Once More 'Round the Sun

Once More 'Round the Sun
Studio album by Mastodon
Released June 24, 2014 (2014-06-24)
Recorded Rock Falcon Studios, Franklin, Tennessee
Genre
Length 54:08
Label Reprise
Producer Nick Raskulinecz
Mastodon chronology
The Hunter
(2011)		 Once More 'Round the Sun
(2014)
Singles from Once More 'Round the Sun
  1. "High Road"
    Released: April 17, 2014
  2. "Chimes at Midnight"
    Released: June 3, 2014[5]
  3. "The Motherload"
    Released: September 29, 2014

Once More 'Round the Sun is the sixth studio album from American heavy metal band Mastodon. The album was released on June 24, 2014, via Reprise Records.[6] On April 17, 2014, Mastodon released the album's first single, titled "High Road".[7] On June 16, 2014 the album was made available for streaming on iTunes. The album sold around 34,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to land at position No. 6 on The Billboard 200 chart, making it the band's second consecutive top 10 debut after their previous album, The Hunter, peaking at No.10 after opening with 39,000 copies in 2011.[8]

Background

In late 2012, Mastodon guitarist Brent Hinds mentioned in an interview that he had begun writing material for the band's next release.[9] The band continued writing and demoing their sixth studio album throughout 2013, while touring for their 2011 release The Hunter.[10] The band began recording in late 2013 at Rock Falcon Studios in Franklin, Tennessee, with producer Nick Raskulinecz.[11][12]

Musical style

Troy Sanders has stated in an interview that the album is a continuation, where the band left off with their previous album (The Hunter).[13]

Bill Kelliher stated also about the album's musical style: "We're always trying to surprise ourselves and write something that's new and fresh. It's definitely got the elements of The Hunter in there, but also [of] Remission and some heavier stuff. There's a lot of different influences, from Alice in Chains to Deftones. There's a lot of rock going on."[14]

Brann Dailor stated following about the album: "It's gonna be massive and insane, lots of epic greatness. There will be lots of huge riffs and new directions. It's real weird, real math-y, real straightforward. It's up, down and all around."[15]

Bill also stated that the album's theme might be "death". He stated the following: "It always makes for really good story telling. It's kind of the theme that we have a lot in our music. We've had a lot of friends pass away since the last record. I'm not really sure yet. I think we're kind of focusing more about living on this earth and what would happen if this was your last year to live. I think that's sort of maybe a little bit of what we might be kind of touching on."[16]

Artwork

Oakland-based artist Skinner, who characterizes his work as "psychedelic nightmare paintings," created the album's artwork. Prior to its release, bassist and vocalist Troy Sanders stated: "It's going to be a work of art for sure. It's going to be very eye-opening. Very striking. It's from another dimension, and a lot of our music is geared toward that idea—taking you to another planet on songs. It's out there, and I think it's incredible."[17]

Critical response

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic78/100[18]
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[1]
Consequence of SoundB[19]
The Guardian[3]
Pitchfork6.3/10[2]
PopMatters8/10[20]
Spin8/10[21]
Sputnikmusic4.1/5[22]

At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from music critics, the album received an average score of 78, which indicates "generally favorable reviews", based on 28 reviews.[18]

Loudwire list the album as number 5 on their list of the 20 Best Metal Albums of 2014[23] and the song "Chimes at Midnight" at number 3 on their list of the 20 Best Metal Songs of 2014.[24]

Track listing

All lyrics and music by Mastodon, except additional lyrics on "Diamond in the Witch House" by Scott Kelly.

No. TitleLead vocals Length
1. "Tread Lightly"  Troy Sanders, Brann Dailor 5:14
2. "The Motherload"  Dailor, Sanders 4:59
3. "High Road"  Sanders, Dailor 4:15
4. "Once More 'Round the Sun"  Brent Hinds, Sanders 2:58
5. "Chimes at Midnight"  Sanders, Hinds 5:32
6. "Asleep in the Deep" (featuring Valient Himself & Ikey Owens)Dailor, Hinds, Sanders 6:12
7. "Feast Your Eyes"  Sanders, Dailor 3:23
8. "Aunt Lisa" (featuring The Coathangers & Gary Lindsey)Dailor, Hinds 4:08
9. "Ember City"  Sanders, Dailor 4:59
10. "Halloween"  Hinds, Dailor 4:39
11. "Diamond in the Witch House" (featuring Scott Kelly)Scott Kelly, Sanders 7:49
Total length:
 54:08

Personnel

Mastodon
Others

Charts

Chart (2014) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[27] 7
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[28] 23
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[29] 14
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[30] 46
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[31] 4
Danish Albums (Hitlisten)[32] 9
Dutch Albums (MegaCharts)[33] 20
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[34] 1
French Albums (SNEP)[35] 50
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[36] 16
Hungarian Albums (MAHASZ)[37] 7
Irish Albums (IRMA)[38] 8
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[39] 103
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[40] 10
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[41] 4
Portuguese Albums (AFP)[42] 21
Scottish Albums (OCC)[43] 9
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[44] 17
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[45] 13
UK Albums (OCC)[46] 10
UK Rock & Metal Albums (OCC)[47] 1
US Billboard 200[48] 6
US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[49] 1
US Top Alternative Albums (Billboard)[50] 1
US Top Hard Rock Albums (Billboard)[51] 1

Year-end charts

Chart (2014) Position
US Billboard Alternative Albums [52] 48
US Billboard Hard Rock Albums[53] 21

References

  1. 1 2 Jurek, Thom. "Once More 'Round the Sun – Mastodon". AllMusic. Retrieved 9 August 2015. This set marks a fork in the road where Mastodon evolves once more, to cross over from metal's angular, sludgy power to adrenaline-fueled, hook-laden, hard rock.
  2. 1 2 Camp, Zoe (25 June 2014). "Mastodon: Once More 'Round the Sun". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved 9 August 2015. For two records now, Mastodon have jettisoned the overarching concepts of old for a simpler mission: to be a hard rock band making hard rock records.
  3. 1 2 Lawson, Dom (19 June 2014). "Mastodon: Once More 'Round the Sun – brilliant but familiar metal bluster". The Guardian. Retrieved 9 August 2015.
  4. ↑ Heller, Jason (June 24, 2014). "Mastodon stomps back with a concept that's both simple and sound". The A.V. Club. Retrieved August 9, 2015. These are all elements Mastodon has used before, edited then distilled into impeccable, prog-metal songcraft.
  5. ↑ "Mastodon Chimes at Midnight (Single)". Spirit of Metal. Retrieved October 8, 2014.
  6. ↑ "Mastodon: 'Once More 'Round The Sun' Cover Artwork, Track Listing Revealed - Blabbermouth.net". blabbermouth.net. Retrieved 2014-04-29.
  7. ↑ "Mastodon: New Song 'High Road' Available For Streaming - Blabbermouth.net". blabbermouth.net. Retrieved 2014-04-29.
  8. ↑ http://www.blabbermouth.net/news/mastodons-once-more-round-the-sun-cracks-u-s-top-10/
  9. ↑ "Brent Hinds Is Working on “Radioheadish,” “Spooky Sounding” Songs for Mastodon | MTV Hive". mtvhive.com. Retrieved 2014-04-29.
  10. ↑ "Mastodon’s Brann Dailor Talks New Album Progress, 2013 Mayhem Festival + More". loudwire.com. Retrieved 2014-04-29.
  11. ↑ "Mastodon Near Completion of 'Wild' Summer LP | SPIN | Profiles | In The Studio". spin.com. Retrieved 2014-04-29.
  12. ↑ "Mastodon's Troy Sanders Talks New Album Once More 'Round the Sun :: Music :: News :: Paste". pastemagazine.com. Retrieved 2014-04-29.
  13. ↑ "Mastodon: 'New Material Picks Up Where 'The Hunter' Left Off' | Music News @". Ultimate-guitar.com. Retrieved 2014-06-06.
  14. ↑ "Mastodon Guitarist on the New Record: 'There's a Lot of Rock Going On' | Music News @". Ultimate-guitar.com. Retrieved 2014-06-06.
  15. ↑ "Mastodon Announce 'Weird, Mathy,' Stevie Wonder-Inspired Album, Confirm Nick Raskulinecz as Producer | Music News @". Ultimate-guitar.com. Retrieved 2014-06-06.
  16. ↑ "Mastodon Guitarist on New Album: 'Death Is Always a Good Theme' | Music News @". Ultimate-guitar.com. Retrieved 2014-06-06.
  17. ↑ Kane, Tyler. "Mastodon's Troy Sanders Talks New Album Once More 'Round the Sun :: Music :: News :: Paste". Pastemagazine.com. Retrieved 2014-06-06.
  18. 1 2 "Reviews for Once More 'Round the Sun - Mastodon". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 21 August 2014.
  19. ↑ Madden, Michael (23 June 2014). "Mastodon – Once More 'Round the Sun". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved 1 February 2015.
  20. ↑ Brown, Dean (24 June 2014). "Mastodon: Once More 'Round the Sun". PopMatters. Retrieved 1 February 2015.
  21. ↑ Zwickel, Jonathan (23 June 2014). "Metal Champs Mastodon Defend Their Crown on 'Once More 'Round the Sun'". Spin. Retrieved 1 February 2015.
  22. ↑ Fisher, Greg. "Mastodon Once More 'Round the Sun". Sputnikmusic. Retrieved 23 June 2014.
  23. ↑ http://loudwire.com/best-metal-albums-2014/
  24. ↑ http://loudwire.com/best-metal-songs-of-2014/
  25. ↑ "Valient Thorr Singer Making Guest Appearance on New Mastodon Record | Music News @". Ultimate-guitar.com. Retrieved 2014-06-06.
  26. ↑ "Mastodon Announce Tour With Gojira, Kvelertak; Ex-Mars Volta Keyboardist to Appear on New Album | Music News @". Ultimate-guitar.com. Retrieved 2014-06-06.
  27. ↑ "Australiancharts.com – Mastodon – Once More 'round The Sun". Hung Medien. Retrieved July 1, 2014.
  28. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Mastodon – Once More 'round The Sun" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved July 5, 2014.
  29. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Mastodon – Once More 'round The Sun" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved July 1, 2014.
  30. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Mastodon – Once More 'round The Sun" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved July 1, 2014.
  31. ↑ "Mastodon – Chart history" Billboard Canadian Albums Chart for Mastodon. Retrieved July 6, 2014.
  32. ↑ "Danishcharts.com – Mastodon – Once More 'round The Sun". Hung Medien. Retrieved July 1, 2014.
  33. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Mastodon – Once More 'round The Sun" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved July 1, 2014.
  34. ↑ "Mastodon: Once More 'round The Sun" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved June 30, 2014.
  35. ↑ "Lescharts.com – Mastodon – Once More 'round The Sun". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 30, 2014.
  36. ↑ "Officialcharts.de – Mastodon – Once More 'round The Sun". GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved July 1, 2014.
  37. ↑ "Top 40 album DVD és válogatáslemez-lista – 2014. 26. hét" (in Hungarian). MAHASZ. Retrieved July 3, 2014.
  38. ↑ "GFK Chart-Track Albums: Week 26, 2014". Chart-Track. IRMA. Retrieved July 1, 2014.
  39. ↑ ワンス・モア・ラウンド・ザ・サン (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved July 1, 2014.
  40. ↑ "Charts.org.nz – Mastodon – Once More 'round The Sun". Hung Medien. Retrieved July 1, 2014.
  41. ↑ "Norwegiancharts.com – Mastodon – Once More 'round The Sun". Hung Medien. Retrieved July 1, 2014.
  42. ↑ "Portuguesecharts.com – Mastodon – Once More 'round The Sun". Hung Medien. Retrieved July 1, 2014.
  43. ↑ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved July 1, 2014.
  44. ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – Mastodon – Once More 'round The Sun". Hung Medien. Retrieved July 5, 2014.
  45. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Mastodon – Once More 'round The Sun". Hung Medien. Retrieved July 2, 2014.
  46. ↑ "Mastodon | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart Retrieved July 1, 2014.
  47. ↑ "2014 Top 40 Rock & Metal Albums Archive". Official Charts Company. Retrieved July 1, 2014.
  48. ↑ Caulfield, Keith (2 July 2014). "Ed Sheeran's 'X' Debuts At No. 1 On Billboard 200 Albums Chart". Billboard. Retrieved 2 July 2014.
  49. ↑ White, Emily (July 3, 2014). "Mastodon's 'Sun' Shines At No. 1 On Top Rock Albums Chart". Billboard. Retrieved July 6, 2014.
  50. ↑ "Mastodon – Chart history" Billboard Top Alternative Albums for Mastodon.
  51. ↑ "Mastodon – Chart history" Billboard Top Hard Rock Albums for Mastodon.
  52. ↑ "Alternative Albums: 2014 Year-End Charts". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved January 16, 2015.(subscription required)
  53. ↑ "2014 Year End Charts - Hard Rock Albums". Billboard. Retrieved December 9, 2014.
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