Album Reviews

emperor of sand

It was on 2011’s The Hunter, that truly came of age as songwriters; vocal melodies became more central to the stories, while ideas from the various members were filtered concisely and wisely, without ever compromising creativity. It also allowed Brent Hinds and Bill Kelliher’s classic rock melodics to bubble closer to the surface. Emperor Of

Sand continues to build on this foundation. It’s their strongest in terms of vocal dynamic and there’s a sense they’ve really fine-tuned the compositions in pre-production – making bold transitions between meters and the towering Brann Dailor-sung choruses in Roots Remain and

Steambreather seem effortless.

There’s a few left turns, too – but they make sense. Show Yourself has a QOTSA leanness to it, Ancient Kingdom finds Troy Sanders singing its majestic chorus over church bells with a Live And Dangerous

sized solo from Hinds thrown in for good measure. He and Kelliher are really on their A-games with lead and riffs here - taking us on a journey into fire on Jaguar God and going super-size anthemic for

Clandestiny. For an album concerned with death lurking in its conceptual shadows it’s wonderfully life-affirming; Mastodon are still very much alive and kicking as one of our generation’s greatest rock bands. Rob Laing download Steambreather