Remission (Mastodon album)
Encyclopedia
Remission is the first full-length debut album by American sludge metal
band Mastodon
. It was released on May 28, 2002 through Relapse Records
and was re-released on October 21, 2003.
At the beginning of "Crusher Destroyer" is the roar of the Tyrannosaurus rex
from the film Jurassic Park
with Lex screaming her brother's name, "Timmy!", as they get attacked in the car.
until 2011's "The Hunter".
In an interview with online magazine Lollipop in 2004, Dailor explained how Remission was an album that helped him cope with his sister's death:
for "March of the Fire Ants". It had significant airplay on both Uranium
and Headbangers Ball
and featured dark elements such as a man being dug up and placed in a throne.
A deluxe edition of the album, folded in digipak, contained a bonus DVD with a professionally filmed nine song live set recorded at The Masquerade in Atlanta, Georgia
, on December 1, 2002, along with previously unreleased material. Another additional feature is a covered song, "Emerald", by Thin Lizzy
, which appears as a bonus track
on the CD.
proportions". He also compared the "Southern-sounding" jazz
y drumming and clean guitars of "Ol'e Nessie" to the Allmans
.
Bryan Haywood of Pitchfork Media
praised the album's production and drummer Brann Dailor as the stand-out musician. "They drop in just enough [mathematics] to keep the arrangements flavorful, but not so much as to overload the vintage guitar riffs with Dream Theater
-like complexity. And then they counterbalance it with some nice, old-fashioned, Sabbath
-style metal attitude." Haywood commented, "The complete package sounds timeless, but in that unbelievable way that you've never heard before."
. In 2002, "March of the Fire Ants" was included on a 7" split album
with High on Fire
's "Hung, Drawn and Quartered." After the Remission re-release, it was featured on the Contaminated 5.0, MTV2 Headbangers Ball
, and Take Action!, Vol. 4 compilations. "Where Strides the Behemoth" was included on Contaminated 6.0 and From the Shadows - Metal for the Modern Era.
Sludge metal
Sludge metal is a subgenre of heavy metal that melds elements of doom metal and hardcore punk, and sometimes incorporates influences from southern rock, stoner rock and grunge. Sludge metal is typically abrasive; often featuring shouted vocals, heavily distorted instruments and sharply contrasting...
band Mastodon
Mastodon (band)
Mastodon is an American heavy metal band from Atlanta, Georgia, formed in 1999. The band is composed of bassist/vocalist Troy Sanders, guitarist/vocalist Brent Hinds, guitarist Bill Kelliher and drummer/vocalist Brann Dailor...
. It was released on May 28, 2002 through Relapse Records
Relapse Records
Relapse Records is an independent record label based in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania. It was founded by Matthew F. Jacobson in 1990.-History:The label was started by Matthew F. Jacobson in August, 1990 in his parents' basement in Aurora, Colorado...
and was re-released on October 21, 2003.
Production
Most of the songs were written long before the album was recorded. "Workhorse" was premiered live in Memphis in July 2001. "Trampled Under Hoof", "Trilobite", "Where Strides The Behemoth", "Crusher Destroyer" and "Mother Puncher" were all played on a WMFU radio show on August 7, 2001, and "Trainwreck" was written while Eric Saner was still in the band.At the beginning of "Crusher Destroyer" is the roar of the Tyrannosaurus rex
Tyrannosaurus
Tyrannosaurus meaning "tyrant," and sauros meaning "lizard") is a genus of coelurosaurian theropod dinosaur. The species Tyrannosaurus rex , commonly abbreviated to T. rex, is a fixture in popular culture. It lived throughout what is now western North America, with a much wider range than other...
from the film Jurassic Park
Jurassic Park (film)
Jurassic Park is a 1993 American science fiction adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg. The film is based on the novel of the same name by Michael Crichton. It stars Sam Neill, Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum, Richard Attenborough, Martin Ferrero, and Bob Peck...
with Lex screaming her brother's name, "Timmy!", as they get attacked in the car.
Theme and cover art
Troy Sanders has said that the album is loosely based on the theme of fire. However, Remission was Mastodon's only album not considered a concept albumConcept album
In music, a concept album is an album that is "unified by a theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, narrative, or lyrical." Commonly, concept albums tend to incorporate preconceived musical or lyrical ideas rather than being improvised or composed in the studio, with all songs contributing...
until 2011's "The Hunter".
In an interview with online magazine Lollipop in 2004, Dailor explained how Remission was an album that helped him cope with his sister's death:
"My sister committed suicide when I was 15 (she was 14)...I was never able to put that stuff anywhere. All that pain I was carrying inside. The pain of losing her had always been there. With Today Is The Day, there was a lot of anger involved. After that, I didn't want to be angry. When I start playing in Mastodon and moved to Atlanta, there was a big personal healing. Mastodon had a lot to do with that. That's one of the main reasons that the album is titled Remission. Remission means forgiveness and healing. Mastodon helped me do that: Forgive a lot of things that happened in my life."
Re-release
The album was re-released on October 21, 2003, coinciding with a music videoMusic video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
for "March of the Fire Ants". It had significant airplay on both Uranium
Uranium (TV series)
Uranium is an American television program about heavy metal which aired on Fuse TV in the early 2000s. After establishing herself as the host of MMUSA's Tastemakers program, Juliya Chernetsky, along with network producers, created Uranium as an outlet for the broad range of heavy metal subgenres...
and Headbangers Ball
Headbangers Ball
Headbangers Ball is a music television program consisting of heavy metal music videos airing on MTV2, MTV Australia, MTV Two , MTV Adria , MTV Brand New, MTV Portugal, MTV Finland, MTV Arabia, MTV Norway, MTV Sweden, MTV Denmark, MTV Greece, MTV Türkiye, MTV...
and featured dark elements such as a man being dug up and placed in a throne.
A deluxe edition of the album, folded in digipak, contained a bonus DVD with a professionally filmed nine song live set recorded at The Masquerade in Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...
, on December 1, 2002, along with previously unreleased material. Another additional feature is a covered song, "Emerald", by Thin Lizzy
Thin Lizzy
Thin Lizzy are an Irish hard rock band formed in Dublin in 1969. Two of the founding members, drummer Brian Downey and bass guitarist/vocalist Phil Lynott met while still in school. Lynott assumed the role of frontman and led them throughout their recording career of thirteen studio albums...
, which appears as a bonus track
Bonus track
In terms of recorded music, a bonus track is a piece of music which has been included on specific releases or reissues of an album. This is most often done as a promotional device, either as an incentive to customers to purchase albums they might otherwise not, or to repurchase albums they already...
on the CD.
Reception
Remission received overwhelmingly positive reception. Allmusic's Brian O'Neill noted the album's "technical ecstasy" with "a complex slant that nears prog rockProgressive rock
Progressive rock is a subgenre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s as part of a "mostly British attempt to elevate rock music to new levels of artistic credibility." John Covach, in Contemporary Music Review, says that many thought it would not just "succeed the pop of...
proportions". He also compared the "Southern-sounding" jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
y drumming and clean guitars of "Ol'e Nessie" to the Allmans
The Allman Brothers Band
The Allman Brothers Band is an American rock/blues band once based in Macon, Georgia. The band was formed in Jacksonville, Florida, in 1969 by brothers Duane Allman and Gregg Allman , who were supported by Dickey Betts , Berry Oakley , Butch Trucks , and Jai Johanny "Jaimoe"...
.
Bryan Haywood of Pitchfork Media
Pitchfork Media
Pitchfork Media, usually known simply as Pitchfork or P4k, is a Chicago-based daily Internet publication established in 1995 that is devoted to music criticism and commentary, music news, and artist interviews. Its focus is on underground and independent music, especially indie rock...
praised the album's production and drummer Brann Dailor as the stand-out musician. "They drop in just enough [mathematics] to keep the arrangements flavorful, but not so much as to overload the vintage guitar riffs with Dream Theater
Dream Theater
Dream Theater is an American progressive metal band formed in 1985 under the name Majesty by John Petrucci, John Myung, and Mike Portnoy while they attended Berklee College of Music in Massachusetts. They subsequently dropped out of their studies to further concentrate on the band that would...
-like complexity. And then they counterbalance it with some nice, old-fashioned, Sabbath
Black Sabbath
Black Sabbath are an English heavy metal band, formed in Aston, Birmingham in 1969 by Ozzy Osbourne , Tony Iommi , Geezer Butler , and Bill Ward . The band has since experienced multiple line-up changes, with Tony Iommi the only constant presence in the band through the years. A total of 22...
-style metal attitude." Haywood commented, "The complete package sounds timeless, but in that unbelievable way that you've never heard before."
Song appearances
"Crusher Destroyer" was featured in the 2003 video game Tony Hawk's UndergroundTony Hawk's Underground
Tony Hawk's Underground, abbreviated to THUG, is a skateboarding video game, available for the PlayStation 2, GameCube, Game Boy Advance, and Xbox platforms released in 2003. A PC version was released exclusively in Australia as a budget release in 2005. This version was ported by Beenox. In 2004,...
. In 2002, "March of the Fire Ants" was included on a 7" split album
Split album
A split album is a music album which includes tracks by two or more separate artists. There have been singles and EPs released in the same nature, which can be referred to as split singles and split EPs respectively...
with High on Fire
High on Fire
High on Fire is a stoner metal band from Oakland, California, that was formed in 1998. Matt Pike, the band's frontman and founder, previously played guitar for the influential stoner doom band Sleep.-History:...
's "Hung, Drawn and Quartered." After the Remission re-release, it was featured on the Contaminated 5.0, MTV2 Headbangers Ball
MTV2 Headbangers Ball
MTV2 Headbangers Ball is a heavy metal compilation album released in conjunction with the MTV program, Headbanger's Ball. It is the first in a series of compilations and was released approximately five months after the program re-debuted on MTV2...
, and Take Action!, Vol. 4 compilations. "Where Strides the Behemoth" was included on Contaminated 6.0 and From the Shadows - Metal for the Modern Era.
Track listing
Personnel
- Troy SandersTroy SandersTroy Sanders is an American bassist/singer best known as a member of the Atlanta, Georgia metal band Mastodon, in which he shares vocal duties with guitarist Brent Hinds and drummer Brann Dailor.-Background:...
− bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, vocals - Brent HindsBrent HindsBrent Hinds is an American guitarist/singer best known as a member of the Atlanta, Georgia metal band Mastodon, in which he shares guitar duties with Bill Kelliher and vocal duties with Troy Sanders and Brann Dailor....
− guitarElectric guitarAn electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
, vocals - Bill KelliherBill KelliherBill Kelliher is a guitarist in the Atlanta heavy metal band Mastodon. He is a native of Victor, New York. He shares guitar duties with Brent Hinds, playing mainly complex rhythm parts. Kelliher is married, with two young sons—the eldest one named Harrison, after Harrison Ford of Star Wars fame...
− guitar - Brann DailorBrann DailorBrann Dailor is a drummer, best known as a member of Mastodon, a progressive metal band based in Atlanta, Georgia. Dailor was also a founding member of mathcore band Lethargy, and played with grindcore bands Discordance Axis and Today is the Day.-Personal life:Dailor was born into a musical family...
− drums-vocalsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....