I hate how every time a band evolves, some butthurt fanboys of the older material go on about how they've "sold out" or "lost their passion" or any of a dozen other clichés that really have nothing to do with the music. For example, Mastodon have never made any secret of their love for '70s prog bands like Genesis and King Crimson in interviews, and even if they hadn't, to anyone who actually bothered listening closely to the musical content of tracks like "Ol'e Nessie," "Hearts Alive" and "Sleeping Giant" it really shouldn't be surprising at all that they would eventually choose to make a prog album. I guess some fags would like to see them keep making Remission over and over, but Mastodon have obviously decided they want to evolve beyond their original sludge sound, and all I can say is good for them. The most puzzling complaint I hear about their latest album is that it's their "least emotional record." What? Are these people listening to the same record I am, or is it just that some people just can't derive emotion out of anything that isn't shouted? I got introduced to this band with Remission and loved it, but I still get more of an emotional connection out of this record than anything they'd released before.
I'm coming very close to granting this album "classic" status on my list of albums this year thus far. Since I made my vinyl rip I've hardly been listening to anything else. Seeing butthurt about it just confuses the crap out of me.
It's a part of an even longer story that I cba to tell right now. 
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) and loving how it is turning out. 
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