Triple Treat Theater

Ok, been forever since I last posted and a lot has happened.

Scion Fest fucking destroyed the known universe. If you give a shit about this monumental event, you were either there or wept while reading all about how awesome it was, so need need for further recap here at this late date. Suffice it to say it was a show for the ages and we must pray to the Dark Lord that they do it again next year.

What else? (Most of) The Mastodon album leaked. I'm sure you've all heard it and have formulated your own opinions by know. I'm actually waiting for a proper copy to listen again, but how well the new stuff slipped into their live set in ATL bodes well for how this record will eventually settle into our brains.

The Kylesa album leaked and it fucking destroys. Their best yet by far and sure to be one of this year's strongest releases. Truly one of the sickest bands out there right now.

WITTR's Dark Cascade also hit the pre-release download circuit. Another crushing four-song epic from these guys. Crystal Ammunition is a ridiculously sweet phrase/concept and a ridiculously sweet song. They're touring soon, can't wait to see them live again.

Ok, on to the new stuff.

How rad is it when you go to see two out of three bands on a bill and the third one turns out to be just as good? Love that shit.

That's exactly what happened to me last night. Went to Philly to see Woe and Javelina at the Kung Fu Necktie. Great venue, btw. Had never seen Woe before, but love the album. Was curious to see how the live show would turn out since Chris Grigg wrote and played everything on the record. Apparently last night marked the debut of their Iron Maiden style three guitar lineup and the good news is that the whole thing translated great live. Woe fucking ripped and were loud as shit. Hung with Chris for a bit after the show, really cool guy. Psyched to see what they come up with next.

Javelina headlined and were really sick. This was my second time seeing this awesomely fat, bald and bearded quartet and they slayed even harder in front of a home town crowd. Their album is solid, but it doesn't really prepare you for the shreditude of their live onslaught. If you get a chance, go see these guys live. You'll be psyched you did.

As for the pleasant surprise, the third band on the bill was a crew called Howl from Providence. These guys are fucking awesome. Huge, crushing riffs that veer between Kill Em All era Metallica and pummeling doom. And they have a hot chick bass-player. Doesn't seem like they have anything out yet, but peep their myspace- www.myspace.com/howlheavymetal . It doesn't really do justice to how sweet their show is, but it'll give you an idea. They're on tour now, see them if you can. I'm definitely going to make a point to catch them again at SXSW next week.

That's all for now. Hope to have some updates from Austin next week.

At Last . . . Crack The Skye

Thanks to a very cool and generous friend who got me into a listening session, I heard the new Mastodon album yesterday.

The band was there and they were very cool and friendly. I've met them in passing a few times, but this was the only time I got to really talk and hang with them. Really good guys.

Crack The Skye is everything the band said it was going to be- proggier, more psychedelic, not as hard/heavy, spacier/airier, more melodic, more emphasis on lyrics/vocals (both in the mix and song structure), etc.

I'm sure folks who know me are expecting me to say I was disappointed at this point, but I'm not going to.

Here is the most important thing I can tell you about Crack The Skye- It is definitely a Mastodon album.

When you hear it, there is no other band in the world that could have made it. The familiar elements are there, just utilized in different ways. The guitar parts are signature Mastodon, lots of high-pitched noodling with lots of deep, riffy chugging behind it. There isn't quite as much room for Brann to break out the fireworks as much as he usually does, but when you do feel him, it's classic Brann. Throughout the album, the vocals make up more of each song than in the past and they are considerably cleaner than before. Best comparison would be to the melodic parts of Colony of Birchmen.

In the past, Mastodon has kept the soul-pummeling dial pretty much set to 9.5, with frequent forays into 11 territory, and only rarely dipping below 8. This album's primary setting is 7, ventures up to 9 now and then and even eases into the 5-6 zone at times.

The first song released, Divinations, is actually a pretty good indicator of what most of the album sounds like. It’s a sound that’s more compelling when the album is consumed as a whole than when broken up into individual pieces.

The Czar and Ghost of Karelia were my two favorite songs and they come back to back in the middle of the album. The Czar has a really sick change up in the middle where it transforms into what sounds a lot like a lost Sabbath track, all the way down to some very Ozzyesque vocals (and I mean that in an entirely positive way) . Like a lot of the album, Ghost of Karelia is hard to describe, but pretty damn kick ass.

The Last Baron is an insanely epic, multi-part, 13 minute epic that closes out the album. It’s so big and sprawling that it’s hard to describe more than its vast scope without repeated listens.

I haven’t been a big Brendan O'Brien fan, and his role as producer had concerned me, but I didn't really hear his stamp all over this. Yes, it's a SLIGHTLY cleaner sound than before, but that suits the material and it probably would have been foolish to approach it any other way, regardless of who was producing.

Given what I’d read prior to hearing the album, my cynical side was prepared to think “Well, it's their second major-label album, they've gone cleaner/more melodic/accessible, worked with the big commercial rock producer, etc.” and conclude that this is their Black Album and the Mastodon we know and love is no more. But it doesn't feel that way. Listening to it, you get the impression that this is the album they really wanted to make and would have made regardless of circumstances. Dare I say this may be a case of that creative evolution bands are always carrying on about.

Does evolution always equal a good thing from a fan’s perspective? Not necessarily. And does the fact that Crack The Skye may legitimately be the album Mastodon wanted/needed to make right now automatically place it in the same league as their previous work? Again, not necessarily. Personally, I’m not sure I’d rank it there, at least not after only two listens.

Might this end up being your (or my) fourth favorite Mastodon album? Maybe. But it's still very much a Mastodon album and given the standard they've set, even fourth best wouldn't be too shabby and is still better than 90% of the other records out there. That’s much more than we can say about plenty of other bands who have “evolved.”

Of course, all of this is subject to revision upon further listens.

Zoroastadon

Atlanta psyche/sludge outfit Zoroaster have a new LP on the way. It's called Voice of Saturn and it's hitting stores March 10th. It'll be available online (assuming this means iTunes and other digital retailers) Feb 10th.

You can check Spirit Molecule, the first track to surface from the album, by clicking the link above.

The Zoroaster boys also treated fans to the following update on Sunday-

"Special Guest on Voice of Saturn announced!!

As some of you may have figured out by now, Brent Hinds of Mastodon appears on the track, " White Dwarf ", on our upcoming release " Voice of Saturn". Brent's eery vocals and blistering guitar solo we're an incredible addition to the song. It was a pleasure to have him aboard for the recording!!!!"

Sounds pretty damn cool. Psyched to hear it.

Catch the pre-release excitement live and in person at any of the following shows-

Feb 12, 8:00P Drunken Unicorn Atlanta, Georgia
Feb 13, 8:00P Drips Coffeehouse w/ US Christmas Hickory, North Carolina
Feb 14, 9:00P Nara Sushi Richmond, Virginia
Feb 15, 8:00P Europa w/ Amenra Brooklyn, New York
Feb 16, 8:00P AS220 w/ Amenra Providence, Rhode Island
Feb 17, 8:00P The Church of Boston w/ Amenra Boston, Massachusetts
Feb 18, 8:00P 242 Main w/ Amenra Burlington, Vermont
Feb 19, 8:00P Katacomes w/ Amenra Montreal, Quebec
Feb 20, 8:00P Siesta Nouveaux w/ Amenra Toronto, Ontario
Feb 21, 8:00P Mac’s Bar w/ Amenra Lansing, Michigan
Feb 22, 8:00P Borg Ward w/ Amenra Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Feb 23, 8:00P The Empty Bottle w/ Amenra Chicago, Illinois
Feb 24, 8:00P Howards Club H w/ Amenra Bowling Green, Ohio
Feb 25, 8:00P Talking Head w/ Amenra Baltimore, Maryland
Feb 26, 8:00P America w/ Amenra New Brunswick, New Jersey
Feb 27, 8:00P Johnny Brenda’s w/ Amenra, Starkweather Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Feb 28, 1:00P SCION ROCK FEST @ The Masquerade Atlanta, Georgia
Mar 16, 8:00P Downtown Music w/ Kylesa Little Rock, Arkansas
Mar 18, 8:00P
Reno’s Chop Shop w/ Battlefields, Irepress Dallas, Texas
Mar 19, 8:00P TBA - SxSW Austin, Texas
Mar 20, 8:00P TBA - SxSW Austin, Texas
Mar 21, 8:00P TBA - SxSW Austin, Texas
Mar 25, 8:00P The Nick Birmingham, Alabama
Mar 27, 9:00P Drunken Unicorn -VOICE OF SATURN release show w/ Hell Come To Town, Subrig Destroyer Atlanta, Georgia

Mastodon Monday Continues

As promised, here is the newly revealed cover art from Crack The Skye-

Click it to see a big ass version.

The Rasputiny guys are pretty sweet, if a little too made-on-a-computer for my taste, and the bear is bad ass (sure to inspire some ink). I dig that they included all the previous album symbols. Stay tuned for more Mastonews as it breaks.

First Taste of Skye

As mentioned below, Divinations, the first song from Mastodon's forthcoming album Crack The Skye, was supposed to debut on BBC tonight. Apparently it leaked a little early.

You can check it out here.

My first impression, despite being a borderline fanatical Mastodon fan, is that it's a little underwhelming. Like I said before, I've had some concerns about this album for a minute since I'm not a big fan of Brendan O'Brien as a producer and the band's description of the album as a step away from the crushingly heavy stuff was troubling to me. Unfortunately, listening to Divinations doesn't eliminate those worries about the album. Yes, it still sounds distinctly like Mastodon, which is great, but I'm not sure about the cleanish vocals (which is funny, because I love the clean vocals on Naked Burn), it's a little more wanky than ballsy , and even my favorite part, the surfy guitar that comes in at 2:14, is more interesting than awesome. Lyrics involving Vikings are definitely a plus though.

All that said, I've loved everything these guys have done so far and have been to more than a dozen of their shows, so I will reserve judgment on Crack The Skye until I get to hear the album in its entirety. With luck, that will be soon.

Divine Revelations

Next week promises some cool first glimpses at anticipated new albums from Mastodon and Kylesa.

Mastodon's Crack The Skye teaser campaign is picking up steam.

In addition to Monday's album art reveal that I posted about yesterday, it looks like they'll be debuting the first single from the album on Monday too. Then on Tuesday a limited edition single/t-shirt thing will become available.

Here are the details from their website-

"Jan.22, 2009 – (Burbank, CA) – Atlanta-based, Globally-revered hard rock behemoths MASTODON will reveal a brand new song, “Divinations,” from their highly anticipated, long-awaited new studio album, CRACK THE SKYE, this coming Monday, Jan 26, on BBC Radio One’s “Rockshow” in the U.K. American fans can tune in to the radio debut via the internet by following link: http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/rockshow/.
The follow day Tues. Jan. 27, fans will have the opportunity to buy the “Divinations” bundle which will be comprised of a two-track CD-single (“Divinations,” along with an instrumental, non-album version of the track) and an exclusive album art T-shirt unavailable anywhere else. The single will also be available digitally as well from iTunes and all other participating digital retailers.
This direct to consumer bundle is only available through http://www.mastodonrocks.com
Supplies will be extremely limited so don’t delay."

In case you're wondering, that radio show airs from midnight-2am Tuesday morning in the UK. So 7pm Monday Feb 26th in NY and 4pm Monday in LA. (The rest of the world can do their own math.)

I'm cautiously optimistic about checking out the new single (Brendan O'Brien behind the boards and the band's self-described less aggressive approach have me a little worried), but it would have been cooler if the debuted it on their site or myspace or something.

Can't say i really care about the single/t-shirt, but I'm sure some collectors will dig that. Personally, I just want to hear the album already.

As for Kylesa, they posted the following on their MySpace page today-

"It's high time for some updat​es and we'​ll be updat​ing our site and news in the following days.​ We'​re going​ to uploa​d a​ track​ from our new album​ "​Stati​c Tensi​ons"​ on Tuesd​ay.​ It's the third​ track​ on the new recor​d and it's calle​d "​Said and Done"​.
​
We'​ve also got a 7" featu​ring anoth​er song off the new album​ (​with a B side)​ comin​g out on Hyper​reali​st Recor​ds.​ We'​ll have a handf​ul to sell at the upcom​ing Amebi​x shows​ with silks​creen​ed cover​s.​.​.​.​more info on these​ pups soon.​.​.​."

Have high expectations for this album based on their previous releases. Can't wait to hear the new song. They don't specify, but I assume Tuesday's debut will be on their MySpace or website.

Start Booking Those Tattoo Appointments

Mastodon will be revealing the cover art for their eagerly anticipated album Crack The Skye on Monday. Thanks to the crafty marketing geniuses at Warner Bros, you'll have to be signed up for their mailing list to see it. Get all the details here.

For those of you who fear Big Brother Bunny, I will try and post the artwork here when I receive it Monday. Stay tuned.

Crack The Skye hits stores March 9th.