With four albums under their belt, Mastodon has proven to be a band that not only can craft amazing music, but can tell a story through it. While their upcoming album The Hunter will not be a concept album like their previous releases, “Black Tongue” conjures up the dark visions that the band is known for. This single is downright menacing!
Guitarists Brent Hinds and Bill Kelliher play a multitude of riffs that drive the track, while Troy Sanders’ bass thumps out low notes over Braan Dailor’s thunderous drumming. Beats fly from Dailor’s drum kit almost as quickly as the riffs are churned out. This combination of a tight rhythm section and virtuoso guitar licks produces a single that’s bound to start some thrashing and head banging. Sanders sings “I burned out my eyes/I cut off my tongue/I sealed them with all of the silver/And now I have none,” in a rough tone that adds to the intensity of the track. It steadily marches on even when a dual guitar solo starts a little after the two-minute mark. The notes blend and weave together so well that at times it’s difficult to tell who’s playing what.
There’s no word on whether another single will come out before The Hunter drops on September 27, but “Black Tongue” is enough of a tease to keep us all anxiously waiting for that day to come.
