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9.0
66880
9.0 |
The Music
No matter how much Mastodon explore their outer and inner limits, they always come back sounding like Mastodon – and for that we should be truly grateful
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8.3
67012
8.3 |
A.V. Club
Mastodon has made an album that breaks little new ground—but thanks to Once More ’Round The Sun’s balance between a light touch and a heavy vibe, it doesn’t have to
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8.2
66971
8.2 |
Sputnik Music (staff)
Serves as a blueprint of how to go commercial without sacrificing one's artistic identity
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8.0
67016
8.0 |
NME
Contains their grooviest, most accessible number ever, while the title track and the single ‘High Road’ are further indomitable classics-in-waiting
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8.0
66881
8.0 |
DIY
May not be as brilliant as last album 'The Hunter', but it's a fine piece of work and shows the band are not only ready for, but moreover deserving of their success
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8.0
66882
8.0 |
The Skinny
For a band now in its 14th year – here lyrically meditating on a perpetual life on the road and the looming threat that it could all end tomorrow – the results are reassuringly invigorated
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8.0
66913
8.0 |
The Irish Times
Mastodon have again delivered on their promise. The band have had everything to date against major commercial success. This could make the difference
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8.0
66931
8.0 |
The FT
Age has mellowed them, but mellowness doesn’t extend to abandoning the intense drumming
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8.0
66945
8.0 |
The Arts Desk
This is an LP that throws anthemic Josh Homme-style melodies against brutal Metallica-esque rhythms
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8.0
66957
8.0 |
FasterLouder
Modern metal might get bogged down in its own sub-genres but Mastodon are one of a number of bands still combining new and polymorphic sonic angles to expand the ever-popular world of loud, heavy and intelligent rock music
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8.0
67019
8.0 |
Spin
While the rest of heavy music's luminaries follow in their wake, Mastodon's sound — and their ambition — is bigger than metal
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8.0
67024
8.0 |
All Music
The songwriting, playing, and production here are inspired, kinetic, and far more accessible than ever before
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8.0
67068
8.0 |
State
Essential listening that may sound more simplified than before but only goes to further the fact they can seemingly do no wrong
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8.0
67490
8.0 |
The Quietus
eschews any semblance of theme in favour of balls-out rockin' songs. Only this time they're some of the band's best stand-alone compositions to date
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8.0
67009
8.0 |
PopMatters
As a whole, there is a depth of pain and loss beneath the intertwined layers of riffs, turbulent rhythms, addictive vocal hooks, lyrics, and searing solos
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7.5
66965
7.5 |
Consequence Of Sound
The album is largely breakneck-paced, with the riffs and solos out front as always
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7.0
67018
7.0 |
Rolling Stone
The band sounds best when taking cheerful risks, as with the "hey-ho" chant led by female guest vocalists on "Aunt Lisa"
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7.0
66889
7.0 |
Clash
Never is the fun obscured by fretwork pyrotechnics. So smile along as album six infects the senses
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7.0
66976
7.0 |
Exclaim
An album that's good, but hard to get excited over
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7.0
67837
7.0 |
Beardfood
Find yourself listening to its world-burning intensity and end with a grin on your face
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6.3
67052
6.3 |
Pitchfork
Evolution takes time, and Mastodon continue to publicly work out their growing pains as they determine which traits best represent the unified sound they’ve been chasing this decade
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6.0
67348
6.0 |
Crack
This is, in almost every instance, dense, difficult and daring music
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6.0
66983
6.0 |
Q
This accomplished but difficult record places them exclusively back within the company of metallers. Print edition only
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6.0
67002
6.0 |
Mojo
Mastodon clearly remain at the top of the metal tree. Print edition only
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6.0
66897
6.0 |
The Line Of Best Fit
As heavy, hard rock records go, Once More ‘Round the Sun isn’t necessarily a bad one; it’s just that it seems, like The Hunter before it, to be nudging Mastodon further and further away from what made them stand out in the first place
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6.0
66883
6.0 |
Drowned In Sound
Has lots to recommend it, but it’s a very safe LP that simply doesn’t provide fans with much they won’t have heard before
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