Review: Dan Maynard
Marrow Deep, our latest instalment from Atlantian prog heroes Mastodon, is a tough one to break down into a review, at least from my own perspective. Not for any negative reasons whatsoever. A far departure from Hushed and Grim, Marrow Deep is as emotional and heartfelt, and possibly more so, than its predecessor. The album also acts as an introduction to now full-time guitarist Nick Johnston and keyboardist João Nogueira, who both make themselves heard throughout the album perfectly.
We open with Barbarians Blood, Brann heavy on the toms for a solid eight bars before the entire band join in with the most complete and utter Mastodonesque riff you could possibly fathom. Anything and everything that makes a Mastodon song feel like a Mastodon song is represented in this monolith of an intro. If not within the intro, the rest of the song will cover any missing pieces. It’s heavy, it’s brutal, with an energetic, upbeat chorus and a psychedelic bridge to boot. We truly couldn’t ask for a better opening track.
Following a stellar opening, Poisonous Weapons comes in strong and just as heavy as Barbarians Blood, which will go on to be quite the running theme for the album. Daniel Roebuck screams so iconically and intensely, “And I felt so fucking alive!”, it leads us directly into a massive riff that would blow the face off any right-minded person. The haunting, yet somehow beautiful, aggressive screams of Troy that we’ve come to know and love carry the song most of the way through, only interrupted briefly by Brann’s soothing vocal stretched across a wound down clean bridge that leads directly back into our massive riff and Troy’s boisterous howls.
Without going on a spiel about each and every song from the twelve-song track list, I can tell you there isn’t a track that gives off any sense of being a filler. Each and every song has its place; nothing is skippable by any means. I could spend the next 10 paragraphs breaking down every song, but that leaves no surprise. So here’s the best way I can close out a review of Marrow Deep.
Mastodon have taken the last few years of grief, pain, loss, change, and journey and crafted it into a masterful and incredibly memorable work of art that any Mastodon fan will be able to appreciate and fall in love with wholeheartedly. New fans will be able to use this as an intro to the complete discography of Mastodon, while any old fans who have any attachment to the band will be able to hear and feel the past few years. The album showcases years of hard work and brotherhood, bringing everything they’ve ever done into a colossal 12-track album. With guest musicians such as Josh Homme, Randy Blythe, and Geezer Butler. Even Clutch’s Neil Fallon returns once again after all these years, lending his voice to closing track The Three Fates, a track that sums up the album perfectly, closing us out with pure perfection.
While the album itself is no huge leap of innovation for the band, it still finds a way to be as fresh and enticing as Mastodon ever have and possibly lends itself as one of their best albums. A journey into the roots of the band, Marrow Deep feels like a love letter to their past and a beautiful closing chapter to the old, and the start of a new bright chapter for the band’s future ahead. Not only should the band feel incredibly proud of Marrow Deep, there’s no doubt that Brent would have loved this album the same way the rest of the world will.
Pre-order/pre-save Marrow Deep here: https://i.
