Mastodon: Emperer of Sand

The stars have aligned again somewhere over the state of Georgia and Mastodon have crafted yet another stunner. A desert concept album follows the protagonist on his journey across a dry wasteland.  While the journey is full of hardship the listener is being treated to a masterpiece.  The album is full of dark lyrics, even the catchiest tune "Show Yourself" ends with "Dead and gone I'll see you on the other side of fire". Vocals are shared by Brann Dailor, Brent Hinds, and Troy Sanders as is norm for these guys.  On this album they capitalize on their individual strengths and differences using them to bring each song its own captivating vocal delivery.  Mid-album stand-outs that maximize this include "Roots Remain" and "Ancient Kingdom".  The later being a example of a being fearless and unselfish about who is actually singing chorus's because Dailor could easily have been chosen to belt out it out but instead Sanders pushes himself to his melodic max delivering one of the most memorable moments on the album.  Combine that with the Mastodon's innate ability to seemingly allow everyone in the band to be constantly soloing or on the verge of and you have an audience with jaws open and drool running down their collective chins.  The final act, "Jaguar God" delivers a coup de grace to all bands wishing to usurp Mastodon's reign on the throne of metal.  Cheers!