In Macbeth, William Shakespeare wrote, “Give sorrow words; the grief that does not speak knits up the o-er wrought heart and bids it breaks.” Helen Keller wrote in a letter from 1891 “her teacher explained to her that the best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen nor even touched, but just felt in the heart.” These quotes help me grasp the fantastic beauty within Mastodon’s new album called Hushed and Grim.
In September 2018, Mastodon lost their biggest fan and dear friend, Nick John. Nick became their manager after the Leviathan album. He helped open up opportunities for the band to grow into the titans they are today. To help process this huge loss to the Mastodon family, the band channeled their emotions into their music. The result is Hushed and Grim. This record is Mastodon’s most nuanced, expressive, and creative to date.
Hushed and Grim opens with “Pain With An Anchor”. Brann Dailor’s drums soar in as the guitars of Brett Hinds and Bill Kelliher, cast a hypnotic and chanting aura. As in prior recordings, Mastodon makes great use of the variety of vocal characteristics within the band. Brann handles the higher melodies with Brent or Troy Sanders countering with baritone and grit. The song builds in heaviness at the end with the droning quality adding oppressive weight. Brent’s solo is burning with rapture.
On the heavier side of the spectrum on this album is “The Crux”. Like “Pushing The Tides”, these songs feature muscular riffs and great melodic hooks. On “The Crux”, there is this amazing floating sensation as Brent jams a mournful guitar solo.
The main arpeggiated riffs on “Sickle and Peace” give you the sensation of traveling. I imagined a soul finding its way after leaving behind this mortal coil. The chorus comes in strong and heavy. “Death comes and brings with him Sickle and Peace”. There is a sense of triumph within the uncertainty of this new journey. The solo is pure Hendrix-ian splendor.
Ethereal keyboards cast lonely shadows on “More Than I Could Chew”. The song advances into bruising riffs with celestial weight leaning hard into Mastodon’s progressive metal roots. I can’t wait to hear this one live.
My favorite song on Hushed and Grim is “The Beast”. It has a wonderful gothic country feel with a stellar melodic swing through the beginning versus. The song then accelerates. The riffs and rhythm provide for a sensation of flight, of hurtling toward a future unknown. There are many amazing guitar solos on this record, but in this song the succinct textures are breathtaking.
One of the early single releases is “Teardrinker”. This is probably the most melodic song on the album. It clearly sounds like a single with plenty of hooks. An added bonus is a bass solo by Troy Sanders. Fuzzy wah lends an other-worldly perspective.
Mastodon definitely push into a lot of psychedelic territory on Hushed and Grim. We hear it in “Skeleton of Splendor” with its ethereal and contemplative nature. The Floydian keyboards and a guitar solo that David Gilmour would enjoy complete the picture. Other songs with a dreamy tripped-out mood are “Had It All”, “Gigantium”, and “Dagger”. These songs are further evidence of Mastodon being willing to take chances and explore their sound.
Fans looking for a return to the blast wave brilliance of Remission will be saddened. Those Mastodon fans that have embraced the band’s evolution of sound, will thoroughly enjoy Hushed and Grim.
Hushed and Grim by Mastodon is a masterpiece. All that there is to love about Mastodon is here. The brooding heaviness, the genius riffs which threaten madness, and the progressive songwriting that staggers the senses. Hushed and Grim is born through grief and remembrance. What finer way to find solace and healing than through the process of creating such a monumental album.
1 comment
Beautifully written. Looking forward to the experiment.