For anyone that wants to know: The new Mastodon album is pretty awesome.

[LostInAnomie]

Bought it today, and it's pretty bad ass. Really experimental prog stuff.

[Iggo]

1. I've seen a couple of their videos...

...recently on Headbangers Ball.

I can say I do not hate them.

[LostInAnomie]

2. They're not really a good band for putting out singles.

Most of their albums are based on a theme and setting a mood. Cutting singles only gives you a poor glimpse.

That being said, Colony of Birchmen and Mother puncher are good songs.

[Iggo]

3. What's a good starter disc for these guys?

Blood Mountain I've seen in some people's collections. I think I've heard of Leviathan. Or should I go back to the beginning and get Remission?

Or is the new disc pretty representative of their best work?

In other words, I'm going to buy one Mastodon disc. Which one would you recommend?

[LostInAnomie]

4. That's a tough one.

Leviathan and Blood Mountain are their two least accessible albums by far. They have some very good and very complex songs, but they are not for the novice. Remission is a more straight forward rock album, but it doesn't have an underlying theme like all their other albums ( Mother Puncher is a pretty tough song though). I would say this newest album is probably their most accessible if you have the patience to listen to it. It only has 7 songs but it's almost an hour long.

You can't really go wrong if you really like complex and technically skilled metal. Even if you don't like their music you have to respect their technical skill.

[Iggo]

5. I'm down with Opeth and Meshuggah.

I ain't scared no long complex songs...lol.

[Initech]

6. Good to know. Mastodon is pretty bad ass.

[Forkboy]

7. I'm struggling with it.

It's almost too accessible for my tastes. I saw them play live with High on Fire right after Remission was released, and I fell in love with them (any band that can top High on Fire live is worth paying attention to). I liked Leviathan, loved Blood Mountain...and don't know what I feel for this new one. There's parts that I really enjoy, and parts that make me think "wtf?", and I haven't been able to reconcile the two feelings yet one way or the other.

It doesn't help that I have about 2 dozen other bands that I'm listening to at the same time, a few of which are blowing me away. So much music, so little time. x(