![]() ![]() I think this is easily the best song on the album. Favorite lyric: “Time calls to me from future and from past.” Old-school Mastodon fans will probably find this their favorite, but it’s got enough going on to stand on its own merit for fans old and new. It combines the discordance and intensity of Leviathan and Blood Mountain with the prog influence and spacey vocal sounds of Crack the Skye. I find this track to be the most “throwback” of the album. Favorite lyrics: “Give your life / So I can breathe.” Clandestiny is the most emotional of the songs thus far. This album has, I think, the best vocals of Mastodon’s discography in terms of composition. Sanders and Hinds tackle this song’s vocals, again featuring beautiful harmony on the chorus. It stays pretty heavy, with one spacey, synthy interlude punctuating the affair halfway through. This track starts off heavy with one of my favorite riffs of the entire album. Favorite lyrics: “The battle that rages before my eyes / Is no different than the one that is inside my head.” ![]() All three vocalists are featured again, moving from Dailor to Sanders to Hinds (and various combinations of the three). I actually think this is the weakest song on the album, but the chorus has a fantastic combination of vocal melody and guitar harmony. This song has the most narrative-heavy lyrics of the album, I’d say. Guitars and synth combine to introduce this fast-paced journey. Favorite lyrics: “I was to blame for all the rain.” The transition to the chorus is a bit more jarring than in the other songs. ![]() Another good and diverse track, though I feel it gets overshadowed by its predecessor a bit. More intensity, as Sanders once again growls over driving guitars and shifting time signatures. Favorite lyrics: “And when you sit and picture me / Remember sitting in the sun and dancing in the rain.” There’s a lot going on in this track, and all of it good. The outro features creepy spoken words and a long, soulful guitar solo, fading to echoey piano notes. This song just doesn’t let up, even during the spacey bridge. Sanders has verse duty this time, with Dailor soaring over lush guitar during the slower but equally intense chorus. Favorite lyrics: “I wonder where I stand / I’m afraid of myself.”Ī somewhat psychedelic intro gives way into an intense burst of crunchy sound. This is the song I sing along with the most. Hinds comes out of nowhere with a driving bridge, followed by one last beautiful chorus. ![]() Dailor’s vocals really shine on this track, which features my favorite chorus of the album, with Sanders joining in gorgeous harmony. A ridiculously heavy, distorted riff sets off this dark, mysterious song. This is the track that really made me take notice and realize how good this album was shaping up to be. Favorite lyrics: “I’m covered head to toe / With diamonds in the rough.” Lots of key and rhythm changes keep you on your toes. Hinds leads the vocals this time, with some gorgeous harmonies coming in for the chorus. The third track takes a different tack than the first two, bringing in that signature Mastodon sludgy-prog sound. Favorite lyric: “Sail into the void without your worries.” Dailor’s vocals take center stage, with Sanders taking care of the choruses. Despite being softer on the ears vocally, it doesn’t sacrifice too much heaviness: the bridge and guitar solos will make you bang your head just as hard as the rest of the album (except maybe one track, which we’ll get to later). This is the most “radio friendly” track on the album, with a straightforward and catchy melody. Favorite lyric: “Tears are strong as ten thousand tongues.” There’s nothing terribly complex about this song, but it contains enough diversity of sound to set the table for the rest of the album. All three vocalists (Sanders, guitarist Brent Hinds, and drummer Brann Dailor) get featured on this song as it shifts from driving rhythm to more open, drifting passages. The album starts off strong, with a chugging riff and bassist Troy Sanders’s gruff vocals. Rather than just say, “this album is really good and I like it,” I figured I’d go through each song and describe just what I like so much about each one. That should give you a glimpse of how much I like this album. I have listened to it in its entirety four times since that date. Reviewing “Emperor of Sand,” Track by TrackĪmerican progressive metal band Mastodon released its seventh studio album on March 31st. ![]()
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