Blood and Thunder
I was watching rage last night and couldn’t believe the amount of mediocre, middle of the road, indie rubbish that is around at the moment. Female vocalists that all sound the same – singing about nothing in particular in that high pitch cutesy fashion. It’s so inoffensive it’s offensive – how the hell did I get stuck in an elevator in my own living room?
In order to cleanse myself I switched off the tv and pressed play on the CD player (how old skool am I?), sat back and listened to two of my favourite albums of the last few weeks – Amputechture by The Mars Volta and Blood Mountain by Mastodon. Both albums could be described as progressive (which I know is still a dirty word – although even Pitchfork is beginning to see the light) however both offer completely different listening experiences.
On Amputechture Omar Rodriguez-Lopez’s guitar work really reminds me of Jimmy Page in a ‘tight but loose’ sense however the soundscapes created owe more to Pink Floyd (Animals era), Santana (Woodstock era) and even Robert Wyatt (check out Rock Bottom – one of my all time favourite albums). Despite these influences The Mars Volta are one of the few current bands that have genuinely forged a signature sound – you can immediately tell that Amputechture is a Mars Volta record.
Mastodon are quickly gaining a reputation as the new saviours of metal. Their previous release Leviathan, a concept album based loosely on Moby Dick, was my favourite album last year. Such was the quality of that release that I approached Blood Mountain with some trepidation. I needn’t have worried – the album is brutal – within the first 10 seconds of listening I was grinning ear to ear. The musicianship is top-notch – the only real downer is that the lyrics can get a little too dungeons and dragons for my liking. I’d definitely recommend the album – they put on a great live show as well – so hopefully they make it to Australia soon.
Well that’s my recommendations for this week – you’ll have to excuse me now – I just discovered the Blood and Thunder tab on the Mastodon website. Time for guitar practise!
October 8th, 2006 at 10:35 am
Loving the Mastodon album. Such a deep and complex slab of music. They are both simillar bands in their delivery of their music – even if they are poles apart in their musical stylings. Ironically enough, Cedric Bixler-Zavala from the Volta guests on the Mastodon album.
October 8th, 2006 at 2:34 pm
yeah i’m hoping that either the cedric or josh homme guest appearance will lead to a little airplay on triple j – i tried to push the last album but i guess for airplay they really need a radio friendly single (think what chop suey did for system of a down).
October 14th, 2006 at 5:43 pm
well, you have been a busy boy matthew… haven’t been here for a while but i like what you have done with the place.
i’m with you on the mars volta call… another truly impressive effort. as for the latest mastadon, have listened to it much yet but like what i’ve heard so far.
October 16th, 2006 at 12:47 pm
Amputechture is just not growing on me.. I’ve tried and tried but just cant get through the album and still like Mars Volta.. I love De-Loused and Frances The Mute but yeh, just cant get into Amputechture..sorry..
June 27th, 2007 at 7:19 am
they are amazing! best new band out there.
i’m gonna see them the after tomorrow on the Super Bock Fest.
:D
October 14th, 2007 at 10:15 am
the mars volta ep, tremlulant, is great.
even though there’s only three songs on the thing, it’s my favorite album to listen to.
the only music groups in this world worth listening to are pink floyd and the mars volta.
(:
December 15th, 2007 at 1:12 am
i LOVE those mars volta pics.
plz post more.
peace.