MASTODON “The Hunter” /Ltd. Picture LP/

For the first time on Picture Disc, the fifth full-length studio album by American Progressive/Sludge Metal/Hard Rock band.
"The Hunter" is Mastodon's second non-concept album. Moreover, it's marks the first time that drummer Brann Dailor composes and sings a Mastodon song in its entirety ("Creature Lives"), and takes lead vocal duties on more than two songs. Like Mastodon's previous album "Crack The Skye", "The Hunter" features a mix of clean singing and a few songs with harsher shouting vocals.
On "The Hunter", Mastodon abandoned the Proggy, conceptual route taken on previous outings, choosing instead to mine the trailblazing, riff-heavy abandon of their 2004 masterpiece, "Leviathan". Mastodon's increasingly accessible sound may not land them a hit anytime soon, but cuts like “Black Tongue”, “Curl of the Burl” and “Balsteroid”, all of which arrive in sequence at the front of the set, show a willingness to write within the parameters of 21st century Pop music’s dark side. That’s not to say that the band has pulled its head out of the vastness of space, as there are more than enough tracks here to satisfy fans who prefer the Sludgy, drop-D epics of yore to the more organized roar of "The Hunter" 's front end. Fueled by Brãnn Dailor's Jazzy, machine-gun drumming, songs like “Octopus Has No Friends”, “All the Heavy Lifting” and “Bedazzled Fingernails”, despite coming in at under five minutes, are epically arranged, and the surprisingly hummable, bass melody-led swamp monster anthem “Creature Lives” sounds like a Sabbathy, Lovecraftian take on Jane’s Addiction's “Summertime Rolls”. The closest " The Hunter" comes to reaching an apex is on the breathless “Spectrelight”, a relentless three-minute slab of pure unadulterated fury that will probably clock in at around a minute and half live, but it’s an album that doesn’t really need to peak, as it never promises a thing it can’t back up, boldly and loudly.
The song "Spectrelight" features Neurosis vocalist/guitarist Scott Kelly as a guest. Guitarist Bill Kelliher provides lead vocals on the bonus track "Deathbound". "The Hunter" is their first release with producer Mike Elizondo.
In its first week of release in the UK, the album reached number 19 on the UK Albums Chart and position number 10 on the Billboard 200 chart selling over 39000 copies in the first week. As of December 2011, "The Hunter" has sold over 75133 copies in the United States.
Reprise Records/WEA International Inc., 2011/2017 (561701-1). Made in Czech. First press on Picture Disc.


Tracklist:

SIDE A:
1. Black Tongue 3:25
2. Curl Of The Burl 3:38
3. Blasteroid 2:33
4. Stargasm 4:37
5. Octopus Has No Friends 3:46
6. All The Heavy Lifting 4:29
7. The Hunter 5:15

SIDE B:
8. Dry Bone Valley 3:57
9. Thickening 4:28
10. Creature Lives 4:39
11. Spectrelight 3:07
12. Bedazzled Fingernails 3:06
13. The Sparrow 5:30

Total playing time: 52:30 min.