Album Review: Mastodon “Cold Dark Place”
Mastodon has always been a band on my radar, but I truthfully never really got too into them. As a guitar player and a purveyor of all things Black Sabbath-y, I always felt like it should be a band I loved, but alas we never hit it off. They’re a fucking killer live band though! Despite all that nonsense, I am debuting my reviewing on PWV with the latest Mastodon release, Cold Dark Place, which was released September 22nd via Reprise Records.
1. North Side Star
2. Blue Walsh
3. Toe to Toes
4. Cold Dark Place
If you’re reading this, chances are you’re already a fan of the prog-metal riff monsters known as Mastodon. If not, this EP may not be the best place to start. That’s not to say that it’s not a good album, it’s just a bit more experimental than they normally get. I know I’m reaching a little far with that statement, but bear with me.
The opening track North Side Star is built around a haunting clean guitar riff that ventures a little too close to Pink Floyd territory vocally for my tastes until the cool guitar solo trade offs at the end. Next up is Blue Walsh which feels like it was influenced heavily by Faith No More until the riff-fest at the end. Toe to Toes, which is my favorite song on the EP, starts off a little weird with acoustic guitars and some hand clapping, but Def Leppard they are not. This is proven to be true about halfway through the song when the proverbial shit hits the rock and roll fan and they THROW THE FUCK DOWN with heavy riffs. Closing out the album is the title track, Cold Dark Place, which is a mostly acoustic track with some weird lap steel guitar. The vocals seem to channel Ozzmosis era Ozzy, which can be a bad thing in excess. Its not my favorite thing, because acoustic songs generally aren’t(along with Ozzmosis era Ozzy…Thunder Underground aside).
Overall, Cold Dark Place is a weird album, but it does have it’s moments of massive riffage that seems to be expected of Mastodon. I feel like they may have been listening to a lot of 90s alternative rock in between Sabbath bong ripping sessions. The lead guitar work is great though and THESE GUYS RIP!
http://www.mastodonrocks.com/
https://m.facebook.com/Mastodon/
https://www.instagram.com/mastodonrocks/?hl=en
TOUR DATES:
September 30 Louder Than Life Festival (w/ Five Finger Death Punch) Louisville, KY
October 1 JJO Sonic Boom Janesville, WI
October 3 The Ritz Raleigh, NC
October 4 The Fillmore Charlotte, NC
October 6 The Fox Theatre Atlanta, GA
October 7 BB&T Pavilion Camden, NJ
October 9 Metropolis Montreal, Canada
October 10 The Armory Rochester, NY
October 11 20 Monroe Live Grand Rapids, MI
October 13 Diamond Ballroom Oklahoma City, OK
October 14 Aztec Theater San Antonio, TX
October 15 Monster Energy House Open Air Houston, TX
October 17 Historic El Rey Theater Albuquerque, NM
October 19 House of Blues San Diego San Diego, CA
October 21 Monster Energy Aftershock (w/ He Is Legend) Sacramento, CA
October 23 Revolution Center Garden City, ID
October 24 Knitting Factory Spokane Spokane, WA
October 25 Orpheum Theatre Vancouver, Canada
October 27 Reno Ballroom Reno, NV
About the Author
David Brown 31, Athens, GA David noodly noodlys and squeedly deedlys in KarBomb and is think he looks cooler as a cartoon. Don't try to get in a rap battle with him, either.
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