Customer Reviews

Call of the Mastodon

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

In order to fully appreciate a band I always make an effort to uncover their older work, thus providing a more complete picture of the group's musical vision. As with any art form, metal music included, the artist(s) most current work is a culmination of previous efforts, the result of a process of revisiting and recrafting .

I can't recall how I came upon "Call of the Mastodon" (or "9 song demo" on my iTunes), but I've had it for some time now and always considered it as worthy of my attention as any of Mastodon's other work. The five songs off of their "Lifesblood" ep first appeared on Call of the Mastodon, along with four other tracks that rank among my favorites, which can only be heard here.

Mastodon in their earliest work was every bit as daring and innovative as anything heard on "Remission" or "Leviathan", and "Call of the Mastodon", originally recorded in 2000, helps demonstrate the process of refinement and musical evolution that the band has undergone. Unlike many 'harder' bands that make it big by toning down their music, taming it for a mainstream audience, "Call of the Mastodon" shows how Mastodon has risen to national acclaim by staying true to their own creative vision.

For newer fans of Mastodon only familiar with "Leviathan", "Call of the Mastodon" offers a more raw and, in regards to song writing, arguably less focused Mastodon. But rest assured that everything there is to love in "Leviathan", and even more so in "Remission", is present on "Call of the Mastodon" - the tehcnical, serpentine guitar work and unique harmonies, the frantic but flawlessly metronomic percussion, and the beastly, passionate cave-man shouts. I think it safe to say that any Mastodon fan will enjoy this release.

If the track listing for this album looks familiar, it's probably because you own Mastodon's out-of-print "Lifesblood" EP. Some fans probably think that re-releasing this EP is a way of the band cashing in on their popularity; but personally, I think it's just a way of Mastodon providing this C.D. to their fans without making them pay a billion dollars for it. Plus, "Call of the Mastodon" also features four extra early songs ("Thank You For This," "Deep Sea Creature," "Slickleg," and the title track) which are extremely hard to find.

Every Mastodon characteristic is in place on this album: bouncy, walloping drums, big, bone crunching riffs, and throaty vocals. But this album is also somewhat different from "Remission" and "Leviathan," because it sounds quite a bit more raw and thrashier. A couple of movie samples are also slipped into the mix here and there.

The album begins with "Shadows that Move," which has explosive, churning riffs. The next track, "Welcoming War," has pounding guitars and insanely fast drumming. "Thank You For This" is backed by buzzsaw guitar flurries, and "We Built This Come Death" jumps from being slow and restrained to an almost blindingly fast tempo. Track six, "Battle At Sea," is probably my personal favorite. It begins slowly, but it eventually kicks into high gear (with a blast beat, lumbering riffs, and Deicide-esque bellows).

"Call of the Mastodon" may only be 29 minutes long, but it's essential for every complete Mastodon collection. As another reviewer said, you will find a lot to like here (if you're already a Mastodon fan), so, if you need to, you should sell your copy of "Lifesblood" to have enough money to buy this C.D.

I'm a huge Mastodon fan. I love the band, I love Brann Dailor's drums, and I love this album! I was ready to give it five stars immediatly just because it's Mastodon, but I stopped. I put myself into the mind of someone who has never listened to Mastodon before. I tried to imagine what a new buyer would be interested in.

The Pros:
- You get nine demo songs from Mastodon's early days. Five of these cuts appeared on the "Lifesblood" EP. Since Lifesblood was only printed for a limited time, it has become quite rare and sought after by Mastodon fans.
1. "Shadows That Move"
2. "Welcoming War"
3. "We Built This Come Death"
4. "Hail To Fire"
5. "Battle At Sea"

Four more that didn't appear on Lifesblood
1. "Thank You For This"
2. "Deep Sea Creature"
3. "Slickleg"
4. "Call Of The Mastodon"

- All cuts feature remastered sound (superior sound quality is a big bonus)

- It's Mastodon!

CONS

-The nine songs run less than 30 minutes in length.

-The Japanese version includes an extra live track "Where Strides the Behemoth"

-Despite being remastered the sound production isn't as good as Mastodon's other albums (Especially the vocals!)

The final verdict:

If you love Mastodon buy this album. Even if you own the EP, the remastered sound makes Call of the Mastodon worth buying.

If you are a newbie to the band start with Leviathan. If Leviathan turns you into a fan, get their other albums too.

I suppose the most obvious question is whether or not you need to get this if you've already got the 'Lifesblood' EP. (5 of the 9 tracks here are on that cd) Obviously, it depends. The songs are remixed and remastered and do sound better to me, though I haven't done a close comparisons. Still, if you're the sorta person who uses an MP3 player it'll probably be wisest to just buy the other 4 songs individually, as that other reviewer suggested. I, however, do not approve of such.... devices, and think the cd itself is definitely worthwhile for the 4 new songs and the remastering, and also for the simple fact that this thing is 29 minutes long as opposed to merely 16, which is always inconvenient to those such as I who are insistent on listening to actual cds. So act accordingly.

This material is culled from Mastodon's first studio session, and it sounds quite different from their two full lengths. Rougher, shorter songs, more chaotic, howled distorted vocals and even wilder drumming from Dailor. This isn't as good as either of those album, I don't think, but it's still excellent. Still, it's different enough that it won't necessariy be to the taste of some latter period Mastodon fans. (Certainly, liking 'Leviathan' is no guarantee that you'll like this as well.) The best comparison overall would have to be to the faster, shorter songs on 'Remission' like 'Crusher Destroyer' and 'Burning Man' though this stuff is still a bit rougher and more frenetic than most of that.

Standout tracks include the flailing, manical opener 'Shadow that Move', the crushing, jagged stomper 'Hail to Fire' and the somewhat more contained and melodic 'Battle at Sea'. The 4 non-Lifesblood tracks aren't quite as good as those songs, but they're still very good. They're pretty much along the same lines though they show a bit more of their range throwing in a few more southern rock touches and a few more slower parts with roaring vocals. Again, there are simply no bad tracks here.

Yeah I'm done. Very strong material from Mastodon.

If you don't own this one, you should have it. It's not near as epic as _Leviathan_ nor is it like repeated punches to the gut as _Remission_ is. What _Call of the Mastodon_ is is the beginning reaches of a bunch of talented and innovative metal musicians. Here they sound more like Boltthrower or related bands with explosive blast beats and some jazzy post-tonal work thrown in for good measure. The beauty of it is that there is plenty of the epic brutality that one finds on their other albums here, as well.

It's not as good as _Leviathan_ (what is?), but it stands up pretty well to _Remission_. In some ways I like it even better for its absolute frenzy. It seems that Brann and Bill learned something from Steve Austin during their apprenticeship to him in Today Is the Day directly before _Call of the Mastodon_. There is a more unrestrained schizophrenia that often evokes thoughts of King Crimson off the leash much in the same manner as Today Is the Day. But the difference between Mastodon and TITD is that the production is better, the songs more coherent, and the vibe isn't quite as suicidal/homicidal. Thank the gods for that. If this weren't the case and Mastodon didn't follow their epic instincts, we wouldn't have the majestic slab of brawn and genius that is _Leviathan_. Besides being a solid testament of where Mastodon comes from, _Call of the Mastodon_ stands on its own as a very solid release. It also shows that they were way ahead of their metal/hardcore competition from the very beginning, creating an album better than most anything out there on their freakin' DEMO. Then, of course, they immediately catapulted past everyone for any number of reasons (the best drumming ever, finesse guitar mixed with grind, evocative/provocative lyrics, thundering chromatic bass, etc., etc.). The rest is history. Buy this CD ASAP!!!

Mastodon are a band that constantly progress over time and have slowly moved from a very extreme band heavily influenced by Sludge and Stoner, with short and ferocious songs to a more eclectic band heavily influenced by progressive rock with mostly long and complicated ethereal sounding songs.

Call Of The Mastodon collects together the band's early work, (mostly the now rare Lifesblood EP) and as such has very harsh vocals, fewer clean passages, no keyboards and even has occasional blast beats.

If you are only a fan of the band's newer work, or are coming to the band from a purely progressive rock background then it may be advisable to give Call Of The Mastodon a miss, as the very fast, nasty and heavy music may be too far removed from what you are expecting.

If however you are mostly a fan of the more extreme side of metal, then this album is certainly worth exploring, presenting the stylistically most violent and harsh music the band ever released. Punishing sounds, inhuman speeds, gutteral vocals and very low tuning are very much the order of the day.

The new artwork fits well with the overall Mastodon style, and the production job while not on a par with their main albums is not as bad as you may hear from similar releases by other bands.

Overall, whilst a musically strong release in its own right, how much you enjoy this will ultimately be determined by how much you like the differnt ends of Mastodon's spectrum. Put simply; do buy if you love Remission, maybe don't buy if Crack The Skye is still a little too heavy for you in places.

Relentless persuit of pefection through riffage,drumming and structure is how i like to describe this, and all other songs by this band. 90% of the people looking at purchasing this cd probably already know that they want it. For those people I will say this album is essential to your Mastodon collection. Absolutely. Buy every album by this band. Just do it.

This is essentially the remastered version of Mastodon's original 9 Song Demo (2000). Obviously the production is much better on this disc than it was on the demo, and the vocals are different, as Hinds and Sanders replace Saner. The music is solid throughout, giving us the chance to hear an early (though by no means immature) stage of Mastodon's development. For anyone wanting to hear pre-Remission Mastodon stuff, or just for anyone who likes metal, I'd definitely recommend this disc.

This was my introduction to Mastodon; I can't get enough of this band. If you want to hear them in there formative stage or you are a Metal fan this is a must have.

I noticed this CD in stores today, and admittedly bought it on a whim. After all, I had never bothered picking up the Lifesblood EP. After listening to this collection of material to the point of scrutiny, I've come to the conclusion that Mastodon is one of those rare bands that only improves with time.

The most notable difference from Leviathan and Remission is that all of these recordings are of a substantially more predatory and aggressive nature. Throat-tearing screams abound, that hang in the reverb of raw production. Listen to the pained croaks on the crawling sludge metal track, "Deep Sea Beast." Most of the songs are around 2 minutes, and for the most part a more straightforward approach is taken. Still, the band's trademark sludgey, Southern guitar work is present, permeated by almost nautical accoustic work-- As Brann Dailor's superfluous jazz-fusion drumming anchors it all.

Though always eclectic, not many of these songs are especially notable. I hear lots of themes and motifs that are put to better use in future Mastodon albums. If you're a Mastodon neophyte, check out Remission or Leviathan first. After that, if you're thirsty for more, this is required listening.
- Thus says the Pellington