Sometimes reviews don’t require an extensive, two-to-four page analysis to get the point across. As such, albums come out where the opinions are blunt and they don’t need to be justified. For Mastodon, Pallbearer, and Obituary, that’s entirely the case.
Mastodon – Emperor of Sands // What needs to be said for Mastodon at this point in their career? The band have been employing sludgy and proggy riffs, catchy choruses, and memorable albums since their inception, with their recent releases verging on a more accessible edge that solidified their place as one of the biggest metal bands today. Emperor of Sands is, for the most part, a return to form in their more traditional style, telling a story and sitting somewhere between Crack the Skye and Blood Mountain, with dashes of The Hunter sprinkled throughout.
“Sultan’s Curse” starts the album out on a high note as it seems like the band would have went this direction following Crack the Skye. However things do change when “Show Yourself” comes in, the lightest and catchiest song on the album, being the obvious bait for radio play. Everything else is pretty good, which sees them return to form if you ask me. As the album goes on, the songs become stronger and more massive in scale. It seems Mastodon have finally got their sound to the point where it has something for everyone.
Pallbearer – Heartless // In the past five years, Pallbearer have come out swinging. Formations of Burden built off of Sorrow and Extinction, getting them the fame they so deserved for crafting well-focused, engaging doom metal. Heartless experiments with what they did on Sorrow and Extinction, what with varying song lengths, some sound experimentation, and emotion in every massive chord, which sound so clear it’s like you’re standing in the room with them. (Minus the body shaking vibrations)
If you’re not on the Pallbearer hype train by now, this is always a good place to start. However, haters (Are there any?) won’t be convinced, all the while fans will be overly satisfied with Heartless. If anything would detract from the album, it’s that while the band does experiment a bit, those risks are somewhat predictable. At the same time, they’re still writing good songs and their vibe is going strong. Can’t stop the hype when it’s this massive.
Obituary – Obituary // By comparison to the gap between previous releases, two and a half years isn’t that long of a wait for Obituary fans. Right away from the album title and cover you should know what to expect from this one: straight up death metal, no bullshit, and that’s that. Vocalist John Tardy sounds excellent here, and the band just keeps going and going. Songs barely break the four minute mark and in under 35 minutes you’ve got yourself hard hitting death metal.
Sure, you can criticize this album for taking zero risks whatsoever. That’s always a drawback, especially when you’re now ten albums deep into your 30-plus year career. The general production is nasty, though, and it just suits the music, which doesn’t overstay its welcome either. It’s just death metal and it’s done well, too. There’s not much else to say.
