Emperor of Sand is by no means a bad album, but there's little here that the band hasn't already explored.
Several years ago, Georgian quartet Mastodon was considered the reigning force in modern American metal, and for a good reason. 2002’s Remission and 2004’s Leviathan saw them infuse plenty of dynamic intricacy into a sludge/stoner foundation, while 2006’s Blood Mountain was a tour-de-force of eccentric experimentation that hinted at the lively progressive masterpiece that would be 2009’s Crack the Skye. For a while there, it seemed like Mastodon would continue to lead the charge by…
