Blood Mountain (album)

Last updated

Blood Mountain
Mastodon - Blood Mountain.JPG
Studio album by
Mastodon
ReleasedSeptember 12, 2006
RecordedDecember 2005 – April 2006
Studio Robert Lang Studios, Studio Litho, and EK Studios, Seattle, Washington
Genre
Length51:02
Label
Producer Matt Bayles
Mastodon
Mastodon chronology
Call of the Mastodon
(2006)		Blood Mountain
(2006)		 Crack the Skye
(2009)
Singles from Blood Mountain
  1. "Crystal Skull"/"Capillarian Crest"
    Released: August 8, 2006
  2. "The Wolf Is Loose"
    Released: November 2006
  3. "Colony of Birchmen"
    Released: March 12, 2007
  4. "Sleeping Giant"
    Released: 2007 [2]

Blood Mountain is the third full-length studio album and major label debut by American heavy metal band Mastodon. The recording of the album finished in April 2006 and it was released on September 12 in the UK and September 12, 2006 in North America through Reprise Records. The album in full could be streamed at the band's MySpace page a few days prior to the release.

Contents

Like Mastodon's previous studio work Leviathan , Blood Mountain is a concept album. According to bassist Troy Sanders, "It's about climbing up a mountain and the different things that can happen to you when you're stranded on a mountain, in the woods, and you're lost. You're starving, hallucinating, running into strange creatures. You're being hunted. It's about that whole struggle." [3] Guitarist Bill Kelliher considers this album to represent the earth element. [4] At the time, bassist Troy Sanders called it "sonically the best album we have done." The band's emphasis on clean, melodic vocals instead of the harsher vocals that the band used on their early work continues to grow on this album.

The album includes guest appearances by Scott Kelly of Neurosis on "Crystal Skull", Josh Homme of Queens of the Stone Age on "Colony of Birchmen", as well as keyboard player Isaiah "Ikey" Owens of The Mars Volta and singer Cedric Bixler-Zavala of At the Drive-In and The Mars Volta on "Pendulous Skin" and "Siberian Divide", respectively.

Story notes

Track details

In earlier pressings, the album's last song, "Pendulous Skin", contains a secret "fan letter" from Josh Homme, who provided guest vocals on the album. At minute 21:25, he says: "Dear Mastodon: My name is Joshua. I'm a big fan from Southern Cal. Really diggin' on your new scene. That's why I hope you don't mind when I got your new demos for your new CD, I had to sing parts on them and send them to you as a tribute. I hope you're not mad about me also uploading them onto the Internet. But hell, it seems like you guys are so cool that you might dig something just like that. Sincerely, your fan, Joshua M. Homme. P.S., Keep it real...REAL (studio effects are used)....*laughter*....REAL." When asked about the message in a Pitchfork Media interview, Homme said, "I was just fucking with them. Then they asked if they could put that on the end of their record, and I was like, 'Yeah.' I did the vocal [for "Colony of Birchmen"] and sent it back to them, and that message was before the song started." [7] The song itself ends at 5:03, followed by over 16 minutes of silence, then Homme's message.

The title "Colony of Birchmen" is an homage to the song "The Colony of Slippermen" by progressive rock group Genesis, whom the band's drummer, Brann Dailor, has been known to appreciate. [8]

Music videos for "The Wolf Is Loose", "Colony of Birchmen", "Sleeping Giant" and "Capillarian Crest" have been made. Although the video for "Capillarian Crest" is made up of live footage, the studio version of the song is played. The track "Sleeping Giant" is available as downloadable content for Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock , and "Colony of Birchmen" is an on-disc track in Rock Band 2 .

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic 82/100 [9]
Review scores
SourceRating
AbsolutePunk 93% [10]
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [1]
The A.V. Club A [11]
Blabbermouth 8/10 [12]
Drowned in Sound 10/10 [13]
The Guardian Star full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [14]
The Observer Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [15]
Pitchfork 8.7/10 [16]
PopMatters 10/10 [17]
Rolling Stone Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [18]

Blood Mountain was released to high critical praise. At Metacritic, which assigns a rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has received a score of 82, based on 24 reviews. [9] Total Guitar magazine voted it Number One album of 2006, and magazines such as Metal Hammer and Kerrang! thought it is every bit as good as the band's previous album Leviathan , if not better. The album has also charted in many websites and magazines 2006 countdowns.

Blood Mountain was voted the best album of 2006 in the UK Metal Hammer magazine end-of year polls, as well as top in Total Guitar magazine's top 50 albums of 2006. It was also rated the 17th greatest metal album of all time by a countdown carried out by gaming website IGN in 2010. [19]

In 2006, the album was nominated for a Danish Metal Award for Best International Metal album, [20] but the award eventually went to Satyricon's Now Diabolical . [21] That same year, the song "Colony of Birchmen" was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance, but lost to Slayer's Eyes of the Insane. [22]

Commercial performance

Blood Mountain entered the Billboard 200 best selling album charts at No. 32, with 24,000 sold copies, marking it the third highest debut in the band's career before Crack the Skye and The Hunter . [23] The album is also one of the band's highest selling effort to date. By December 2006, the album had sold more than 65,000 copies in the U.S. alone according to the band's website, [24] by March 2009, the album had sold 150,000 copies in the U.S. according to Nielsen Soundscan, [25] and by September 2010 it had sold 176,000 copies. [26]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Mastodon

No.TitleLength
1."The Wolf Is Loose"3:34
2."Crystal Skull" (featuring Scott Kelly)3:27
3."Sleeping Giant"5:36
4."Capillarian Crest"4:25
5."Circle of Cysquatch"3:20
6."Bladecatcher"3:20
7."Colony of Birchmen" (featuring Josh Homme)4:20
8."Hunters of the Sky"3:52
9."Hand of Stone"3:30
10."This Mortal Soil"5:00
11."Siberian Divide" (featuring Cedric Bixler-Zavala)5:32
12."Pendulous Skin" (featuring Isaiah "Ikey" Owens; extended to 22:16 on CD pressings, including 16:20 of silence before a hidden message by Josh Homme)5:06
Total length:51:02

Personnel

Mastodon
Guest musicians
Technical personnel

Charts

Certifications

RegionCertification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI) [40] Silver60,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mastodon (band)</span> American metal band

Mastodon is an American heavy metal band from Atlanta, Georgia. Formed in 2000, the band's lineup of Troy Sanders (bass/vocals), Brent Hinds, Bill Kelliher and Brann Dailor (drums/vocals) has remained unchanged since 2001. Mastodon has released eight studio albums, as well as a number of other releases. The band's 2002 debut album, Remission, garnered significant critical acclaim for its unique sound. Mastodon's second full-length release, Leviathan, is a concept album based on the novel Moby-Dick by Herman Melville. Three magazines awarded the record "Album of the Year" in 2004: Revolver, Kerrang! and Terrorizer.

<i>Leviathan</i> (Mastodon album) 2004 studio album by Mastodon

Leviathan is the second album by American heavy metal band Mastodon, released in 2004 on Relapse Records. It is Mastodon's first concept album, loosely based on the 1851 novel Moby-Dick by Herman Melville. The songs "Iron Tusk," "Naked Burn," and "Blood and Thunder" were released as promotional singles, and music videos were created for "Iron Tusk," "Blood and Thunder," and "Seabeast". Three magazines awarded the album Album of the Year in 2004: Revolver, Kerrang! and Terrorizer. In 2009 and 2015 MetalSucks named Leviathan the best metal album of the 21st century.

<i>Remission</i> (Mastodon album) 2002 studio album by Mastodon

Remission is the debut album by American heavy metal band Mastodon. It was released on May 28, 2002 through Relapse Records. A deluxe edition was released on October 21, 2003.

<i>Lifesblood</i> 2001 EP by Mastodon

Lifesblood is the second EP by American metal band Mastodon. It was released on CD in 2001 and vinyl in 2004 by Relapse Records. The title Lifesblood is derived from a lyric in the song "Trampled Under Hoof", which appears on their debut album, Remission.

<i>Call of the Mastodon</i> 2006 compilation album by Mastodon

Call of the Mastodon is a compilation album of early recordings from the American metal band Mastodon. It was released on February 7, 2006, by Relapse Records.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Troy Sanders</span> American bassist and singer (born 1973)

Troy Jayson Sanders is an American musician, best known as a member of heavy metal band Mastodon, in which he plays bass and sings alongside Brent Hinds and Brann Dailor. He is also active in the supergroups Killer Be Killed and Gone Is Gone and is the current touring bassist for rock band Thin Lizzy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brent Hinds</span> American guitarist and singer

William Brent Hinds is an American musician best known as the lead guitarist of the Atlanta, Georgia metal band Mastodon, in which he shares guitar duties with Bill Kelliher and vocal duties with Troy Sanders and Brann Dailor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Colony of Birchmen</span> 2007 single by Mastodon

"Colony of Birchmen" is a single by American heavy metal band Mastodon. It was featured on the group's third album, Blood Mountain. The song features backing vocals from Josh Homme, lead singer of the alternative rock band Queens of the Stone Age and former guitarist of Kyuss.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mastodon discography</span>

The discography of heavy metal band Mastodon consists of eight studio albums, two live albums, three compilation albums, one video album, six extended plays, 27 singles and 23 music videos.

<i>Crack the Skye</i> 2009 studio album by Mastodon

Crack the Skye is the fourth studio album by American heavy metal band Mastodon, released on March 24, 2009, through Reprise, Sire and Relapse Records. The album debuted at number 11 on the Billboard 200, selling 41,000 copies in its first week. In Australia, the album debuted at number 19. It had sold 200,000 copies in the US as of September 2010, making it one of their highest-selling albums to date.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oblivion (Mastodon song)</span> 2009 single by Mastodon

Oblivion is the second single from Crack the Skye by American progressive metal band Mastodon. It is their second-most successful single and song from Crack the Skye, reaching #30 on the Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart; however, it has since been surpassed by "Curl of the Burl," which peaked at #16. It is the opening track on the band's live album Live At The Aragon.

<i>Live at the Aragon</i> 2011 live album by Mastodon

Live at the Aragon is a live CD/DVD by the metal band Mastodon. It was released on March 15, 2011. It was filmed on October 17, 2009 during a Mastodon live show in the historic Aragon Ballroom of Chicago, part of their world tour to support their fourth album, Crack the Skye. It features Crack the Skye at its entirety as well as other Mastodon songs from Remission, Leviathan and Blood Mountain, their first, second and third records respectively. To promote the album the band released the live versions of "Oblivion", "Ghost of Karelia" and "Crack the Skye" on YouTube. The DVD also features the Crack the Skye film, which is the album in video format, in its entirety.

<i>The Hunter</i> (Mastodon album) 2011 studio album by Mastodon

The Hunter is the fifth studio album by American heavy metal band Mastodon. Released through Roadrunner Records on September 26, 2011, in the UK and one day later in the US via Reprise Records, The Hunter is their first release with producer Mike Elizondo. In its first week of release in the UK, the album reached number 19 on the UK Albums Chart and position number 10 on the Billboard 200 chart selling over 39,000 copies in the first week. As of December 2011, The Hunter has sold over 75,133 copies in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Curl of the Burl</span> 2011 single by Mastodon

"Curl of the Burl" is a single by American heavy metal band Mastodon from their fifth studio album, The Hunter. It was released August 16, 2011, as the second single from the album. The single was the band's most successful song on the Mainstream Rock Songs chart at release, peaking at No. 15. It would eventually lose its title to Emperor of Sand's "Show Yourself". It was nominated for a 2011 Grammy award in the category Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance.

<i>Once More Round the Sun</i> 2014 studio album by Mastodon

Once More 'Round the Sun is the sixth studio album by American heavy metal band Mastodon. It was released on June 24, 2014, via Reprise Records. On April 17, 2014, Mastodon released the album's first single, "High Road". On June 16, 2014, the album was made available for streaming on iTunes. Once More 'Round the Sun sold around 34,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to land at position No. 6 on the Billboard 200 chart, making it the band's highest-peaking album on the chart and their second consecutive Top 10 debut after their previous album, The Hunter, peaked at No. 10.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Motherload</span> 2014 single by Mastodon

"The Motherload" is a song by American progressive metal band Mastodon. The song was released as the third and final single from the band's sixth studio album, Once More 'Round the Sun.

<i>Emperor of Sand</i> 2017 studio album by Mastodon

Emperor of Sand is the seventh studio album by American heavy metal band Mastodon. It was released on March 31, 2017 through record label Reprise Records. The album's first single, "Show Yourself", peaked at number 4 on the US Billboard Mainstream Rock Songs chart in 2017. The second single, "Steambreather", peaked at number 18 on the same chart. It was ranked on several year-end lists, including at number three on The Independent's "Top 20 Rock & Metal Albums of 2017".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Show Yourself (Mastodon song)</span> 2017 single by Mastodon

"Show Yourself" is a single by American progressive metal band Mastodon, off of their studio album Emperor of Sand. It peaked at number 4 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Songs chart in 2017, making it their highest-charting song to date.

<i>Cold Dark Place</i> 2017 EP by Mastodon

Cold Dark Place is an EP by American metal band Mastodon. It was released digitally and on CD on September 22, 2017 via Reprise Records, and a limited-edition ten-inch vinyl followed on October 27. Three of the tracks were recorded during the recording sessions of 2014's Once More 'Round the Sun, while "Toe to Toes" was recorded during the recording sessions of 2017's Emperor of Sand.

<i>Medium Rarities</i> (Mastodon album) 2020 compilation album by Mastodon

Medium Rarities is a compilation album by American metal band Mastodon. It was released digitally and on limited edition vinyl on September 11, 2020 via Reprise Records. The album is a collection of rare tracks that include covers, instrumental versions of previous songs, and live recordings. Its opening track, a new song titled "Fallen Torches", was released on July 31, 2020. The song features Scott Kelly from Neurosis for his final guest appearance with Mastodon before his withdrawal from the public eye that was not announced until August 2022.

References

  1. 1 2 "Blood Mountain – Mastodon". Allmusic.
  2. ↑ "Sleeping Giant" (single). Mastodon. Reprise Records. 2007. PRO-CDR-102042.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  3. 1 2 3 Lampert, Eva (April 26, 2006). "Beware of the Cysquatch On New Mastodon Album". Chart . Archived from the original on October 5, 2010. Retrieved August 7, 2009.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  4. ↑ "MASTODON (TROY SANDERS/BILL KELIHER) INTERVIEW". Terrorverlag GbR Musik Magazin. October 11, 2006. Retrieved May 28, 2007.
  5. ↑ The Making Of Blood Mountain DVD Chapter 8
  6. ↑ Track 5: Circle Of Cysquatch
  7. ↑ Pitchfork: QOTSA's Homme Talks New LP, Motivations, Pirates Archived April 16, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  8. ↑ Worley, Gail Adventures On Blood Mountain: An Interview with Brann Dailor of Mastodon Archived September 24, 2015, at the Wayback Machine Ink19.com (February 2008). Retrieved April 6, 2008.
  9. 1 2 "Blood Mountain – Mastodon". Metacritic . Retrieved February 4, 2012.
  10. ↑ "Mastodon – Blood Mountain – Album Review". AbsolutePunk.
  11. ↑ "Mastodon: Blood Mountain". The A.V. Club .
  12. ↑ "CD Reviews". Blabbermouth.net. September 21, 2006.
  13. ↑ "Album Review: Mastodon - Blood Mountain / Releases / Releases // Drowned In Sound". Archived from the original on July 8, 2012. Retrieved April 8, 2012.
  14. ↑ Thomson, Jamie (February 15, 2006). "Mastodon - Blood Mountain - review". The Guardian . London. Retrieved December 11, 2021.
  15. ↑ Capper, Andy (September 17, 2006). "Mastodon - Blood Mountain".
  16. ↑ "Mastodon: Blood Mountain". Pitchfork .
  17. ↑ "Mastodon: Blood Mountain". PopMatters.
  18. ↑ "Mastodon - Blood Mountain". Rolling Stone . No. 1009. September 21, 2006. p. 82.
  19. ↑ IGN: Top 25 Metal Albums Archived March 15, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
  20. ↑ "RAUNCHY, ILLDISPOSED, MERCENARY Among Nominees at DANISH METAL AWARDS". September 29, 2006.
  21. ↑ "RAUNCHY, MERCENARY, VOLBEAT Among Winners at DANISH METAL AWARDS". November 19, 2006.
  22. ↑ "SLAYER Wins GRAMMY in 'Best Metal Performance' Category". February 11, 2007.
  23. ↑ "Mastodon's 'Crack The Skye' Lands At No. 11 On BILLBOARD Chart". blabbermouth.net. April 1, 2009. Archived from the original on April 4, 2009. Retrieved February 1, 2010.
  24. ↑ "mastodonrocks.com". Archived from the original on October 6, 2011. Retrieved June 11, 2019.
  25. ↑ "MASTODON: 'Divinations' Video Available". BlabberMouth. Archived from the original on March 9, 2009.
  26. ↑ Grein, Paul (September 15, 2010). "The Dulcet Tones of Bruno Mars". Yahoo! Music . Retrieved April 22, 2011.
  27. ↑ "Australiancharts.com – Mastodon – Blood Mountain". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 28, 2015.
  28. 1 2 "Ultratop.be – Mastodon – Blood Mountain" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved June 28, 2015.
  29. ↑ "Lescharts.com – Mastodon – Blood Mountain". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 28, 2015.
  30. ↑ "Offiziellecharts.de – Mastodon – Blood Mountain" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved June 28, 2015.
  31. ↑ "Irish-charts.com – Discography Mastodon". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 22, 2021.
  32. ↑ "Norwegiancharts.com – Mastodon – Blood Mountain". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 28, 2015.
  33. ↑ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 1, 2021.
  34. ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – Mastodon – Blood Mountain". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 28, 2015.
  35. ↑ "Mastodon". Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 28, 2015.
  36. ↑ "Official Rock & Metal Albums Chart Top 40". 17 September 2006 - 23 September 2006. Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 28, 2015.
  37. ↑ "Mastodon Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved November 1, 2021.
  38. ↑ "Mastodon Chart History (Top Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved June 28, 2015.
  39. ↑ "Mastodon Chart History (Top Tastmakers Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved November 1, 2021.
  40. ↑ "British album certifications – Mastodon – Blood Mountain". British Phonographic Industry . Retrieved November 30, 2018.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.