Tampa Calling

Is Mastodon, which I witnessed rock the State Theatre last year, fixing to pull a Metallica circa 1991? That’s what Rolling Stone is reporting, sorta, in the new issue. The Atlanta metal band’s upcoming album is being produced by Brendan O’Brien (Bruce Springsteen, Pearl Jam). “We wanted to make something a little broader,” says drummer Brann Dailor. “A classic-rock-sounding record.”

The reason for the more mellow (by metal standards) vibe? Guitarist/vocalist Brent Hinds’ head injury resulting from a boozy brawl following the MTV VMAs in September 2007.

From RollingStone.com:

O’Brien brought a relaxed vibe to the studio and helped flesh out the album’s classic-rock heart. “Quintessence” adds spacey washes of synthesizers and vocal harmonies to the brawny riffs and piercing guitar lines. The thrashing “Divinations” comes on like Master of Puppets-era Metallica, only with soaring vocals and a bright chorus, and “Oblivion” inserts a bluesy guitar solo into a sinister, multitempo, prog-metal epic.

The finished album will contain only seven songs, and, like previous Mastodon outings, will be a concept record. After past efforts focused on fire, water and earth, the new disc will explore air, ghosts and the ethereal world. The group has talked about eventually combining the releases into a box set called The Elements.

“Musically and lyrically, this is the record we’d be writing if we weren’t going to exist tomorrow,” says Sanders. “We don’t feel like we have to do a certain type of record to please a certain group. We’re free to change.”

[From Issue 1063 — October 16, 2008]

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