MASTODON — Remission (review)

Album · 2002 · Sludge Metal

4/5 · 2018-02-25
ProgMetaller2112

Ahh, here it is, the genesis of Atlanta's Mastodon, a great, great progressive/sludge metal band, one that I feel has gotten more mature (and better) as time has progressed with albums such as Crack the Skye (2009) and Emperor of Sand(2017). I will talk about that progression as I continue on with these album reviews. With 2002's Remission, we already see a band that has plenty of musical chops to offer but at times it is a bit too frenetic, wild and unhinged (not necessarily a bad thing, haha) for my tastes (keep in mind that my musical tastes are not nearly as frenetic and wild as most metalheads lol). While I do consider myself a metalhead I am more of the old school variety (Maiden, Sabbath, Priest) but that's me getting off topic ha. Anyway, with this recording Mastodon are able to do just enough to keep me interested in what they are doing(could be the melodies and intricate riffs, I don't know ha). Let's how I feel about each individual track shall we??

1) Crusher Destroyer - A brutal, crushing piece of metal music. Hits you like a pile of bricks. Badass. 10/10

2) March of the Fire Ants - A classic metal track in my opinion. Those melodies late in the song brought something that was desperately needed in metal but was in short supply. Anywho, I love this track. Probably my favorite on the entire album. 10/10

3) Where Strides the Behemoth - Yet another brutal track. Nothing wrong with it. I love it, haha. 10/10

4) Workhorse - Another great track but for some reason it is not nearly as captivating as the first three tracks on the album. Not a bad track though. 8/10

5) Ol'e Nessie - A great, great ominous track. I love how dark and foreboding it sounds. It's not as heavy, frenetic or as thunderous as the other tracks on the album but it does a great job at creating a dark atmosphere. It's great. 10/10

6) Burning Man - A decent track but as of the first 6 tracks it is my least favorite. Not bad though. 7/10

7) Trainwreck - Another decent track but to me it is not as great as others on the album. 7/10

8) Trampled Under Hoof - Is the title of the track an homage to Led Zeppelin's Trampled Under Foot?(I don't know but it sounds like it is lol). It's an intense piece of music that I give plenty of credit for but for some reason it's not nearly as captivating as other songs on the album. Good track though. 7/10

9) Trilobite - Now, here we have a very ominous piece of metal music. Everything about it is fantastic. A bit different from the rest of the album but that's what I love it about. The ending where Troy screams out "Shades of 16, you're with me" is bonechilling. It can actually horrify a person. It's great. Probably tied with March of the Fire Ants as my favorite track on the album. 10/10

10) Mother Puncher - A great track that punches you in the gut. I love it too ha. 10/10

11) Elephant Man - An instrumental piece that keeps my attention. It's pretty darn good if you ask me. Solid, solid guitar work from Bill and Brent. Grade A guitar work. 10/10

The music on this album is really, really good but some of it is a bit too harsh and frenetic for my tastes so that's why it gets a lower rating in my book. Also, not enough clean vocals from Troy or Brent on it to give it a higher rating. I mean I have no issues with growls (every once in a while haha) but I usually like my bands to have some kind of melody and harmony or catchy hook to their vocal (you know something I can sing to lol, sounds corny I know but it's still the essence of music to me). Anyway, to me this album is a step in the right direction for Mastodon. A precursor of things to come. Great album. 4 solid stars!! Peace out!!!