Unfortunately, Emperor of Sand isn’t a return to the band’s glory days, but it’s a step in the right direction. Basically, it’s a metaphor for the band members personal connections with cancer sufferers and the heartbreak, loss and roller-coaster of emotions these experiences entailed, lending a strong emotional resonance that is heard and felt throughout. The basic concept at hand follows the path of a wandering individual handed a death sentence by a desert ruler and left trudging through a wasteland.
From the artwork, re-emergence of their original logo, even the album title and concept smacked of a return to Mastodon’s deeper roots and prime songwriting. However, in the lead-up to the album’s release there were throwback signs hinting of a band hoping to recapture their former glory. Mastodon’s triple pronged vocal attack, excellent drumming and penchant for writing booming sludge rock hooks remains, albeit in the band’s more palatable recent context.
With creativity smoldering, Mastodon return to stoke the fire on their seventh LP, Emperor of Sand. 2014’s Once More ‘Round the Sun was an improvement, adding a touch more color and proggy weirdness, but failed to produce a lasting impact. It wasn’t that The Hunter was an inherently bad album, it simply found Mastodon playing it too safe, simplifying their sound into streamlined sludge rock with songs that were easily remembered in the short term, but ultimately disposable.
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However, my relationship with Mastodon started to get rocky when they followed their sprawling prog masterwork Crack the Skye with 2011’s The Hunter. My infatuation with Remission began a love affair with the band that bordered on fanboy-ism from one excellent album to the next, each a stirring and adventurous behemoth of sludge metal force and progressive smarts. From the moment I heard the pummeling “Crusher Destroyer” from their landmark debut Remission some 15 years ago, I knew Mastodon were something special.
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