ALBUM REVIEW: Hushed And Grim – Mastodon
You know a band mean business in this day and age of singles and throwaway fads when they come out the other side of a global pandemic that has ravaged the live music industry and decide to create a double album. MASTODON don’t do things by halves, and Hushed And Grim is presented as a massive feast for fans new and old.
Indisputably, there’s been a shift in mentality for MASTODON through the hardships life has thrown their way in recent years. However, there’s still no doubting their immeasurable skill, and rather than crumbling into despair, they’ve rallied to channel themselves into their music. Hushed And Grim is weird, experimental, and as the title states, a little grim. A shadow of loss hangs over it, and there’s a sense of bereavement in every song in some part or other. What it isn’t, however, is hushed.
From the incredibly bold and exciting intro on Pain With An Anchor and the blazing, raging passion of Savage Lands, to the softer, heart-on-your-sleeve lyrics of Had It All and the multi-vocal splendour of The Crux and Pushing The Tides, this is MASTODON doing what they do best. They’ve pushed themselves to create a complete behemoth of a record, one of towering, thick riffs; crazy, creepy wails; chugging, intricate drum work; and moveable, tranquil vocal melodies.
It would be criminal to not mention just how poetic and pensive the lyrics they are this time around. Every song is laced with a sense of sorrow and a respect for the mysteries of death and the future. Ultimately this record holds a massive amount of reverence and love for Nick John, the band’s long-time manager and friend who very sadly lost his battle with cancer in 2018, and his presence can be felt as a constant on this record. There’s regret and bitterness in there too, along with anger and frustration. For those who’ve ever found themselves in a similar mindset, this is a melancholy embrace that reminds you to never take anyone for granted.
Sometimes Hushed And Grim is a morose display of where the band have been over the past four years since Emperor Of Sand. Elsewhere, it’s a celebration of life, a homage to those lost and to those still here. Like the previous record, the reflective sections display a growth and a change in perspective as they’ve aged. If you come to MASTODON for the insane progginess, mad fills, crazy riffs and dual vocals, there’s an abundance on offer here akin to those of Crack The Skye or Blood Mountain. Regardless of comparisons to past work however, this record is a totally different beast to anything else MASTODON has made before, and of the highest quality you can imagine.
If you’re looking for some of the most technically extravagant ideas, coupled with some blissfully melodic work, Peace And Tranquility will give you both goosebumps and cross your eyes in place from trying to follow along. It’s wonderful to see a band who have earned a name as one of the best remain at the top of their game, nimbly weaving together what feels like perhaps three different songs into one seamless piece of work.
There’s plenty of new, unexpected influences on offer here too. For a band who’ve been going for over twenty years, long-time fans will inevitably feel a sense of pride in MASTODON‘s refusal to shy away from innovation. You could take your pick of fresh sounds. There’s The Beast, which takes a little gentle southern rock idea and blends it into MASTODON’s signature otherworldly open noted melodies before crashing into a totally new amalgamation of the weird and wonderful. Or Dagger, which sees some more reserved, eastern instrumentation married to warbling synthesizers to great effect. Sickle And Peace has a decidedly curve ball effect too, its creepy, haunted opening giving way to a very progressive, almost funk influenced verse structure with a shuffling sense of rhythm that oddly sits really comfortably alongside the much heavier chorus.
The final song Gigantium is the pinnacle of what is the real drawing point of this record. It’s somehow lighter in tone, more joyous and reflects positively. This is a huge display of might and of strength renewed after the long dark of what the band have been through.
Through this review, there’s been constant reference to grief. However, as a listener you truly feel you’ve been through something from start to finish with this record. You’ve witnessed an emotional display from the four parts of MASTODON, and heard them announce that they’re not taking anything for granted, that they’ve used this experimental way of mourning to branch their music into totally unexpected areas. This record is a celebration of life, both past and remaining. Bittersweet, immeasurably progressive instrumentation, passionate vocal deliveries of genuine lyrics – it’s all killer no filler. The way MASTODON has chosen to immortalise Nick John and their brotherhood on Hushed And Grim is a testament to them all, and a real treat for listeners.
Rating: 10/10
Hushed And Grim is out on October 29th via Reprise Records.
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