Mastodon - The Hunter

Is it possible for an album to be brilliant and disappointing at the same time? That's how I feel about Mastodon's newest record, The Hunter. Which has made this album really hard to review. I love it... But I don't think it touches the epic greatness that was Crack the Skye.

On a musical level The Hunter has a lot of similar qualities as Crack the Skye. It's not like Mastodon went out of their way to create a different sound. The songs are shorter and less rifftastic but still solid. And tracks like Black Tongue, Stargasm, and The Hunter sound like they could easily fit in the middle of Crack the Skye. There are some great elements that harken back to Mastodon's earlier work (Blasteroid, Curl of the Burl, Spectrelight) as while as a whole bunch of new elements to the Mastodon sound.

The Hunter is a great record and I've been spinning it and loving it for days... But something's still missing. There was something that made Crack the Skye incredible that's just not on The Hunter. Great record, absolutely! But not on of my favorites of the year.