Posts Tagged ‘mastodon’

Roadburn’s Album of the Decade: Electric Wizard – Dopethrone

Posted on Tuesday, January 5th, 2010

The votes are in, the points have been awarded and the math has been done. More than 150 of you have taken the time to forward your Top 10 list for the Roadburn Album of the Decade.

Here then is your list (and a stunning list it is). It seems that some bands suffered because they had several good albums in the decade, like High on Fire, Neurosis or Mastodon, but champions Electric Wizard did not suffer from multiple great releases and in the end stood above all the contenders. Their magnum opus Dopethrone was mentioned the most, got the most points and clearly deserved to win. Not satisfied with the top spot, they also had the number 3 album of the decade with Witchcult Today.
Neurosis was the only other band to place two different records on the list, holding spot number 2 with Given to the Rising and number 8 with Eye of Every Storm.

Needless to say, we at Roadburn are very proud that we have had both bands at our festival (listen back to their appearances here (Electric Wizard) and here (Neurosis).

ROADBURN TOP 10 ALBUMS OF THE DECADE:

Electric Wizard - Dopethrone

01.Electric Wizard – Dopethrone, 2000 (298)

“How do you review one of the best records you’ve ever heard? That is the challenge that  Dopethrone has presented me with. It is so hard to tell whether an album sounds good in the short term, or whether it will stand the test of time. Luckily, you can look back to the last Electric Wizard full-length Come My Fanatics… and see how that has lasted. Quite nicely, it turns out. Four years have not diminished its potency or impact. Dopethrone maintains all the good things from Fanatics… and then makes it all… well, better. There is just MORE Electric Wizard-ness packed in. Enough to convince me that Dopethrone is an all-time classic.

What is Electric Wizard-ness? It is the primal opposition of different elements: super-saturated distortion next to drugged-out ambient spaces; minimal bpm’s pitted against edge-of-sanity vocals; “essence of Iommi” riffs versus subharmonic drone. It is also a feeling, an atmosphere of sociopathic danger and bleak despair fused with the comforting warmth of fuzz. It’s the uncertainty of taking heavy drugs and the euphoria of a good trip. It is density and space. Darkness and light. Basic, visceral elements translated into music.

In truth, that is exactly what this record is. The band went into the studio with rough outlines of songs, but left the final product up to spontaneous creation. And created the complex simplicity of Dopethrone. Or is it simply complex?

One of the interesting things about Dopethrone is that it nullifies all the normal criteria for judging records. Does it have great songs? Irrelevant. The album is great. Does it have excellent musicianship? Not applicable. The instruments work together as an organic whole. Is it well-produced? Again, not applicable. The sound is a function of the playing. The atmosphere simultaneously creates and is created by the music. This is one seamless unit. This is the dopethrone. Kneel before your liege lord… and inhale deeply” — Drew Webster, Roadburn 2000.

02.Neurosis – Given to the Rising, 2007 (177)
03.Electric Wizard – Witchcult Today, 2007 (144)
04.Queens of the Stone Age – Songs for the Deaf, 2002  (130)
05.Om – Conference of the Birds, 2006 (124)
06.Celtic Frost – Monotheist, 2006 (123)
07.Mastodon – Leviathian, 2004 (120)
08.Neurosis – In the Eye of every Storm, 2004 (110)
09.Isis – Oceanic, 2002 (97)
10.Wolves in the Throne Room – Two Hunters, 2007 (94)

Also in contention:

Clutch – Blast Tyrant
Sleep – Dopesmoker
Melvins – A  senile Animal
Sunn o))) – Black One | Monoliths & Dimensions
Witchcraft -  S/T
Jesu - S/T

The rules again:

-     Only discs released between 1-1-2000 and 31-12-2009 counted

-     Roadburn related

-     Number 1 gets 10 points, number 10 gets 1 point

-      Only one disc per artist

-      No re-issues

For our personal lists, please go HERE.

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Posted in Album of the Day, News, Playlists, Roadburn Recommended | 8 Comments »

Mastodon confirms Jonah Hex involvement

Posted on Friday, September 4th, 2009

Atlanta progressive metallers Mastodon have confirmed that they are working with composer John Powell and director Jimmy Hayward on the score to Jonah Hex, the comic-book Western /  horror film starring Josh Brolin in the lead role, with support from John Malkovich, Megan Fox, Will Arnett, Michael Fassbender and Michael Shannon.
The ...read more

Brutal Legend soundtrack announced

Posted on Tuesday, August 11th, 2009

We don’t like computer games here at Roadburn. We’re simply not good at Guitar Hero or Grand Theft Auto. But here is one game we’d love to work on, because it’s got a bloody good soundtrack, featuring the likes of Black Sabbath, Budgie, Candlemass, Emperor, Enslaved, Mastodon, Slayer & Slough ...read more

Mastodon Video for “Oblivion”

Posted on Wednesday, June 10th, 2009

The conceit underlying Mastodon’s new clip for Crack The Skye’s multi-sectional epic “Oblivion” isn’t as mythological, mystical, or straight LOST-y as past stabs, but by now you should know these dudes are always gonna go for something a little beyond the ordinary with their vids. And since everybody’s all about ...read more

Mastodon Get Their Own Pair of Vans

Posted on Friday, June 5th, 2009

We aren’t really into advertisements here on Roadburn.com but we can’t resist showing you this ad.
Nothing goes together like skate shoes and crusty prog-metal. That seems to be the thinking behind Vans giving Atlanta brutalists Mastodon their own shoe. The ad for the shoes, taken from this months issue of ...read more

Pitchfork rates Mastodon Crack the Skye: 8.0

Posted on Wednesday, April 1st, 2009

The seven songs on Crack the Skye stretch over about 50 minutes, an indulgent track-length average for any band not named Opeth. But Mastodon’s odysseys never feel forced or pretentious. Even on 13-minute closer “The Last Baron”, I never really notice the track length. Every riff and roar flows organically ...read more

Mastodon: Xfm Session Available For Streaming (UK only)

Posted on Monday, March 30th, 2009

Atlanta-based hard rock behemoths MASTODON recently recorded a four-song session for the U.K. radio station Xfm. They played “Divinations” and “Oblivion” from their new album, “Crack The Skye”, “Colony Of Birchmen” from “Blood Mountain” and a cover of the MELVINS’ “The Bit”.
The entire session is now available for streaming at this ...read more