Medium Rarities

For two decades, Atlantas Mastodon have stubbornly followed their own path, whether it led to chart success or derision by closed-minded purists spewing across social media. Over seven studio albums, a handful of singles, splits, and EPs, this quartet hasnt released a proper compilation until now. Medium Rarities assembles instrumentals, live tracks, soundtrack cuts, and covers, without separating them categorically. The outlier is the hooky, face-melting first track, Fallen Torches, with Neurosis Scott Kelly on lead vocals (hes guested on every Mastodon album to this point since Leviathan). It was cut in 2019 but left unissued when the band focused on a charitable project. The set contains four covers, including their 2012 read of Feists A Commotion that was featured on the split single Feistodon, wherein the two acts covered each others tunes (she cut Black Tongue). Its obviously heavier, with churning guitars, chanted choruses, and a filthy bassline, though Mastodon respects its melody by staying close; they offer an ingenious chart on the dreamy bridge. Another relatively faithful cover is their reading of Metallicas instrumental Orion. Just a shade shorter than the original, it trades in the fractured, prog-tinged thrash for bone-crunching heaviness, while leaving the melody intact. The weirdest cover here is of the Flaming Lips A Spoonful Weighs a Ton. Only three-and-a-half minutes long, its first half is essentially a replica, then the band spazzes out with massive guitar and bass vamps that duel for dominance amid splashing crash cymbals. While Atlanta is listed as a Butthole Surfers cover (and features Gibby Haynes), it was actually a co-write for the Adult Swim Singles (Volume 2014). Its three minutes and change, and it rocks! The other Adult Swim-related venture is Cut You Up with a Linoleum Knife from Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film for Theaters. It works as a crazy entry in Mastodons catalogue but pales when compared to its animated video. White Walker was used in Game of Thrones. Its a striking aural portrait of sword and sorcery psychedelia. It doesn’t really sound like Mastodon but showcases their creative potential outside metals genre limitations. The instrumental version of Jaguar God is a highlight, too. Its processional, gothic waltz intro almost breathes. It builds along prog-inflected keyboard and guitar lines before exploding halfway into molten, dissonant riffing and blast beats. Halloween, with its spiky guitar vamp, is set ablaze when the band enters; they follow a wiry riff progression (that recalls moments on Husker Dus Zen Arcade) into the netherworld. While the live tracks -- Blood and Thunder, Capillarian Crest, Circle of Cysquatch, Crystal Skull, and Iron Tusk -- are all raw and frenzied as hell, they dont really differ from their studio versions. But included here, they work to offer yet another unruly, unpredictable dimension in Mastodons complex musical persona. Simply put, Medium Rarities is a must for fans. ~ Thom Jurek

結成20周年を祝してコンパイルされた企画色の強い一枚だが、絶対に聴くべきマスト作と断言したい。血湧き肉踊るライヴ音源、饒舌プレイ連打のインスト曲、サントラ提供曲に加え、ファイストやフレーミング・リップス、メタリカのカヴァーなど、既発も含めて過去のレア音源がぎっしり。冒頭を飾る新曲"Fallen Torches"は〈らしさ〉満載だし、ギビー・ヘインズを迎えた"Atlanta"の野卑な疾走ぶりも強烈だ。
bounce (C)荒金良介