u/Difficult_Frame_7216

Maybe I’m deaf but I can’t figure out what the keyboardist actually does that is so elemental to their sound that he is now a full time member of the band.

While I appreciate perhaps them not wanting to use backing tracks I’m just not hearing what he contributes to their production that warrants the extra ‘paycheck’ if you will.

Case in point, I hear no synth or soundscapes of any import at all on the new track except for one part & where his playing is apparent, it sounds like a jazzy Phish/almost jazz era Spinal Tap detour that sounds thrown in just to showcase keyboards & what sounds like a Nick Johnston style prog riff.

Not to mention, imho, it’s cheesy. The top hat, the overall visual presentation screams more Black Crowes or Guns N Roses & less Mastodon. Needless to say, they appear to be swimming against the current in what I call ‘nostalgia worship’ & clothed in a narrative that ended a long time ago. Not saying they don’t have a future of say, 5 or perhaps, 10 more years BUT this is a different Mastodon.

This is a new species, arguably, altogether. Is it terrible? Absolutely not BUT, to me, there’s a map that either got lost or just simply thrown away. Obviously the circumstances regarding Brent’s departure from the band & ultimately this world, play a large part, I imagine, in their decisions but I fear that Hinds had way more of an anchoring effect for the band then they may be aware of or willing to accept not dissimilar to Cliff Burton’s highly underrated & many times, ignored, role in Metallica. Post Burton Metallica became something very different & quite frankly, by the Black album, antithetical to the original core foundational ethos of the band.

I can’t deny the fact that it appears to be a very similar phenomenon occurring with Mastodon & I’m not sure what the rush has been to replace Hinds & continue to tour relentlessly without pausing & taking even just maybe 6 months to a year to reflect, consider some other possible guitarists & make a really strong comeback.

It’s just simply kind of strange & if ultimately it’s a financial issue due to the fact that they are, in a sense, & ironically, given their moniker, dinosaurs roaming a very different landscape in large part due to post Covid conditions regarding touring costs or the fact that people don’t really purchase music anymore…well…that’s just sad. Just a perspective that’s all.

Maybe I’m deaf but I can’t figure out what the keyboardist actually does that is so elemental to their sound that he is now a full time member of the band.

While I appreciate perhaps them not wanting to use backing tracks I’m just not hearing what he contributes to their production that warrants the extra ‘paycheck’ if you will.

Case in point, I hear no synth or soundscapes of any import at all on the new track except for one part & where his playing is apparent, it sounds like a jazzy Phish/almost jazz era Spinal Tap detour that sounds thrown in just to showcase keyboards & what sounds like a Nick Johnston style prog riff.

Not to mention, imho, it’s cheesy. The top hat, the overall visual presentation screams more Black Crowes or Guns N Roses & less Mastodon. Needless to say, they appear to be swimming against the current in what I call ‘nostalgia worship’ & clothed in a narrative that ended a long time ago. Not saying they don’t have a future of say, 5 or perhaps, 10 more years BUT this is a different Mastodon.

This is a new species, arguably, altogether. Is it terrible? Absolutely not BUT, to me, there’s a map that either got lost or just simply thrown away. Obviously the circumstances regarding Brent’s departure from the band & ultimately this world, play a large part, I imagine, in their decisions but I fear that Hinds had way more of an anchoring effect for the band then they may be aware of or willing to accept not dissimilar to Cliff Burton’s highly underrated & many times, ignored, role in Metallica. Post Burton Metallica became something very different & quite frankly, by the Black album, antithetical to the original core foundational ethos of the band.

I can’t deny the fact that it appears to be a very similar phenomenon occurring with Mastodon & I’m not sure what the rush has been to replace Hinds & continue to tour relentlessly without pausing & taking even just maybe 6 months to a year to reflect, consider some other possible guitarists & make a really strong comeback.

It’s just simply kind of strange & if ultimately it’s a financial issue due to the fact that they are, in a sense, & ironically, given their moniker, dinosaurs roaming a very different landscape in large part due to post Covid conditions regarding touring costs or the fact that people don’t really purchase music anymore…well…that’s just sad. Just a perspective that’s all.