Artist: Mastodon
Title: Divinations
Several years ago I witnessed Mastodon in a live setting (a Tool support slot in 2006) and generally found them an agreeable music experience. They knew how to put on a good performance, were obviously talented musicians and songwriters. Oh yeah and the singer didn’t ‘grunt’ his way through the lyrics.
‘Divinations’ is available here as a one-track promo for their forthcoming fourth album proper, ‘Crack The Skye’, due for release on March 24th. I only wish there were more songs available so I could put together a more complete picture of what to expect from the new album, but for now this’ll have to do.
Opening with a banjo fading in, ‘Divinations’ doesn’t take long to launch full throttle into an energetic tune of the highest order. Amidst the ensuing chaos when it sounds like every guitarist available on the day of recording joins in to set the pace – and you think things may start falling apart – the drums enter with gusto to hold everything together.
The Atlanta-based four-piece cram so much into the three and a half minutes, it’s easy to resist any temptation that may arise to scan through the song as you have no idea what could happen next.
The layered guitars on the chorus, the vocals – brilliantly sung, as is the whole song, by singer/bassist Troy Sanders – it’s all just so powerful and infectious. It’s not hard to see how the band have acquired such a dedicated following over the years.
The guitar solo has a feel similar to ‘Knights of Cydonia’ by Muse, then before you know it the song comes to an end. No spectacular endings, drawn out past the five minute mark for maximum effect. The song does its job and finishes leaving you racing for the repeat button.
For the die-heard fans amongst us, it’s worth mentioning that if you purchase the new album via their website, it’s available in limited edition packaging, which as well as looking really cool it’s a great example of why downloading won’t completely kill off physical album sales. It’s a shame most bands overlook the potential of album artwork.
For more information on Mastodon you can visit their website at: www.mastodonrocks.com
‘Divinations’ is available digitally from iTunes and all other participating digital retailers.
By James Lewis