Mastodon's evolution as a band has been pretty interesting. From the super heavy and chaotic metals of Remission to posterchild for prog in the last few years of the naughts, they seemed to get better and better with each release (although I still have a soft spot for Leviathan). Then came The Hunter... where apparently they believed they had taken prog to its culmination and wanted a more accessible sound to please the masses. Even though that album is better than I remember it to be (which I always forget in between listens), it is still disappointing for me personally coming after the masterpiece that is Crack the Skye. Unsurprisingly, the new album trends in the direction established by The Hunter, and is less heavy with an almost complete absence of harsh vocals and, shockingly, restrained drums (Brann Dailor's drumming has set this band apart in the past, he's just a beast). At first I thought it was their ReLoad to The Hunter (i.e., an inferior Hunter 2). Then I listened to it, again and again... and realized that it is a pretty different beast. Still technical, but melodic. Cool songs. Proggy hard rock, as it were.

3.0/5 - Good for what it is. While I do like it, it's more on the same level as The Hunter... meaning a good album, but inferior to Mastodon's back catalog.