Curl Of The Burl – Mastodon

There was a logic problem in yesterdays post. A Boston Irish mathematics equation. Hat in, Hat out. Like Tesla’s teleportation machinery in The Prestige. I called it simple. But simple lacks nuance. Hat in Hat out = Eye for an Eye. And that boys and girls… Leaves the whole world blind.

“I killed a man ’cause he killed my goat, I put my hands around his throat”

It’s a short leap from The Dropkick Murphys to Mastodon. Especially at Castle Donington Racetrack in June. Amiright? Unfortunately, we are not there. We are not even close. We’re in a weird winter hinter land waiting for the vaccine to rescue us all and see if the new year feels anything like an older one. But not the last one. We’re not doing that again.

“He tried to reason with the sky and the clouds, but it didn’t matter, ’cause they can’t hear a sound”

Mastodon Man. What a band. They’ve been on here before. I’ve featured them very early on as the band who brought metal back to me. I first found them during the Blood And Thunder of Leviathan. I went in big time for their Emperor of Sand album and the hit single Show Yourself.

They make some good lookin’ records that band

The Curl Of The Burl has taken on cult status since The Hunter was their album du jour. Since The Hunter Mastodon have moved away from the expansive prog metal of Crack The Skye and continued to move towards the straight shooting hard rock of Once More Round The Sun and Emperor Of Sand. Curl Of The Burl was that tipping point. The moment they made a choice. Not a strangling a man in the snow, over the life of a goat kind of choice (at least I bloody hope not).

Live in London

Curl Of The Burl is the Moment a metal band found their groove. Like one of those albums with two grooves on the same side of the disc you can go and see Heavy Prog Mastodon and you can go and see Hard Rock Riff Mastodon. Often you can see them at the same time. Without buying two tickets.

“That’s just the way of the world, it’s just the curl of the burl”

So what I’m saying is. We always have a choice. Even when you came in without a hat and leave with someone else’s goat. Or something.

The Official Video

I’d say you had to be there, but this is pretty damned good even if you weren’t

Talk Show Metal.

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