Mastodon - 'The Hunter' - new album

[hamishd91]

My god, I think we have the new benchmark for ***** mastering:

http://i.imgur.com/TnGLp.png

What are everyone's thoughts on the new song? Behind the layer of fuzz its pretty awesome! definitely going to need to pick up the vinyl though

[TerryB]

I like Mastodon. I've hated their mastering. I don;t care enough for them to invest in the vinyl. No purchase for me.

[puffyrock2]

Very good band. All their albums have been totally brickwalled so far though.

[Masza]

What a heck!? Now I checked the opening track of Blood Mountain with Audacity and it looked almost the same. Good music and good band but maybe I pass this because I don't want to get headache by listening music

Let's see when they start to master music in the way that we can't even see peaks anymore..

[Ryan_Pretzel]

Love Mastodon bunches, but the mastering is horrific. They are a band rooted in the classics too, it is a shame they can't respect the mastering techniques of the past, :(.

[scud-eater]

Love Mastodon too. The mastering perhaps explains why I don't listen to the albums as often as the music deserves though.

[blind_melon1]

My god, I think we have the new benchmark for ***** mastering:

http://i.imgur.com/TnGLp.png

What are everyone's thoughts on the new song? Behind the layer of fuzz its pretty awesome! definitely going to need to pick up the vinyl though

Looks pretty good to, OH! that's not a blue background! :D

[81828384]

i'll just say the exact same thing everyone else is saying: Mastodon is amazing, and the mastering on all their albums is absolutely abysmal. I was really hoping for decent mastering for Crack The Skye, especially reading the interviews building up to it, with all their talk of making it sound like a classic record. Instead its still a mess. I do own the 45 of Crack The Skye, to my ears its only the tiniest bit better then the CD.

Having said that, I will buy the new record. Love their music to much not to. And they crush it live.

[Ryan_Pretzel]

i'll just say the exact same thing everyone else is saying: Mastodon is amazing, and the mastering on all their albums is absolutely abysmal. I was really hoping for decent mastering for Crack The Skye, especially reading the interviews building up to it, with all their talk of making it sound like a classic record. Instead its still a mess. I do own the 45 of Crack The Skye, to my ears its only the tiniest bit better then the CD.

Having said that, I will buy the new record. Love their music to much not to. And they crush it live.

Hm, do you own the 2X LP 45 of Crack the Skye? Cause I was close to purchasing the 2X LP 45 of Blood Mountain (one of my favorite recent metal albums), but wondered about the cost to sound quality ratio...

Thanks!

[81828384]

Hm, do you own the 2X LP 45 of Crack the Skye? Cause I was close to purchasing the 2X LP 45 of Blood Mountain (one of my favorite recent metal albums), but wondered about the cost to sound quality ratio...

Thanks!

yeah I have the 2XLP 45 of Crack The Skye. To my ears its better but not much better. I was hoping for some nice impact and dynamics on my speakers but its still just kind of a mess. I can't speak for the 45 of Blood Mountain, never heard it, but if past experience with Mastodon bears true, it's probably nothing to write home about. :D

[Chris Schoen]

Sounds like a Mastodon, I guess.

[Ryan_Pretzel]

yeah I have the 2XLP 45 of Crack The Skye. To my ears its better but not much better. I was hoping for some nice impact and dynamics on my speakers but its still just kind of a mess. I can't speak for the 45 of Blood Mountain, never heard it, but if past experience with Mastodon bears true, it's probably nothing to write home about. :D

Dang, sorry to hear that. I guess I am glad I did not pick up the 45 of Blood Mountain. Thanks for the info though!

It just seems strange, cause I think Blood Mountain was recorded to tape, and if they are going to charge $50 for an "audiophile" quality product, at least master it well. Bleh. A shame.

[5-String]

Sounds like a Mastodon, I guess.

+1

True, their albums were always like that. Great band though.
How's the new album?

[Paradiddle]

I love this band, and although I agree that the mastering isn't all that great I don't really care that much because I mostly listen/rock out to them in the car. With a wife who hates "aggressive" music and a new set of twins it's going to be a LONG time before I crank up any kind of metal on the home stereo. :(

I just wish I could listen to the new song here at work. We're not allowed to do any kind of streaming and my browser doesn't have Flash installed so I can't download the MP3. :realmad:

[Ryan_Pretzel]

I love this band, and although I agree that the mastering isn't all that great I don't really care that much because I mostly listen/rock out to them in the car. With a wife who hates "aggressive" music and a new set of twins it's going to be a LONG time before I crank up any kind of metal on the home stereo. :(

I just wish I could listen to the new song here at work. We're not allowed to do any kind of streaming and my browser doesn't have Flash installed so I can't download the MP3. :realmad:

Buzzkill all the way around, for sure. But at least you have a beautiful family! And I am sure you could sneak some time in for some metal! I know I sure do, haha.

[johnnypaddock]

I can't wait to hear the new album... I'm definitely in for the CD, at least until a 45rpm LP version comes out. To my ears, the 45rpm LP versions of Crack The Skye and Blood Mountain absolutely SMOKE the CD's. On each one, you can actually hear what is going on when they have a bunch of instruments playing at the same time. Instead of the complete mess of fuzz and distortion that I hear on CD, I actually hear some incredible playing and it sounds great. I feel like the 45rpm versions are the only way to really hear what they are doing, especially in those busy sections. There is a ton more space between instruments all around. Also, the pressings are super quiet and the artwork is awesome. (OK I'll stop now, as you can see, I'm a big fan of these)

[Ryan_Pretzel]

I can't wait to hear the new album... I'm definitely in for the CD, at least until a 45rpm LP version comes out. To my ears, the 45rpm LP versions of Crack The Skye and Blood Mountain absolutely SMOKE the CD's. On each one, you can actually hear what is going on when they have a bunch of instruments playing at the same time. Instead of the complete mess of fuzz and distortion that I hear on CD, I actually hear some incredible playing and it sounds great. I feel like the 45rpm versions are the only way to really hear what they are doing, especially in those busy sections. There is a ton more space between instruments all around. Also, the pressings are super quiet and the artwork is awesome. (OK I'll stop now, as you can see, I'm a big fan of these)

Well, crap. Now I am torn. I really just wanna pick up the 45 of Blood Mountain. I actually already have both Crack the Skye and Blood Mountain on the 33s and they sound about like the CD. But I saw the Blood Mountain 45 on sale online and couldn't decide if I should pick it up or not...

And thanks for the info! May have to do it. Blood Mountain could definitely use some space, especially on tracks like "Capillarian Crest"! That would be insane!

[Lord Summerisle]

Can't wait for this album. Loved Crack The Skye despite the mastering mess. Really digging Curl of the Burl.

[81828384]

Mastodon was recently added to Voodoo Fest in New Orleans, where I will be in attendance. psyched for the new album and the show!

[Deuce66]

new album is fantastic - vinyl will be released in two formats on Nov 15 - single LP and 2 LP 45 RPM.

[JustVinyl]

Hmm ... great album appalling sound on the CD.

The bonus DVD is unbelievably bad - "making of" is around 5 mins, "promo" vids waste of time, ejected after 10 seconds of the commentary.

This is a real shame, such a great band and genuinely innovative but what is the point if it is so fatiguing to listen to?

Hopefully the vinyl will be an improvement ...

[Deuce66]

Black Tongue from the CD: looks like a typical modern mastering, it's loud aggressive

[Simon_LDT]

Hmm ... great album appalling sound on the CD.

The bonus DVD is unbelievably bad - "making of" is around 5 mins, "promo" vids waste of time, ejected after 10 seconds of the commentary.

This is a real shame, such a great band and genuinely innovative but what is the point if it is so fatiguing to listen to?

Hopefully the vinyl will be an improvement ...

The vinyl should slay the CD, if done properly. The Blood Mountain vinyl makes the CD sound so bad. It's one of my favorite vinyl.

[nolazep]

Hmm ... great album appalling sound on the CD.

The bonus DVD is unbelievably bad - "making of" is around 5 mins, "promo" vids waste of time, ejected after 10 seconds of the commentary.

This is a real shame, such a great band and genuinely innovative but what is the point if it is so fatiguing to listen to?

Hopefully the vinyl will be an improvement ...

Yeah the bonus DVD of "Crack the Skye" got played once and shelved. When it got to be a wannabe episode of "Cribs" it got ejected.

[In-Absentia]

I listened to that YouTube stream they did of the full album and thought it was actually really good. Mastadon are a band that have been acclaimed now for years but I just never got into. I think this one has done it for me! Will probably wait for the vinyl...