Mastodon — Call of the Mastodon

Limited Coke Bottle Green with Aqua Blue Pinwheels and splatter color edition. / Call of the Mastodon, although short, is such a strong album it's hard to believe it was a demo. But really who wouldn't sign them after receiving this? It shows a band already accustomed to playing together and feeding off each other. It's already intricate, intense, brutal music. Is it Remission or Leviathan? No, it's not. It doesn't have either their sense of scope or their sense of melody. But it does show peeks at every nuance to follow. "Shadows That Move" illustrates that they have always known how to pick an album opener. It pulls you in and doesn't let go. "Thank You For This" previews their amazing use of time change. And "Battle At Sea" and "Deep Sea Creatures" are obvious forbearers to songs on Leviathan. There are a few tracks that show the band testing their waters: The vocals on "We Built This Come Death" almost sound like a Ministry outtake, while "Slickleg" bursts out into punk licks in a few spots. It's hard to imagine, with the amount of progression so far, just where Mastodon will ascend to now that they have signed to a major. -- Robert Arambel