Drum question + mastodon

having seen them live and heard the two most recent albums, I want to like them, they are the definition of a band I should love, but i just cant get into them, the drumming is great and the guitar playing is great, but the fantastical lyrics and general vocal approach dont do it for me, this coming from a guy who worships the Mars Volta fwiw.
 
I dunno if it was just me but while watching the DVD of them in studio, I never heard one click track during any tracking?

Mastodon took me a while to get into, but I'm glad as it's the bands with catchier music I lose interest in fast.
 
You know why the drums sound so good? because they're not sampled.
I think it has more to do with the facts that
A. Brann is a great Drummer
B. They have a major label budget =time and skill to get what they want
C. A less polished sound suits the band a lot better

Those drum sounds are raw in comparison to what is possible even with just EQ and compression but it works very well in the context. If you were to inject that exact drum sound into the new scar symmetry it would sound horrible. But for the Mastodon sound it's perfect.
 
wow.... alls i can say is i love mastodon. to think there was no compression is crazy tho.
triggers? if any... used only for gating but if you know what your doing u dont need triggers to properly gate.

i agree Brann is an amazing drummer and it shows in these albums OR live. totally mind blowing.
 
I think it has more to do with the facts that
A. Brann is a great Drummer
B. They have a major label budget =time and skill to get what they want
C. A less polished sound suits the band a lot better

Those drum sounds are raw in comparison to what is possible even with just EQ and compression but it works very well in the context. If you were to inject that exact drum sound into the new scar symmetry it would sound horrible. But for the Mastodon sound it's perfect.

+1

I like Mastodon OK, but if I had to say their was one thing that I didn't care for is Brann's drumming...Dude is really good and does some cool things, but for their songs and song structure, I think he overplays, especially on earlier stuff. For some people, I'm sure that style of drumming is what they like, but I'm not one of those people.

And, the 2 times I've heard them live, the bass was o overwhelming I couldn't even make out the guitars.
 
Matt also posts over at Gearslutz now and then. Username is "mattct".

I really dig his drum sounds and make sure to check out most of his stuff. His work on Botch, These Arms Are Snakes, Isis and Minus the Bear is great. Dude gets some great natural drum sounds. He's not a "metal guy" per se which is probably why Mastodon sought him out. Would have loved to have heard his take on mixing Blood Mountain compared to Rich Costeys (it's great as it is though).
 
I've tried getting into Mastadon a good few times, but for some reason i don't really like them- i like bits and pieces but never a whole song.

I saw them live and they had the worst sound- it was at a festival and they were the only band to have bad sound in that marqee. I've heard its a common omplaint, that their live sound is poor.

They mightn't have used samples but that doesn't mean that the volume of each hit wasn't manually adjusted for consistency- I've never used samples but I have spent hours going through drum tracks making things more even.
 
First of all, I hate mastodon, much the same reason as guitar god. The vocals just ruin it for me, it's like out of key singing/ grunting most of the time, it's not screaming/ death vocals and it's not singing, it's in between and it pisses me off! Despite that, the drummer is great, I really enjoying watching him play and listening to what he does, I believe he was questioned once about his kick sound and it not being up front enough or clicky, I think his reply was something about him being a hand drummer not a footwork drummer, which to me, somehow impressed me, because he does really well all round :)
Better production + new singer would help for me liking them, PERSONALLY :p
 
The "in between" vocals are sludge influenced vocals which is their older sound.
Troy REALLY gives it his all when he does Vocals and you can not only see it but feel his performance (that could probably just be me).

EDIT: You don't really get anywhere by shutting down those that are doing something outside your comfort zone of 'orthodox methods' and 'standard techniques'.
His and Brent's vocals (imo) are better than your average, typical, everyday, ordinary shouting.
"Ordinary doesn't change the world"
 
out of key singing????????????im not sure you know what your talking about....cause there is no out key singing i hear
First of all, I hate mastodon, much the same reason as guitar god. The vocals just ruin it for me, it's like out of key singing/ grunting most of the time, it's not screaming/ death vocals and it's not singing, it's in between and it pisses me off! Despite that, the drummer is great, I really enjoying watching him play and listening to what he does, I believe he was questioned once about his kick sound and it not being up front enough or clicky, I think his reply was something about him being a hand drummer not a footwork drummer, which to me, somehow impressed me, because he does really well all round :)
Better production + new singer would help for me liking them, PERSONALLY :p