LPA Album Club BETA

Mastodon is HEAVY, woooow

 

This one’s definitely going to be a bit more of an acquired taste for me. Still interesting, though.

 

For me this is a bit of an opportunity to rediscover the album.

I actually remember "Blood Moutain" as my favorite Mastodon record, but suggested "Leviathan" due to its bigger cultural significance. But of course I like it a lot as well

 

It’s being a journey for me. Buuuttt really really interesting

 

I've listened to this album on several occasions at the behest of Gibs and also in high school because of a classmate's recommendation, but I've always wound up not listening very intentionally after "I Am Ahab" if I'm being honest.

This was more of my first real listen to this album. I gave it a few front-to-back listens, first with lyrics in front (since it is a concept album), then focusing on the arrangement of the music. And I'm embarrassed to say that even between the track names and the cover art, it never occurred to me until this time that this was a Moby-Dick-inspired concept album. Just one of those silly Chris moments I suppose. But I felt having read that novel (and seen some of the 1956 movie adaptation) enriched my enjoyment of the musical concept.

Highlights:

• Blood and Thunder (great opener, strong song, really sets the tone for the album in my opinion)
• Megalodon (great intro on this song, loved the guitar work)
• Naked Burn (fun buildup in the intro without overindulging, loved the clean vocal melodies here, and also enjoyed the short acoustic/electric guitar passages which had interesting rhythm)
• Hearts Alive (really great melodic instrumentation; it's a progressive long song serving as the climax, which appeals to me; I loved the contrast throughout between the arpeggiated acoustic passages and the more sustained electric parts; that bridge section ["The iron side / Bucket of lead" etc.] was also magnificent)
• Joseph Merrick (strong favorite, just because it felt the most unique and I loved the acoustic and organ (or maybe a guitar with a Leslie or something?) flavors. The sound of the latter to me really evokes the idea of water and the aftermath of the great battle in the novel. I'm curious as to the meaning of this name, since Joseph Merrick was an actual person but had nothing to do with Moby Dick. It seems they named another track after him later as well: "The Elephant Man."

Other thoughts:

• I'd say top three are "Blood and Thunder," "Hearts Alive," and "Joseph Merrick" after two listens.
• I've come to love more resonant snare tones after becoming a Dream Theater fan (Mike Portnoy really loves resonant snares), so I loved the snare production. Three years ago I would have said the opposite, and hated the less punchy and not as sharp drums, which might be why I enjoyed it much more this time around. Drums in general were great; I love percussion and drums so that part was very fulfilling and made for a fun listen.
• I really liked the few times clean vocals came in. The harsh vocals weren't especially grabbing for me, but not bad either. They worked, and that's about as much as I can say about them for my tastes.
• There was a some riffage that didn't really resonate with me a lot. I'm not often the biggest fan of big guitar riffage-dominated songs these days, and find it lacks dynamic when riffage takes the forefront a lot. There were some great lead guitar parts interspersed that really hooked me, like on "Naked Burn," "Aqua Dementia," or "Hearts Alive," and seems like it became less riff-y on the second half of the album. But the first few songs felt a little more difficult to stay with.

Overall, solid album, maybe not as much of a "classic" for me as its status as a metal staple gives it for others, but nonetheless an album I enjoyed listening to!

 

Really cool review @Christøffer !!! I’ll post mine anytime soon.

 

I wasn’t expecting anyone to post their “Leviathan” thoughts yet. My only solid idea for structure was that each album would get its own thread, once a week. (Though, I did say there was no wrong way to participate!) Would you be open to posting that review in the “Week 3” thread tomorrow? @Christøffer @juancpin

I need to draft up an overarching guide to plug in to OPs. All that aside, heck yeah, love the attention to detail.

edit; or maybe I should create a single thread that serves as the whole idea and every week we do.

 

Yeah @ScatterMatter! maybe, to make it less rigid, we can agree when to post thoughts, every album on the same thread, maybe?

 

I was thinking the Session thread does this formula well. Maybe I’ll overhaul this thread after all.

 

Hitting re-ignition, week 2 is up! Not much I could say would come close to your analysis, @Christøffer. I like your insights here. I realized reading comments on YT that it was a concept related to the book "Moby Dick", but I haven't read it personally. How closely or loosely is it related would you say? Are there shared points in the album?

I listened to this album at least four times over this week but I couldn't get as invested as I was with ATCQ last week. By the end of my last listen, though, I liked it well enough. I appreciate the vocals for feeling different from the metal I personally come across lately. I couldn't get into the story telling but maybe that's because of a lack of knowledge. The last thing I liked was, aside from "Hearts Alive", none of the tracks felt too long at all. And honestly, it's a valid exception. All in all, I didn't dislike it, but I think the only track I'd maybe add to a playlist, for example, is "Blood and Thunder".

(I've updated the thread title and OP! Also, I'm nominating Dead Poet Society - "Axiom" for rock week.)

 

Ok, here’s my take guys.

First at all, this thing, this band is Heavy. So powerful riffs. It’s not a sound I’m used to, but once you go through twice you can handle anything.

Blood and Thunder is a really cool opening setting the tone and the narrative. (Funny thing: never read Moby Dick, and has tricked me to get it from my library)

Is not an album I’d come back constantly but I’ll revisit from time to time, and also explore more Mastodon. (The Morherload is good).

I enjoyed particularly the trio Island - Iron Tusk - Megalodon. I found them really
Cool intertwined. Hearts alive is a journey on its own, a cool landscaping exercise.

Joseph Merrick as an ending sets a relaxing counterpoint I like, a rest after a battle.

While I loved the guitars, somehow I found the drums like… poor? Idk, ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ I like my drums over produced and Colined.

All in all, I’m glad we all have submerged in this experience.

For rock… Foo Fighters- Wasting Light.

P.S. @ScatterMatter what about an embedded web tool for polling? Is it feasible?

 

I thought about poll creators, actually! I may start using them. I was also wondering if it could just be as simple as your nomination being your vote, unless someone convinced you to nominate the same album.

 

your nomination being your vote, unless someone convinced you to nominate the same album. This is actually a pretty good idea

 

@ScatterMatter so I'm fuzzy on the specifics of many of the novel's plot details because it's been years, but I'd say it’s not a strict retelling of the novel, though does draw significant inspiration and more or less tells at least the relevant parts of the story in sequential order (though nothing from the introductory and plot-establishing sections at the beginning). "Island" is an original concept I believe, nothing to do with the events of the book. Leviathan also borrows some direct textual references I think - I know I read that the title "Hearts Alive" came from a one-off line in the book.

They seem to hone in on the obsession and doom of Ahab against an overwhelming force of nature (the "Leviathan"...roll credits). Herman Melville obviously had a lot of themes since he had a whole novel to explore, while Mastodon more hones in on the epic struggle against an unstoppable force. Mastodon also brings in Norse mythology angle to their concept at one point ("Island"), while Moby-Dick is very heavy on Biblical allusions.

So I'd say...somewhere in the middle? Not a one-to-one, but the album still very roughly follows the story and is thematically tied to some of the core themes of the novel.

Idk if anyone actually cares about having the book's plot details spoiled, but:

Spoiler

I definitely felt like the last two tracks really resonated with my memory of reading the novel. The "spiraled lives" section in "Hearts Alive" immediately conjured up the section where Moby Dick creates a vortex in the ocean that pretty much drowns everyone, and "Joseph Merrick" really feels like it captures the idea of the aftermath of the last battle in the book where Ishmael is the lone survivor, floating on a coffin.

 

Maybe trying to whip up a pace is not practical at this stage in the idea. Weeks will just begin when possible.

We’ve got two nominations for rock week, iirc. Is that enough? Anyone else? And last. If it’s an issue of the genre we’re on, want to vote on a new choice?

 

Regarding Leviathan:

As with most Mastodon albums, for me the bones of the record are to be found in the drumming department. Technical, somewhat unpredictable, but also not overindulging. It creates really fun grooves to follow, and I think the way the drums are produced compliment that playing style very well. It's almost a bit jazzy at times. There is a song from them I absolutely adore, that pushes their drumming madness even further, but it's unfortunately one that isn't on this album, but on the next one ("Capillarian Crest", for anyone curious).

Beside the drums, I like how the songs on the album have lots of guitar layers, that, combined with the vocals, create an oppressive, yet sometimes mysterious and almost mystical atmosphere. One thing that did surprise me is how much more aggressive vocals this record contains, in comparison to their subsequent work. They do the job fine, but I think this may be one of the weaker points on the album. I think, later in their career, the band started being more selective as to when to use aggressive vocals, maximizing their impact, and also just got better at pulling them off ^^'

Finally, I'll echo some of what has been said before regarding the difficulty to identify the songs. Somehow, it feels like Leviathan is an album based more on atmosphere, in a state of continuous flow, where the individuality of each song matters less than the overall story. Which, considering it's a concept album based on literature, makes sense. The one true big, easy-to-remember song from this pack is of course its first song, "Blood and Thunder". An abrasive, iconic start to an album that, to me, always remains pleasing to dive into

For Rock :

Incubus - Morning View

 

I agree @Qwerty19, it's more an atmosphere than single separated track, hard to discern sometimes one from another. But it's a cool groove nonetheless.

So we've got:

Dead Poet Society - "Axiom"
Foo Fighters - "Wasting Light"
Incubus - "Morning View"

@minuteforce @Christøffer may you want to throw some Rock albums in and shall we get a random one? What ya think @ScatterMatter @Qwerty19 ?

 

I was racking my brain for this week, unsure of what to suggest or put my interest behind but Deftones definitely sound interesting for all the ways I hear their name pop up. I’d vote for them this week.