Mastodon - Hushed and Grim (October 29th, 2021) • Page 9

Steambreather is the one on Emperor of Sand

 

that riff is fuckin killer

 

Emperor of Sand is my favorite Mastodon album, hands down.

 

Controversial take…I love Brann, but they overused his vocals heavily on the last few albums. I’d rather have had more Brent

 

I don’t disagree, but I don’t know if… Brent’s mental capacity allows him for too much more than what they’re asking out of him these days.

 

Uh? I need context

 

Have you watched any of their recent (last two album cycles) making of videos, or any of his interviews? 1. I think he had a bad crash which made him have to have surgery on his head at some point. 2. It’s very apparent he’s used drugs of some form for a very long time. He can’t string together two coherent sentences.

 

He said some very homophobic stuff in an interview about Dream Theater from what I remember. The band later said his thoughts are his own

 

I vaguely recall Brann telling a fan of fans in general that he would talk to Brent, but obviously have no idea how that played out. It was shitty to see from Brent

 

I got into the band with this album and haven't dug into any behind the scenes stuff, except for the Drumeo videos Brann features on, so this is a bummer to read

 

I had a zoom guitar lesson with Bill, great dude. He didn't say anything explicitly, but implicitly I got the vibe that Brent doesn't want to really sing. The Beast was all him, but he alluded to the fact that he just doesn't seem that interested in singing.

That's just my very biased take based on vibes though, so grain of salt with that.

 

I don’t know much about this band but I see Brann and Bill out in my neighborhood all the time. Often together with their friends/family. Never once seen them and Brent in the same place so I wonder how well they actually get along.

I get the vibe that Mastodon is just work for Brent and he enjoys his chicken pickin’ projects more.

 

I think you're right about it not being his main focus. Brent is nowhere to be seen in the video about their Lamb of God collab, for instance.

 

i am fine with the singing balance they choose to put on their own records

 

They all have such unique singing voices I am cool with however they want to split, but anytime Brent shows up singing it does feel like a highlight. He’s got that whiskey drenched southern rock thing down to a science.

 

Yeah they will do what's best for their music/what they want to do, but damn do Brent's vocals really add something special.

 

What's the best place to start with this band or order to go through? Fwiw, I prefer big, riffy, potentially slower stoner shit. I know they've evolved a lot from their first record to now but am literally only familiar with the Aqua Teen song lol

 

Sounds like you should start with “Crack the Skye”

 

Crack the Skye is generally their agreed upon pinnacle currently. Go further back for more harsh vocals and faster, sludgier stuff. Go forward from there for more rock and less metal, until Emperor of Sand, which, IMO, was a somewhat return to form.

 

Cool, a buddy of mine thought that might be a good entry point for what I was describing but I was curious about the consensus on here. Pressing play now!

 

Immediately love everything about this except for Brent's vocals lol. Kind of like doing an Ozzy impression with a ham sandwich in your mouth. The music and other vocals kick enough ass that I don't care though

 

eh i’d say leviathan is still their pinnacle. crack the skye was a great pivot for them and probably their last great album but leviathan is still what holds their legacy. i agree it’s probably the album aaron would like the most though

 

I think that's Brann, the drummer. Are you talking about the person who sings first on Oblivion, the opening track? Brann sings the verse, Troy sings the pre-chorus, and Brent does the chorus on that one.

 

(not so) fun fact about my relationship with Crack the Skye: I totaled my car when I was 18 and still have some scars from it, 15+ years later. I was listening to Divinations when it happened.

 

I checked Genius and I thought it was Brent, but I'm too lazy to double-check rn

This happened to me with The Moon & Antarctica, my favorite Modest Mouse album. Got t-boned during "Gravity Rides Everything."