MASTODON — Live At The Aragon (review)

MASTODON — Live At The Aragon album cover

Live album · 2011 · Sludge Metal

3.5/5 · 2011-04-26
Coffin Joe

Musically speaking...It's mindblowing!

Mastodon releases their first live recording! This set comes as an cd with a dvd included. This seems like an awesome package, but there's some scratches in the surface...I'll get to those scratches in a minute.

If you have ever been to an Mastodon concert, you know that it can be a mindblowing and intense experience. These guys ROCK, and they do it big time. Somehow they just keep spitting records out, that are better and better - reaching completely new hights with Crack The Skye (this is also Mastodons most accessible record to date). Live they are so tight, a bomb could go off without them skipping a beat or loosing a note.

This live recording captures all the intensity from their liveshows, and the record sounds great. This ain't no bootleg, folks, so expect it to be well produced and clear sounding.

The first part of the live set is dedicated to the entire Crack The Skye tracks, played in the same order as on the album, which goes great with the albums conceptual theme. The band is tearing through the tracks like there's no tomorrow, and I have nothing but awe and respect for the tongue in cheek arrangements the band plays through like it is the easiest thing in the world.

...Now for the bad part..... The singing! The lead vocals doesn't match the superb playing. It sounds thin and sometimes nasal, and takes away from the record as a whole. As Mastodon moved into the more proggy territory with Crack the Skye, they went with cleaner vocals. Something that functions well on the album but is somewhat of an issue on the live recording. Luckily they pull it off with the second half of the record, playing some older songs where the vocals are more rough and edgy.

Setwise it's a damn shame, we don't get treated with great Mastodon classics like Blood & Thunder, March of the fireants & sleeping giant.

All in all this isn't the über-awesome Mastodon performance I had hoped & you've come to expect. This doesn't mean it's bad either, but with a band that constantly raises the bar, expectations are bound to be high.

more than 2 years ago
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Coffin Joe wrote:

more than 2 years ago

Hi all, I'm really glad you like the review! I'm planning to write more in the future - This is part of the reason I joined :-D

J-Man wrote:

more than 2 years ago

Yeah, I've enjoyed reading this as well - welcome to the site! :-) I'll have to check this album out some time in the future.

UMUR wrote:

more than 2 years ago

Yeah that was a well written and engaging review. I hope we´ll see more from you in the future.

Pekka wrote:

more than 2 years ago

Thanks, you said everything I was going to, so I don't need to bother reviewing now ;) I can't remember seeing you around before, welcome to the site!