Best Seen, Not Heard
Mastodon
Call Of The Mastodon
(Relapse)
Unreleased material from heavy metal giants that was probably better left unreleased.
Our ass is still sore from the kicking Mastodon gave us on their 2004 masterpiece, Leviathan, and we aren’t even willing to entertain the notion this group aren’t one of the top five metal acts today. Bands are rarely born great, though, and Call Of The Mastodon proves this Atlanta quartet are no exception. This CD is a collection of songs from Mastodon’s first recording sessions: five of the nine songs were part of the 2001 EP Lifesblood, and the others sound like they were culled from the same sessions — everything was remixed and remastered but nothing is too impressive.
There are hints of today’s Mastodon during the title track and “Hail To Fire,” mostly the twist-and-turn arrangements and drummer Bränn Dailor’s manic fills. Often, though, Call sounds like a band with a faint idea of where they want to go, but no real notion of how to do it. Like a majority of the cuts, “Shadows That Move” and “Slickleg” are part piled on part piled on part — Brent Hinds and Bill Kelliher torching through as many Slayer riffs as possible and showing none of the discretion for the songcraft that made Leviathan so powerful. Bassist/frontman Troy Sanders’ vocals have never been the band’s strongpoint, and here they are completely unintelligible.
Smart move for Mastodon to release this after making a name for themselves, because a lot of people may never have made it to Leviathan otherwise.
— Trevor Fisher
Click here to download Mastodon’s “Hail To Fire.”
