LIFESBLOOD

Lifesblood is the debut EP from US experimental metal act Mastodon. Released before their debut album Remission, Lifesblood was the first taste of Mastodon´s unique sound.

The music is very raw and brutal but still with some clever moments that show where Mastodon would be a few years down the line. The first four songs are pretty short and direct brutal metal tracks while the last song Battle at Sea shows Mastodon´s more varied approach. It´s also the longest track on Lifesblood with its 4:16 minutes playing time. I´ve read several places that the music on Lifesblood was death metal, but that´s far from the truth IMO. Mastodon incorporates elements from many genres such as Thrash, hardcore, psychadelic and progressive rock, traditional heavy metal and very little death metal ( there´s a riff in Welcoming War where I think it sounds a bit like death metal, but that´s an exception)

The musicianship is excellent and as the case also is on later releases from the band, Brann Dailor´s drumming means everything for Mastodon´s sound. He is the very definition of Mastodon´s sound IMO. One of the best drummers in modern metal. The vocals are allright but they would get much better on later releases.

The production is a bit too raw IMO, but on the other hand it fits the music well.

Lifesblood is a great start for Mastodon. It put them on the metal map right away and it´s been going their way ever since which is of course deserved as they have been making better and better albums all the time. Lifesblood is a really good EP that doesn´t quite reach excellent and a 3 star rating is deserved.