Mastodon – Blood Mountain

I have heard this album over 150 times on cd and streaming and recently lucked into a never played copy of this release. You’ve never really heard this album until you’ve heard it like this.

Just acquired a really nice copy of this. After giving it a bath in the ultrasonic, it plays nice and quiet between tracks. Vinyl is flat. The marbled green looks awesome. Sound? Oh yes... very good. Great mix. Great balance. Thick on the low end to be powerful. Mids and highs are crisp and clear.

At some point around the half of the 2000s decade Mastodon were hailed as the band destined to carry on Metallica’s torch and the flame of North American metal, while getting some flattering opinions from the prog community.

All the above got my attention and made me get “Leviathan”, at the time their latest album. I wasn’t really impressed.

The guys sure had the chops and the anger, but I felt the whole thing to be too samey, centred on riffing and musical roughness, while I like my metal with ups and downs and, if possible, with a little melody.

So I shelved them until 2016, when I felt that I could use some heavy music. As the guys’ popularity had done anything but decline, one fine afternoon went to my local HMV and blindly purchased the three albums they had released since “Leviathan” to see what they had been up to.

“Blood Mountain” was the first in line, and the appropriately titled “The Wolf Is Loose” opened the album firing all cylinders in the best Motorhead tradition… on steroids and, in all fairness, that can be applied to the rest of the album: and endless sonic attack founded in ever changing, wild riffing and rhythmical unrest that fills everything, all the time.
A proper wall of sound with few moments for more “proggy” or psychedelic moments (i.e. the voice effects in “Circle Cysquatch” or the wild guitar effects in “Bladecatcher”).

My favourite is “Sleeping Giant”, because it creates an interesting build-up through some layers and soundscapes, wisely developed (the guitar starting around the first minute mark creates an epic background) through some nice arpeggio work. Quite the highlight of the album to me.

All in all, Mastodon might be your cup of tea if you are into stoner/ doom metal but feel like you could use a little change from your fix of 20 minutes slow 0-0-0-0 riffing, as Mastodon are quite a step forward from that.
For the rest of you, I guess they will be an acquired taste that will (or not!) click depending on your crave for some wild sonic attack. If that’s the case, then Mastodon are a match made in heaven (or hell!).

This 24b/96k version sounds like a remaster, and like listening to the master tape. The mix is perfect; not one element stands out from the rest, which means it's an easy listen from start to finish. The music emphasizes progressiveness over sludge.

So much more breathing room than the single LP! Listening to side 1 as I type and this is the best Sleeping Giant has ever sounded. Purchased at Reckless Records in Wicker Park, Chicago. It was 120 bucks in near mint condition. Worth every penny! Edit: Onto Disc 2 side C and sadly there’s some notable scuffs leading to some surface noise and a light skip on Colony of Birchmen, which isn’t too bad.

This pressing is honestly very good. For how eclectic this album is, the mixing and mastering here does all the tracks justice.

Record sounds good to me. I’m sure if I had a chance to compare to 45 version I would choose the 45. But I still say this sounds good, and alot less money. I ittedly don’t love this band so much that I’m willing spend what the 45 rpm versions are going for anyway.

No issues with my pressing, sound is a bit compressed but the wax is flat and silent.

Echoing other comments, pressing is great, packaging is perfunctory. No brainer.

Sounds fantastic. Great clarity, depth and bass. More words are needed.