Review Summary: Mastodon’s Trick of the Tail
A Mastodon album without Brent Hinds is a lot to unpack, especially in light of his passing mere months after his departure from the band last year. Such a prospect would’ve been unthinkable, not only for the twenty-five years that the lineup’s core four musicians kept it together but also for the unique touches that he brought to the band. But at the same time, the reveal of his growing detachment shed light on the concerns of stagnancy that dogged their more recent entries. In this sense, Marrow Deep has to reckon with the notion of what Mastodon even is at this point.
Fortunately the remaining members meet this baptism of fire on a united front. I wouldn’t call this the second coming of Blood Mountain or anything, but it’s hard to remember the last time the band sounded as heavy as they do between the pummeling drum beats and weaving guitar patterns on the opening “Barbarians Blood.” The absence of Hinds’ nasally warble can be felt in spots, but the combination of bassist Troy Sanders’ burly wheeze and drummer Brann Dailor’s cleaner yelp among other contributors does a lot to fill things out.
Guitarist Nick Johnston and keyboardist João Nogueira also prove to be solid recruits, alleviating the trepidation of what to expect from new players being added to the roster. The latter shines in particular for me; Mastodon has included keyboards on select tracks before and Nogueira was already an established guest performer, but his contributions are very involved. There’s always a neat patch to round out the atmosphere and the side tangents on songs like “Your Ghost Again” provide some King Crimson-style color. Johnston may be a bit less flashy in comparison but there’s no denying that he and Bill Kelliher are a tight team.
Of course, there’s still an abundance of other guests on here to maintain a balance of novelty and cohesion. A couple old friends make cameos as Josh Homme provides some extra melodicism to “Snakes For Dinner” while “The Three Fates” sees its near eight-minute structure given some spooky gravitas courtesy of Neil Fallon’s dramatic monologue. A killer bass intro courtesy of none other than ***in’ Geezer Butler is also enough to catch my interest on “The Vanishing,” but the actual track’s moves from dreamy synths and gentle vocals to pounding roars would be enough to make it a highlight.
All these factors combined admittedly makes Marrow Deep out to be a rather dense listen. It’s hour-plus length is certainly easier to take in than the double format of 2021’s Hushed And Grim, but one can imagine it being easier to finagle had a couple tracks been cut. I also can’t deny missing some of the catchiness that had played into their 2010s output but the songwriting clearly has other priorities that work just as well. It’s also hard to complain about the urgency of “Poisonous Weapons” or the spacey sweeps of “In The Ruins” and “Moth And Bone.”
If I may put forth the sort of prog dork comparison that the Mastodon guys would hopefully appreciate, Marrow Deep feels like their equivalent to Genesis’s Trick Of The Tail. Shaky circumstances lead to a circling the wagons effect as the lineup is seemingly assessing where the newer quirks will fit into their signature sound. It results in their strongest album in quite some time, certainly the one I’ve enjoyed most since 2014’s Once More ‘Round The Sun. The band’s ability to work in these conditions is commendable when emotions were no doubt raw, but one can imagine this new configuration offering something even stronger when they’ve had a chance to settle.
