| Enter Mastodon. I know people who saw them live last year who came home saying things like “Whoa” and “Awesome. “ I take whoas and awesomes as far deeper criticism than your average “a radical departure from the mosh-metal norm” or “groundbreaking, ambitious, and ultimately essential,” since the latter as demonstrably easy to do but a decent “whoa” is notoriously tough to fake. But Lifesblood, Mastodon’s debut EP, had left me cold; it thrilled plenty of people, but I didn’t feel it much. Sure, it had a beautiful sleeve, and it had a song called “We Built This Come Death,” and I don’t expect to hear a song with a better title this year. But the riffs didn’t generally work for me -- they seemed forced -- and I got at best a couple of minor whoa moments from it, which isn’t enough to light a fire under me. |
