or how cheesy the lyrics are. In my case, that spot is reserved for Linkin Park, a band as polarizing as it is successful.

Their last two albums have shown a steady decline in electronic instrumentation towards heavy guitars and a more "classical LP" sound mixing hip hop, clean and harsh vocals and more formulaic songwriting. "The Hunting Party" makes away with most of their electronic elements for a big part of the album, and is probably their most guitar heavy album since 2003's "Meteora", something older fans may appreciate, but at the same time, and like the band clarified, this new release sounds more "middle aged guys writing angry music" and not so much like the "teenage nu metal" of their first two albums.

"The Hunting Party" doesn't slow down a bit until past the first half with the song "Until It's Gone", which should have probably been removed for the sake of the album as it's probably their most formulaic and cliche song (the chorus basically repeats "'cause you don't know what you have until it's gone"). The second half of the album is more varied, featuring two ballads and one instrumental track featuring a discrete appearance by Tom Morello on guitar, one of the four guest collaborators on the album. The slower tracks, like the aforementioned "Until It's Gone" are more basic and contrast with the riffs and dynamic drumming of the heaviest tracks. 

Unlike the last LP albums were most of the attention was put on the vocals, on "The Hunting Party" the guitars and drums are the stars, while the drumming is basic by today standards (and so is the guitar) at times it sounds like their most instrumentally adventurous record, and that's something LP really has to work on. Going back to the vocals, both Mike and Chester are hit-or-miss here, Chester is on top of his game when it comes to screaming but the rest of his melodies sound tired and recycled, Mike's rapping sounds more basic and monotonous than ever, and Rakim totally outshines him on lead single "Guilty All The Same", compared to the rest of the record.

It's good that despite being one of the most commercially successful bands out there they still want to try new things and while this album may not be perfect it's a good stepping stone if they want to continue on this road for their next release.

Rating: enjoyable

For fans of: pop rock with hardcore/punk elements, nu metal

Accessibility: high

Highlights: "Guilty All The Same", "Rebellion", "Mark The Graves"

[Review] Killer Be Killed - Killer Be Killed

The debut album from supergroup Killed Be Killed has finally landed, 3 years passed since the first news of a supergroup featuring The Dillinger Escape Plan's Greg Puciato and Soulfly's Max Cavalera created a little snowball of hype that has grown and grown after the incorporation of Mastodon's Troy Sanders and Dave Elitch (currently drumming for ANTEMASQUE).

Considering the background of each of it's members it was easy to predict the result was going to be heavy, but what they were going to sound like remained a mistery for almost 3 years. So now that the album is out (and assuming you haven't heard the first "singles") you must be wondering... was it worth the wait?.

The album kicks off at full strenght with the first two singles, "Wings of Feather and Wax" and "Face Down", the first featuring Max, Greg and Troy sharing vocal duties between different parts of the verses and bridge, while singing the choruses together. The next two songs are slightly reminiscent of The Dillinger Escape Plan, just much more radio friendly. After track 5 the album is mostly traditional, radio friendly trash metal, much closer to a simplified version of Soulfly than DEP or Mastodon, in fact if it wasn't for Troy's vocals there wouldn't be anything on "Killer Be Killed" that sounded like Mastodon's spacey prog rock.

Most of the guitar work is comprised of very traditional rhythm guitar riffs with heavy distortion, there's rarely a solo or a memorable guitar lead, and the same goes for the drums. I've been following Dave's work since he joined The Mars Volta in late 2009 but while he's certainly very skilled I have yet to see him play a memorable drum beat or fill, and this kind of music doesn't really demands for creativity.

How much you can enjoy this record will most probably be determined by which main project brought you here, I can't really say I'm a big fan of Cavalera's previous work (or trash metal in general), and was probably expecting something more adventurous or groundbreaking, so the best thing to do is just take it for what it is, enjoy the catchy hooks and varied vocal performances, and avoid thinking about what this could have been.

Ranking: decent

For fans of: thrash metal, hardcore

Accessibility: radio friendly

Highlights: "Wings Of Feather And Wax", “Snakes of Jehova”

[Review] Protest The Hero - Volition

Canadian progressive-mathcore-metal band Protest The Hero are back with their crowdfunded follow up to 2011's "Scurrilous", with Chris Adler of Lamb of God replacing Moe Carlson on drums and a number of guests on vocals (including long time contributor Jadea Kelly), their new album "Volition" takes them on yet another new direction. Whereas "Scurrilous" was dark, sad and instrumentally spacey at times, "Volition" is compressed, fast and agressive. While it feels than none of the songs in "Volition" are as epic in scale or exhilarating as "Blindfolds Aside", "Sequoia Throne" or "Hair Trigger" the album is enjoyable at all levels from beginning to end.

The album is both lyrically and instrumentally diverse, adressing discrimination and misogyny at one moment and stepping on the toes of dishonest musicians the next and the unending "Star Wars vs Star Trek" debate. It also features what is probably the most agressive song Protest The Hero has released: "A Life Embossed", with "Animal Bones" a close second.

The album sees the return of PtH's (post)hardcore roots in many of it's songs, with the closer "Skies" being the perfect example (specially in the second half). The constant jump between unhindered aggression and attractive choruses keeps the album fresh at all times and vocalist Rody Walker's range is one of the main attractions. In short, PtH has managed once again to keep things fresh in a genre often bloated with carbon-copy bands, while mantaing a high standard of quality in the whole album. it may take as long as 10 listens before the album really sinks in, because of everything it throws at you at the same time, but once it does it's immensely rewarding.

9/10

Follow us on Facebook

[Review] Karnivool - Asymmetry

Karnivool is a prog rock/metal quintet from Perth that has often been compared to Tool by a number of reasons, musical or not; their dark sound, sometimes cryptic lyrics, polyrythms and odd time signatures have drawn comparisons between both. Curiously enough they share the last three letters out of their names and a tendency to take 4 or 5 years between releases.

But how deep do these similarities go? Well, Karnivool has made certain that they draw a line between both bands with their new record, Asymmetry.

The band has incorporated a few elements from hardcore and post rock, the songs are mostly fast, equally melodic and agressive, the guitar arrangements often sound loose and more like part of the background sound of the band than something that is meant to draw attention, leaving that role to vocals and drums. Both guitars and bass mix and melt into a wall of sound that surrounds the listener. The production contributes to this feeling, even when there's not a lot of layers to pick apart, the guitars are often hard to tell from each other in the noisiest parts, and drums feel like they are mixed too loud, with cymbals that sound too distorted and trebly.

Overall the album pays homage to it's name. Asymmetry can be easily divided in two halves, the first being compact and comprised of mostly upbeat songs, with The Refusal peaking in agressivity. The second, much more melodic and laid back, has some songs separated by long ambient and instrumental interludes. This, in my opinion, is not inherently good or bad. While it feels like the album lacks focus or a clear background idea it also keeps things from getting stale; for an album that clocks at about 67 minutes having most of it composed of songs like those in the first half would tire the listener too fast. The lyrics deal mostly with existencialism (though not exclusively), with lines like "Try to understand/ There is no great plan/ We will cross the line/ With an open mind" and "I want us to face the shape we're in/ A world of confusion awaits our sons and kin/ Let's reset it all".

There's no doubt this album is a grower, while initially it feels like it goes nowhere, once you memorize some of the songs and review the flow of the album in your head, the rest starts to sink in slowly and then it becomes a much more rewarding experience. Show patience and you'll see the results soon enough.

7.5/10

[Review] Scale The Summit - The Migration

In a world where the term "instrumental metal" has become a synonym of "squeezing as many notes and transitions as possible into a 7 minute long composition" it's hard to find bands that defy that formula. When I first listened to Scale The Summit a few years ago I instantly noticed there was more to them than just 4 insanely skilled musicians playing together. 

The band has come to describe their sound as "adventure metal" and once you listen to one of their albums from beginning to end it's easy to see why, each of their albums take you on a journey through a myriad of sonic landscapes. But while their previous efforts have had songs ranging from dark, heavy, intense metal to more laid back, calm and jazzy compositions, The Migration narrows the scope a little, and not always for the best.

Through the album does a flawless job at making you feel like you are running under a cloudless sky in a cool day with the sun hitting your face, it sometimes feel like the album could benefit from a little variety. In this regard it's good that it clocks at 42 minutes, because it's an adequate ammount of time for the scope of the album.

The Migration also starts in the same way as it ends, with two fast, lush and busy songs, and it's very difficult (if not impossible) to find a point in the record that could be described as a climax. The only one that strays a little from the lively sound of the album is "The Dark Horse" which lives up to it's name from beginning to end.

All in all, these things don't stop Scale The Summit's fourth record from being a breath of fresh air in the progressive metal scene, the skill and vision of their members is beyond question and there's no doubt The Migration sounds exactly as they intended, from the sunny landscapes it paints to the way the two guitars interwine constantly, it's evident that every note has been put there deliberately. Overall, a carefully crafted and solid record that struggles to achieve the scope of it's predecessors.

7.5/10

[Review] The Dillinger Escape Plan - One Of Us Is The Killer

The Dillinger Escape Plan is a band known for crafting albums that come close to rupturing your eardrums and for doing it in a way that is remarkably enjoyable for the listener (or at least those adventurous enough for the sonic ride). While this is true for their newest album One Of Us Is The Killer, their first in Sumerian Records, the band has been experimenting with more traditional and even melodic compositions.

Make no mistake, the album still kicks and punches and it's knuckles have cymbal-shaped studs, but from time to time the album abruptly changes from a carefully crafted mess to a more traditional hard rock sound and vice versa. The title track is an example of this new refined songwriting that the band "experiments" with, making use of soft verse-loud chorus dynamics and keeping a slow, steady tempo for the whole song.

Each member has something to offer to both their new sound and their "old" one. Ben Weinman's riffs are lightning fast, dissonant and they sound like pure evil, specially when combined with James Love's rhythm guitar, Greg Puciato's furiously versatile vocals are largely responsible for the melodical side of their new sound, effortlessly jumping from quiet breakdowns to chaotic shredding to more melodic yet hard rocking segments, Liam Wilson adds a lot of atmospheric bass lines and Billy Raymer's epileptic drumming are a driving force in the hardest hitting songs and a source of groove in the breakdowns, taking the spotlight for the instrumental CH 375 268 277 ARS (something that instantly reminded me of Hella's 2011 album Tripper) and contributing a great fill for the phenomenal title track.

The production is very good, every instrument can be picked apart, even in the midst of chaos, though at the cost of trying to sound loud and agressive the album has a bit of clipping; sometimes the drums may sound too compressed and some of Weinman's arrangement's are partially lost in the mix.

In short, it's still DEP, it's not for everyone, it hits hard, it's raw and it's noisy, but the band shows it's not afraid of going into new directions and broadening their horizons, something I have always respected, and something to be expected from those who put their hearts into their music.

8.5/10

[Review] TesseracT - Altered State

There's a lot of discussion around the use of the term djent, similar to the way people use the word indie to describe a particular sound or "genre", there's a lot of musicians who either embrace the term or refuse being refered to as a "djent band".
British rock band TesseracT has separated from the djent tag not by speaking out against or in favor of being tagged as a djent band, but by expanding and growing their sound release after release; commencing with their 2011 debut LP "One" (in my opinion a masterpiece of progressive metal) and later with their 2012 EP "Perspective", introducing a new vocalist and showing an unexplored side of the band.

Altered State goes further in that direction, leaving out growling vocals completely, turning down the distortion in favor of a more processed, electronic sound and refining their songwriting. From the first song you are greeted with new vocalist Ashe O'Hara's (Voices From The Fuselage) vocals and the sound of distant, echoing guitars before the song jumps in volume through a crescendo of processed guitars.

While some songs like Exile and Singularity are long and have a strong progressive feeling about them, most of the compositions offer more traditional structures, often building around different variations of the same riff or beat. The drumming keeps the songs together, both keeping a straight 4/4 beat and laying down heavily synchopated polyrhythms regularly, which are one of the trademark elements of TesseracT's sound. The first single Nocturne is a perfect example of both these things, and it does a very good job at showing what this new record is about.

Altered State keeps things fresh and shows the band hasn't suffered at all from changing vocalists three consecutive times, an excellent record overall, and one I'll be listening to for a long time.

9.5/10

[Review] Leprous - Coal (2013)

One has heard the phrase "don't judge a book by it's cover" so many times at this point that it has almost lost it's meaning, well, I made that mistake when first looking at the cover for Leprous' new album Coal. Their previous album Bilateral was a very strong contender for my personal album of the year when it came back in 2011. Jeff Jordan (mostly known by his work with The Mars Volta) took care of the artwork last time with his signature saturated-high contrast-bad trip made painting style, and it fit the variety, density and texture of the album perfectly, so when I took a look at Leprous' new cover artwork (also by Jeff Jordan) I thought they had gotten heavier and darker than ever and I expected a lot of double-bass and growling vocals... well I couldn't have been more wrong.

Coal is a completely new direction for the band, much more melodic, softer but also heavier at times and with a strong emphasis on groove not as prominent in their last album. The first thing I noticed when I first listened to the first two tracks was the drumming is very different, for a moment I was sure Leprous had replaced Tobias Andersen, but after checking the credits I was suprised to see that he's still behind the kit.

The drumming, just as in Bilateral, is great yet on a completely different way, with much more groove, laid back at times and less "metal", often sounding a little gospel. The same could be said about the bass, keeping the songs together and adding a lot of groove in between instrumental sections. The keyboards are much more prominent and the building blocks of songs like The Cloak and The Valley, adding to the atmosphere and Einar Solberg's dramatic vocals, who really shines in The Cloak.

There's also a great change in the songwriting, with the songs being more focused, each instrument making it's way into the sound the band creates before reaching an instrumental climax near the end.

In short, Leprous has managed to surprise me with this album, setting aside the pressure of crafting a follow up to 2011's Bilateral with a strong new direction and complete cohesiveness.

8.5/10

Watch the video for "The Cloak"

[Review] Just Like Vinyl - Black Mass

Just Like Vinyl emerged from the ashes of The Fall Of Troy after the release of their last album In The Unlikely Event in 2009. Thomas Erak joined forces with Jake Carden (also on guitar and vocal duties) and Henry Batts (bass) joined shortly after. With TFOT still playing their final shows the trio began rehearsals and recorded a few demos for their debut LP. The result was a self-titled album far away from TFOT virtuosic nature but still retaining the protagonism of the guitar above all. Two years later we have Black Mass, building upon the sound of their debut but turning the distortion up a few notches: the riffs are heavier, the drums sound thicker and the percentage of screaming and howling probably excedes 50% of all the vocals.

The band experiments with twisted accentuations, tempo changes and a few odd time signatures, keeping the album fresh song after song. The lyrics are probably the aspect that changed less since TFOT's separation, still tackling with themes such as cheating, love turned into hate and all that Erak has got us accustomed to.
Since the songs are much heavier that in their self titled a little of The Unlikely Event shows up in some of them (Hours And Whiskey Sours, Atm) with Lucky Star sounding like it could have been a bside from The Fall Of Troy's last effort. The mix is good and all the instruments can be heard clearly even in the noisiest moments. Overall a very good sophomore album that expands the range of JLV's sound.

8.5/10

http://justlikevinyl.com/

(9/10) Mastodon - The Hunter (2011)

After the epic journey that was Crack The Skye it seems Mastodon decided to go in the opposite direction, leaving the long progressive-rock/metal compositions of their previous effort and writing a more straightforward yet extremely technical and agressive record (which doesn't mean there isn't space for some relaxed moments) that shows a side Mastodon has never explored before, more focused in the "stoner" side of the band which is probably the best thing about this album (for some moments I even thought I was listening to Queens Of The Stone Age), songs like Stargasm (which by the way, reminds me of Sleeping Giant a little) and The Sparrow bring lots of melancholic, distorted images to my mind. 2011 was a special year, with RHCP releasing their first album since John Frusciante left the band, Incubus going into a completely new direction, Pez moving away from their straight-forward punk songs into full blast hard rock, Primus coming back from sleep and The Dear Hunter releasing one of the most ambitious projects I've seen in the last 5 years, as if all my favourite bands conspired to give me some nice surprises last year... it seems that Mastodon didn't want to be less than them.

01. Black Tongue (3:27) 
02. Curl Of The Burl (3:40) 
03. Blasteroid (2:36) 
04. Stargasm (4:40) 
05. Octopus Has No Friends (3:49) 
06. All The Heavy Lifting (4:31) 
07. The Hunter (5:18) 
08. Dry Bone Valley (4:00) 
09. Thickening (4:31) 
10. Creature Lives (4:41) 
11. Spectrelight (3:10) 
12. Bedazzled Fingernails (3:08) 
13. The Sparrow (5:31)

http://www.mastodonrocks.com/news

(8.5/10) Leprous - Bilateral (2011)

I found about Leprous via Google Alerts because I kept getting news articles mentioning Jeff Jordan as the artist behind the album's cover, I decided to download some of their albums but I didn't enjoy them very much so I ended up deleting them, nevertheless when this album dropped I felt the need to check it out and I felt very pleased with the result. Bilateral is like mixing modern prog metal like Dream Theater (which I don't like very much honestly) and Opeth with experimental bands like Porcupine Tree and The Mars Volta, I dare to say that in some spots I even thought I was listening to Muse in their less poppy era. The growling is kept to a minimum during the album which is something that in excess ends up boring me, so for those who were getting worried as soon as I said "prog metal", go ahead and give the album a try. WARNING: weird video below.

1. "Bilateral" (4:00)
2. "Forced Entry" (10:20)
3. "Restless" (3:30)
4. "Thorn" (5:47)
5. "Mb. Indifferentia" (6:33)
6. "Waste of Air" (5:32)
7. "Mediocrity Wins" (6:07)
8. "Cryptogenic Desires" (2:45)
9. "Acquired Taste" (5:13)
10. "Painful Detour" (8:18)

Einar Solberg - Synth, Vocals

Tor Oddmund Suhrke - Guitar, Vocals

Øystein Landsverk - Guitar, Backing Vocals

Rein Blomquist - Bass

Tobias Ørnes Andersen - Drums

http://www.leprous.net/

(9/10) Scale The Summit - The Collective

No soy muy fan de este tipo de música pero este disco me conquistó totalmente, porque no se pasa de virtuoso ni suena repetitivo. Algunos diran que son una banda de metal instrumental, pero para mi van mucho mas allá que solo metal. Lo poco pero interesante que se sobre esta banda es que sus dos guitarristas se recibieron en Berklee y que ambos son luthiers. Otro dato interesante es que si alguien quiere animársele a alguna de sus canciones ellos venden libros de partituras y tablaturas en su sitio. En estos momentos estan salieron de gira como headliners por primera vez, y aparéntemente están trabajando en su próximo disco (prometen tocar un tema nuevo en los shows). Es un disco para escuchar con paciencia y esperar a que se asiente...

Guitar – Chris Letchford
Guitar – Travis Levrier
Bass – Jordan Eberhardt
Drums – Pat Skeffington

 

 1. "Colossal"
2. "Whales"
3. "Emersion"
4. "The Levitated"
5. "Secret Earth"
6. "Gallows"
7. "Origin of Species"
8. "Alpenglow"
9. "Black Hills"
10. "Balkan"
11. "Drifting Figures"

http://www.scalethesummit.com/band/

(8.5/10) Opeth - Heritage (2011)

No soy un gran seguidor de Opeth, de hecho este es el primer disco que escucho, pero estoy al tanto de que cada vez hacen discos menos pesados y eso es quizas lo que hace a este disco especial, porque de metal tiene poco y nada, suena mas a rock progresivo moderno, bastante técnico y variado. Por momentos me recuerda a Frances The Mute, con una mezcla menos cargada.

01. Heritage
02. The Devil's Orchard
03. I Feel The Dark
04. Slither
05. Nepenthe
06. Haxprocess
07. Famine
08. The Lines In My Hand
09. Folklore
10. Marrow Of The Earth

Mikael Åkerfeldt – guitar, Mellotron, grand piano, vocals, sound effects
Fredrik Åkesson – rhythm guitar
Per Wiberg – grand piano, Mellotron, Rhodes piano, Hammond B3
Martín Mendez – bass guitar, upright bass
Martin Axenrot – drums, percussion

http://www.opeth.com

(9/10) Beardfish - Mammoth (2011)

Beardfish es una de las pocas bandas privilegiadas de rock progresivo clásico que no sufre de los problemas típicos del género, no abusan de clichés, no mezclan los discos tratando de que suenen como si fuera 1974 y no se pasan de pretensiosos. Sumado a esto, vienen entregando (en mi opinión) un álbum sólido tras otro desde su debut de 2003 (a un ritmo bastante rápido) y Mammoth no es la excepción. Aunque la mayoría los suele comparar con con bandas como Genesis o Yes el estilo de Beardfish es mas pesado sin dejar de ser melódico. ¡Puntos extra por traer un dvd con performance en vivo + making of!.

(El video de abajo no es parte del dvd).

1. The Platform
2. And the Stone Said "If I Could Speak"
3. Tightrope
4. Green Waves
5. Outside/Inside

6. Akakabotu
7. Without Saying Anything

Rikard Sjöblom - vocals, keyboards
David Zackrisson - guitars
Magnus Östgren - drums
Robert Hansen - bass
 

http://www.beardfish.argh.se/

(7/10) Myrath - Tales Of The Sands (2011)

Personalmente una decepción respecto al disco anterior... Tales Of The Sands se vuelve repetitivo después de un rato mientras la banda sigue exprimiendo los mismos recursos tema tras tema, zafable de todos modos y a más de uno le va a resultar interesante por el sonido oriental de la banda, pero para aquellos que ya estamos acostumbrados esto parece una paso atras respecto al disco anterior...

 

1. "Under Siege"
2. "Braving The Seas"
3. "Merciless Times"
4. "Tales of the Sands"
5. "Sour Sigh"
6. "Dawn Within"
7. "Wide Shut"

8. "Requiem for a Goodbye"
9. "Beyond the Stars"
10. "Time to Grow"
11. "Apostrophe for a Legend" (bonus track)

Malek Ben Arbia - guitars
Zaher Zorgati - vocals
Anis Jouini - bass
Elyes Bouchoucha - keyboards, backing vocals
Piwee Desfray - drums

http://www.myrath.com/

(8/10) Mastodon - Live At The Aragon (2011)

Artwork en alta resolución.

1. "Oblivion" - 6:31
2. "Divinations" - 3:43
3. "Quintessence" - 5:13
4. "The Czar" - 10:42
5. "Ghost of Karelia" - 5:24
6. "Crack the Skye" - 6:07
7. "The Last Baron" - 15:55
8. "Circle of Cysquatch" - 3:04
9. "Aqua Dementia" - 4:22
10. "Where Strides The Behemoth" - 2:52
11. "Mother Puncher" - 4:16
12. "The Bit" (Melvins cover) - 5:31

Live At The Aragon como su nombre lo indica es un album en vivo lanzado por la banda atlanteña Mastodon a mediados de marzo de este año. Junto con el cd que como veran contiene una interpretación completa de su (hasta ese momento) último album de estudio, lo acompaña un dvd que ademas de traer el footage de dicho show tiene algunos extras interesantes, como una "película" que relata vagamente la historia detrás del album a medida que van pasando las canciones. Personalmente me hubiera gustado un setlist mas variado pero para aquellos que esten enloquecidos con Crack The Skye el album está bien reproducido de principio a fin.
Entre los puntos bajos se encuentran algunas de las vocales, que en ciertos pasajes cerca del final parece que fueron tomadas de otro show o reemplazadas, y el hecho de que si están esperando algo de improvisación van a encontrar poco y nada, aunque no lo necesitan realmente... pero algun "jam" habría sido bienvenido.

Troy Sanders – bass, vocals
Brent Hinds – guitar, vocals
Bill Kelliher – guitar, backing vocals
Brann Dailor – drums, vocals
Derek Mitchka - guest keyboards

Mas información.

www.mastodonrocks.com