Release
date: September 22nd 2017. Label: Reprise Records. Format:
CD/DD/Vinyl
Cold
Dark Place – Tracklisting
North Side Star
Blue Walsh
Toe To Toes
Cold Dark Place
Members
Brann Dailor - Drums
and Vocals
Brent Hinds - Guitar
and Vocals
Bill Kelliher -
Guitar
Troy Sanders - Bass
and Vocals
Review
When Mastodon announced
their new EP there was a lot of head-scratching (and excitement for
that matter). I mean they had just released one of the years top
albums just a few months prior. This felt like a pretty bold and odd
move. Since Mastodon certainly don't adhere to the structures of
"regular" bands this however do fit in with their nature I
guess. Enough about that, let's get into this EP.
I have been in love
with Mastodon since first hearing The Hunter in 2011. That was
basically my intro to heavy progressive music. So keep in mind that
at the same point where longtime fans lost interest in the band i
fell head over heels in love with them and their music.
I hear echoes of many
albums on Cold Dark Place. There's definitively hints of Blood
Mountain and Crack The Skye here on the opening track North Side Star
especially. It almost feels like an extension of The Czar from CTS.
And while Blue Walsh and the title track itself feels more like
"Classic" Mastodon this is without a doubt in the vein of
newer Mastodon. The tracks are littered with melody and that might
not fall in good graces with some fans. That is not the case with me
though, I love this EP. My only gripe is the length of the songs and
as a result of that the EP itself.
With darker and
gloomier instrumentation (the doomy b-bender guitars sure do add an
extra layer that we previously haven't heard in Mastodon). This by no
means a doomy record though. It feels very uplifting, bright in parts
and full of variation. However the lyrics and emotion gives it a
melodramatic taste. This keeps me coming back time and time again, I
just can't seem to let it go. Just how awesome is the riffs from Toe
To Toes? It makes me think of Van Halen, but in a good way. With
fluffy and airy harmonics they hammer it all the way home.
For me the showstealer
is Blue Walsh. This happens to be some of Mastodon's finest work
regarding vocals. Especially Brann's reverb-laden verse vocals.
Ethereal and crisp.
This begs for the
question, why isn't this part of Emperor of Sand as a double album?
While it certainly doesn't diminish any of these works, it feels like
a missed opportunity. However it won't keep me from coming back to
this hauntingly Beautiful Cold Dark Place.
Words
by Simon Ohlsson
You can buy Cold Dark Place on CD/DD/Vinyl from here.
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