In an age where extreme metal reigns, Mastodon are one of the few metal bands accessible to the mainstream. On Emperor the songs are punchier and poppier than the band’s mid-career forays into heady prog. In fact, “Show Yourself” is so catchy you’ll want to lace up your dancing shoes. Emperor—like Mastodon’s prog releases—has a concept: cancer and chemotherapy the bandmembers’ family and friends battled in recent years. But it isn’t nearly as bleak as it sounds: Emperor is the seventh example of a band that unceasingly explores, rebuilds and redefines a genre too often derided for its mediocrity.
Score: 10 out of 10
Emperor of Sand
Reprise Records
Producer: Brendan O’Brien
