Mastodon - Cold Dark Place

This EP comes at just the right time it seems, following the slowing down of the publication cycle after the disappointing and over-hyped Emperor of Sand. Being that the album is much more simplistic than the bulk of Mastodon’s work and its flashes only burn brightly for so long, I wasn’t surprised to see the because-it’s-Mastodon praise for it quiet down as well. While not quite as sludgy as their early work, the progressiveness of Cold Dark Place brings some much needed redemption to the notion that Mastodon has settled for coasting lazily in unambitious song-writing. I don’t know why they couldn’t have extended their efforts on this type of music, and instead opted to make really uninteresting throwback alternative rock/metal tunes. This EP showcases more diversity of mood throughout its four tracks than its preceding LP did across its 51 minutes, from the psychedelics of “Blue Walsh” to the upbeat, Rush-esque somberness of “Toe to Toes”, to the title track’s guitar-wailing finale worthy of some glorious synchronized mouth movements. It’s almost like Mastodon realized that they didn’t put as much as they could have into Emperor of Sand and decided to make up for it with this EP, which I surely don’t mind. I’ve already listened to it more than I have Emperor of Sand (which I’ve entirely ignored since writing about it). While I’ve been relatively critical of Mastodon before in the sense that I don’t see them as one of modern metal’s best bands, this EP plays like a sharp turn back on track for the band, hopefully to doing what they do well.

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