I’ve had Mastodon stuck in my head for the last two days. Why? Because I watched this:
To cut to the chase, Mastodon lost me at Crack The Skye. My breed of aesthetic ADHD couldn’t handle too much wandering prog as with that album, and seeing them live during that era felt like I was watching an entirely different band from the one I had seen during Blood Mountain. I remember watching them do Crackey in full live and being increasingly frustrated at how bored I was – at least, until they closed the night with “Mother Puncher” and “The Bit”, both in stark contrast to what came before. For that, I continued to have hope that maybe someday they’d eventually return to the sort of music that appealed to me like Leviathan and Remission did.
It’s now been over 17 years since Crackey. My inclination has been to assume Brent Hinds was the main issue, as if he had a stranglehold on why their sound had shifted past temporary choices of a single album. But there are other grown adults in that band, and they just kept on keepin’ on. It can’t really be just one person dragging the rest down, can it? I eventually resigned to sticking to their earlier albums and focusing on what I know works for me. I don’t think I touched their last album at all.
Hearing that they parted ways with him was, like, finally?! Color my attention piqued. New blood doesn’t always mean a shift in sound, but hope had once again been restored. I’m still looking forward to hearing how this change has affected their overall sound.
And then he died. Just like that*. My inclination is to think of my dad, my sibling, my other sibling’s dad, and a former client, all of whom died or nearly died while riding motorcycles. Seems like it’s just a given with US car culture and related arrogance that one shouldn’t be riding anywhere near cars or ride exclusively within groups. Maybe that sounds victim-blaming or something. Hopefully it pushed some riders to remember to ride defensively, at least.
* I had Insane Clown Posse go through my mind. It’s a track about dying out of nowhere. The next song on that album was a bit much for teenage me.
ICP distraction aside, I’ve been finding some levity in how similar Mastodon’s trajectory has mirrored Metallica’s history. The documentary vid above took me right back to Some Kind of Monster, and wow. I made jokes about them making a sappy video like this years ago. And it happened. Fucking psychic! Not really. It just seems to be a pattern. Do you think they auditioned Scott Reeder? That’s a joke, kids.
Throwing stuff on the table like this still feels appropriate, anyway. I’m sure it saves them hours of frustrating interviews answering the same basic questions about it. It means getting where they’ve been for the last year or two out into the open and moving on from this moment that much quicker. It also means clarity for everyone (aka me) who was wondering what happened circa Crackey and why there hasn’t been sufficient recovery since. An unfun little “it’s not just you” confirmation, I suppose.
Still curious what’s next, past the grief of the moment. But, for today, I get to battle these old earworms.
Hell, might as well make more and go listen to “Where Strides the Behemoth” then sit in silence for a bit. Quiet Brain: “who cares where it strides, it needs to keep going, PLAY IT AGAIN!”
Anyway, remember to seize the day, embrace joy, pet your stupid pets, love your stupid love, and not linger too long doing things that make shit suck.
The next music post is going to be the usual unfocused general update.
Edit, one day later:
Well, that was quick.
Bonus QOTSA guy.
Their new album is out August 28th.