Metal heavyweights Mastodon impress again with "Blood Mountain"

Heavy metal four-piece, Mastodon, have already established themselves at the top of the heap in their genre. The Atlanta based band unleashed their master work in 2004 with Leviathan, garnering a rare mix of critical and fan base appraisal. With two successful albums under their belts (2002’s Remission and Leviathan) Mastodon seems destined to become the new kings of metal. Follow-up records to very successful albums always spawn new problems. Do you stick with your tried and true methods? Try something different? Can it ever be as good as the previous album? Mastodon responds very well with Blood Mountain.
Blood Mountain is a concept album (an album that tells a story using the songs) with a fantasy theme. It boils down to a journey up a mountain in search of the Crystal Skull, encountering all sorts of strange creatures along the way. While all this sounds cheesy and contrived, the band manages to pull it off with style and skill.
Mastodon is a band featuring a staggering amount of talent. Brann Dailor is regarded as one of the best drummers in metal and showcases his skills on tracks “The Wolf is Loose” and “Colony of Birchmen”. His mastery of the drums is the backbone of the band and this album. Guitarist Bret Hinds and bassist Troy Sanders split vocal duty throughout the majority of the album. Sanders furious growls are offset by Hinds more traditional singing. This sound transitions so well it becomes almost impossible to discern between the duo. For those fans of blistering guitar riffs, have no fear. Mastodon does not skimp in the shred department. “Capillarian Crest” starts off with chugging guitars and then quickly turns into a tornado of scorching guitar solos from Bill Kelliher and Hinds. Mastodon is not all about speed though. The band has a penchant for acoustic arrangements (“Sleeping Giant”, “Pendulous Skin”) which adds another layer of depth to the bands sound without seeming out of place.
The first two tracks,” The Wolf is Loose” and “Crystal Skull”, are among the best and lead the album off in a big way. Other standouts include the epic “Colony of Birchmen”, a song that gets bigger as it goes on. “Capillarian Crest” is on the other end of the spectrum, featuring inspired guitar work and pure speed. If Blood Mountain has any weakness it is that it gets weaker as it gets towards the end. “This Mortal Soil” and “Siberian Divide” drone on and seem somewhat out of place. The first three minutes of the final track, “Pendulous Skin”, are very good. It is the unnecessary nineteen minutes of silence following that left me wondering.
Not since the golden days of groups like Slayer, Metallica, and Megadeth has there been this talented a metal band. While Blood Mountain isn’t the instant classic that Leviathan was it is still a great listen. This album takes you on a journey both musically and narratively, and does both very well. This is an instant buy for any fan of any sub-genre of metal or hard rock. Etch Mastodon in right next to the metal greats of past and present.


*This review appeared in the most recent issue of Framingham State College's newspaper The Gatepost. Even though it is just a tiny independent newspaper it is still my first published piece ever.*

The Picks: Week 4

Ugly week again, 1-3-1, the Bears couldn’t score one more lousy point to make it a more respectable 2-2-1. I am still treading water at .500 and can bounce back any week now. This is a very tough week, with only 1 double digit line as of 10:42 Thursday night. There should be a lot of close ones so here we go.

Cleveland Browns (-3) at Oakland Raiders
Oakland should be the first team in gambling history to always have a 7 point lead to begin with. Even if every starter on the Browns was injured, I still think they could win. Oakland is that bad. In all seriousness Cleveland played well last week, giving the Ravens all they could handle. The Browns should be able to dispatch the Raiders with relative ease.

Seattle Seahawks at Chicago Bears (-3-1/2)
Madden curse aside, I would’ve picked the Bears in this game. With Alexander out (barring some holy miracle he keeps talking about) the Bears should be able to shut down the high powered Seattle offense. Without Alexander the Seahawks become one dimensional and the Bears will prey upon that weakness.

Miami Dolphins at Houston Texans (+4)
An almost even game against the Texans? Miami, this is your franchise. I was looking at David Carr’s numbers earlier tonight and they aren’t all that bad. 6 TD’s 1 INT 10 sacks and 6 fumbles (only 2 lost). He is actually playing alright, even with no breath of a running game or offensive line. The craziest thing is he leads the league in QB rating. This is utterly ridiculous. I wouldn’t be shocked if Miami won this game, but not by more than four points, they are just too inconsistent.

San Francisco 49ers (+7) at Kansas City Chiefs
The loss of Trent Green for at least two more weeks really hurts the spirit of this team. Even with LJ, how can a team expect to win with Damon Huard as their quarterback? Even though KC is real tough place to play, and LJ will probably run the ball 50 times thanks to Huard, I still see the niners covering.

San Diego Chargers (-3) at Baltimore Ravens
I have said all along that I am not a believer in Baltimore. McNair hasn’t been good, they have only played one good team (Tampa Bay, who isn’t really good anymore, but they were at the time), and they kick a lot of field goals. The Chargers dropped 40 on the Titans their last game and look very potent on offense. Linebacker Shawne Merriman terrorized Oakland a few weeks ago and looks like the second coming of LT. This San Diego team looks very good.

Last Week: 1-3-1
Season: 7-7-1

The Picks: Week 3

Alright I’ll admit it; my 5-0 start may have been somewhat of a fluke. 1-4 last week was pretty bad, but in my defense there were some really lopsided lines that I fell in love with. Thank god New Orleans came back to save me from a winless week. Here’s week 3.

Chicago Bears (-4) at Minnesota Vikings
To me, the easiest pick on the board. Chicago looks like a Super Bowl team, utterly dominating on defense and lighting up the scoreboard on offense. Will Grossman come crashing down to Earth? Probably, but he doesn’t have to throw 4 TD’s every game for the Bears to win. All he has to do is stay away from catastrophic mistakes (picks for touchdowns, fumbles.) and the Bears should cruise in this division. Meanwhile the Vikings have won their first two games on a fake field goal touchdown pass and a missed field goal by the Redskins. Don’t get me wrong, Brad Johnson looks like the game manager we all know he is, but the team did not look impressive in their first two games. They could easily be 0-2.

Atlanta Falcons (-4) at New Orleans Saints
Atlanta has steam-rolled opponents on the ground this year. Last week Dunn and Vick both ran for over 100 yards and have something like 260 rush yards per game this season. The Saints defense doesn’t exactly strike fear into anyone and will certainly have trouble stopping Vick and company. Atlanta’s defense has also played exceptionally well, especially cornerback DeAngelo Hall. Arguably the leagues best corner has the ability to shut down his side of the field, as shown by his two picks last week. New Orleans’ offense has looked good, with Bush and McCalister running the ball effectively. Brees showed guts against the Packers and looks like he is adjusting well to his new team. I just don’t think the defense will be able to contain Vick, both running and passing. Look for the Falcons to dominate on both sides of the ball.

Tennessee Titans (+11) at Miami Dolphins
This game promises to be an ugly one. Both teams are in disarray. Miami is having problems offensively; Culpepper seems lost and is making horrible decisions. Ronnie Brown has been alright at running back but he needs to produce more to take some pressure off of Culpepper. The Titans are a mess. With the Billy Volek controversy casting a cloud over the team and the Kerry Collins/Vince Young quarterback by committee, things just are not clicking in any way. Jeff Fisher needs to make a move, either Young (the future) or Collins (the present?) for this team to have any chance at winning a few games this season. Talent wise Miami should have no problem winning this game, but eleven points is far too many for a team this shaky.

Denver Broncos at New England Patriots (-7)
Denver has gotten off to a horrible start this year. When your team has a quarterback controversy after week 1, you are in trouble. Jake Plummer has played so terribly that fans and some media are calling for untested rookie Jay Cutler to take his spot. The defense and patchwork running game are still good, but scoring only one touchdown in two games is alarming. New England has played in two squeakers thus far, most recently narrowly surviving a Jets comeback last week. Corey Dillon and rookie Laurence Maroney have been a monster tandem on the ground, giving the Patriots a great running game to go along with Brady. With the Deion Branch business behind them the Patriots will win this game.

Jacksonville Jaguars (+7) at Indianapolis Colts
Maybe I am just in love the Jaguars after they obliterated the Steelers on Monday night. Or maybe it’s the fact that Byron Leftwich is the toughest QB in the NFL. Jacksonville’s defense is superb as usual, with Stroud and Henderson in the trenches, terrorizing opposing quarterbacks/running games. The backfield, led by Rashean Mathis, shut down Hines Ward and picked off two passes. Indy is very dangerous through the air and could put some points up against the Jags defense. Jacksonville always plays the Colts tough and I think they will win in a medium scoring game, 20-14.


Last Week: 1-4
Season: 6-4

The Picks: Week 2

I am on cloud nine from last weeks picks. Not only going 5-0, but also predicting a Chicago shutout of the Packers. Maybe I should put money on this....
On to the picks for week 2.

St. Louis Rams (-3-1/2) at San Francisco 49ers
I am going with the Rams again. I think the 49ers fooled everyone into thinking they are better than they really are with a good offensive performance last week. The niners should be getting at least five points in this game. St. Louis is going to be able to put up a good amount of points against the bad San Fran. Defense and should win easily.

New Orleans Saints (-1-1/2) at Green Bay Packers
New Orleans looked good in their opener; Reggie seems to be the real deal. Green Bay looked pitiful and I don’t get how they aren’t getting at least a seven point advantage every game they play. New Orleans should roll.

Cleveland Browns (+10-1/2) at Cincinnati Bengals
I like the Bengals as much as the next guy but 11 points is a lot to win by. Cleveland looks like they are going to play hard every game this year an make better teams work to win. Cleveland Cornerback Leigh Bodden will give Chad Johnson trouble and limit his effectiveness. They won’t win, but look for Cleveland to cover.

Houston Texans (+13-1/2) at Indianapolis Colts
Without James the Colts are a one dimensional team that has to put up 300+ passing yards to win. Can they do it? Of course, Peyton Manning is that good. Without a steady run game to control the clock it will be hard to win as much as they are used to. I just cannot envision them winning by 14 points against any team, even one as bad as the Texans.

Oakland Raiders (+a million) at Baltimore Ravens
Ok, so it’s actually +14, but that’s still a ton. The Raiders are a two win team, at best. They have a terrible defense and strictly deep ball offense lead by a dumb quarterback and even dumber coach. That said I am not in love with the Ravens as everyone else is. The defense looked very good against a good team, Tampa Bay. But is Ray Lewis really back? Can McNair hold up all year? This is a team with a lot of question marks. Mark my words, if the Raiders don’t cover I will never pick them again this season.


Last Week: 5-0
Season: 5-0

NFL 2006 Week 1: The Picks

It’s the opening weekend of the 2006 NFL season and I couldn’t be happier. Football is by far the best sport to watch on TV and is probably the most entertaining American sport period. I’ve decided to I am going to pick five games every week (using the lines from Bodog.com) and pick the winners. Let’s see how terrible I am gambling.

Denver Broncos at St. Louis Rams (+4)
The Broncos offense, lead by Jake the Snake, doesn’t scare me in the least. I know Shanahan is a rushing game genius, but Mike Bell is a bit of a stretch. The Rams on the other hand are getting four points at home, where they usually play fast and well. Steven Davis is a monster at running back and Torry Holt is a big play receiver. St. Louis will at least cover and I can see them winning outright.

Baltimore Ravens (+3) at Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Steve McNair is far from his co-MVP form from a few seasons ago. But he is an upgrade from bust Kyle Boller. Baltimore’s defense is still very good, if getting older. Tampa Bay looks pretty good with Cadillac Williams eyeing 1500 yards and the defense is always in the top of the league. The reason I am picking the Ravens is this: Chris Simms. Simms is still growing and learning how to be a quarterback in the NFL. The Ravens secondary will capitalize on anything less than a perfect game from him.

Cincinnati Bengals (-1) at Kansas City Chiefs
This game is pretty much a dead heat in terms of the spread. Arrowhead is always a very tough place to go into and play and Palmers knee is still a big question mark. All things considered I think Cincinnati is still a very good team and extremely explosive on the offensive side of the ball. They have a top 5 receiver (C. Johnson) and a top 10 running back (R. Johnson) that will give the KC defense headaches all day. Larry Johnson is silly good and will probably have a huge game against the Cincy defense. This has all the makings of a shootout; I just think the Bengals have more firepower.

Philadelphia Eagles (-6 1/2) at Houston Texans
Bottom line here: Houston still stinks and will regret passing on Reggie Bush. I don’t see how the Eagles can’t win by double digits. McNabb will go crazy on this horrid defense, finding whatever receivers the Eagles have these days.

Chicago Bears (-4) at Green Bay Packers
Green Bay looks like a 2-3 win team to me. Brett Favre will have trouble in the pocket as well as finding open receivers. The Bears ground attack looks very good and their defense, stifling. Chicago seems to be the cream of the crop in this trashy division. As long as Grossman stays away from mistakes, I see a score in the neighborhood of 17-0.