The music has been stripped down to something far more bare bones and rock oriented, with infectious choruses and relatively simple structures. It will remind listeners of a twisted doom cousin of Foo Fighters at times, and this is definitely a good thing. Mastodon performed Crack The Skye in its entirety more times than necessary, which left many fans hating each and every proggy second of it. With The Hunter, the songwriting is still heavy as ever, but far more concise than Mastodon’s last album. The album doesn’t take itself too seriously, especially lyrically, and as a result listeners will find themselves smiling as they headbang along to the album's crushing riffs. Although The Hunter is thoroughly enjoyable, there are a couple of things that kept it from deserving a perfect "10".
One qualm many will have with this album is its production. Songs like “Dry Bone Valley” and “Octopus Has No Friends” were completely void of grit, and a rougher, less “perfect” mix would have given the songs a bit more edge. Another issue is more a matter of taste. Mastodon’s narrative quality has always been admirable, and each of their previous albums wove an intricate story, with tracks effortlessly interlaced. The Hunter is not a conceptual work. There’s a bit of a space theme, sure, with tracks like “Blasteroid” and “Stargasm," but it’s nothing close to a tale like Leviathan. While this album is undoubtedly music to blast through your headphones, the crushing walls of sound present on albums like Blood Mountain have been left in the past.
“Black Tongue” is the first track, and marks the first steps down a very different path for the band. Those who have a firm investment in Mastodon’s signature progressive sound will not be pleased, but if they’re able to step away and appreciate the album for what it is, and not what the band’s name has come to represent, they will likely find themselves engrossed by some aspect of The Hunter. “Curl of the Burl” is reminiscent of a sludgier Queens of the Stone Age coupled with Mastodon’s own unique spin. The bizarrely titled “Bedazzled Fingernails” is one of the most interesting tracks on the album, and the closest thing to Mastodon’s previous sonic sensibilities.
Mastodon may be able to connect with dismayed fans in a live situation better than on the recordings, which are clean and precise almost to a fault. The art and videos the band has produced are killer and will lend themselves to a captivating show. Is this enough to hold the interest of those listening to the album sans supplemental material? That’ll have to be determined on a case-by-case basis.
All complaining aside, The Hunter is one of the top albums of the year. Marketable hard rock with progressive influences doesn't always have to leave fans feeling pissed off. Yes, this has “radio darling” written all over it, but so what? I’d rather hear this played on constant rotation than what’s been polluting the airwaves as of late. A couple of the tracks fail to resonate since they are meant to function independently as opposed to contributing to a bigger picture, but that's splitting hairs given the overall quality of the record. Closing with “The Sparrow”, a melancholic and atmospheric piece replete with soothing vocals and driving percussion,The Hunter cements itself as an admirable addition to Mastodon’s discography.
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