Transcript
Nicole Shine: Hello. Hey.
Cpt. Ahab: Hey everyone, welcome back to Glenwood's Music Club, where each week we pick an album, legendary or obscure, loved or not, and review it.
Cpt. Ahab: In this episode, we're reviewing another one of Nikki's choices, Mastodon's Leviathan album. Yeah. Release on August 31st, 2004, Leviathan is Mastodon's second studio album.
Nicole Shine: three
Nicole Shine: not
Cpt. Ahab: was recorded at Robert Lang Studios. Studio Litho and the Electro Kitty Sound Studio all in the all in or around the Seattle Washington area Leviathan is the band's first concept album and it's based on the 1851 novel Moby Dick by Herman Melville Did you read that one?
Cpt. Ahab: I forget Okay, neither I I never yeah Oh, okay.
Nicole Shine: I have it.
Nicole Shine: I have it. i haven't read it. But I do have it.
Cpt. Ahab: Gotcha
Nicole Shine: I have a bunch of classic books I haven't read yet.
Cpt. Ahab: Yeah, I mean, that's like a side side discussion, you know, what we all to read.
Nicole Shine: Like I. Yeah, see them and I'm like, ooh, look at that cover. And then I.
Cpt. Ahab: No, I mean, it's one of those things where it'd be interesting to read, even though, i yeah, we didn't have to read it.
Nicole Shine: Mm hmm.
Cpt. Ahab: But anyways, back to the album. The accolades, three magazines have awarded Leviathan Album of the Year in 2004. They were Revolver, Kerrang, and Terrorizer.
Cpt. Ahab: I knew two of those magazines. I didn't know Terry Reiser. um In 2009 and 2015, Metal Sucks named Leviathan the best metal album of the 21st century.
Nicole Shine: name, Leviathan, Bethesda.
Cpt. Ahab: In 2024, the band embarked on a massive co-headlining tour celebrating the 20th anniversary of the album.
Nicole Shine: past code headline
Cpt. Ahab: The tour was also with Slamma God, who were also celebrating the 20th anniversary of their album, Ashes of the Week. The tour was called Ashes of Leviathan and ran from July to August 2024.
Cpt. Ahab: And we actually went to one of those stops and saw the tour.
Nicole Shine: Yeah.
Cpt. Ahab: Yep. It was in, ah I think it was a Saturday, I forget. oh
Nicole Shine: Yeah, don't know.
Cpt. Ahab: Yeah. Like in August, it was in Starling Heights, Michigan at the Michigan Lottery Amphitheater at Freedom Hall. But that was a badass show.
Nicole Shine: Yeah, it was.
Cpt. Ahab: It was, it's in my top, you know, top shows that I've ever seen. The visuals were crazy.
Nicole Shine: Yeah. Yeah, visuals are crazy.
Cpt. Ahab: Yeah, they were. All right. So, babe, how did you find out about this album and the band? Did you discover yourself or did someone introduce it to you?
Nicole Shine: Um, I discovered it myself, I think. Um, just hearing, um, like, Blood and Thunder.
Cpt. Ahab: Yeah.
Nicole Shine: um um, and just being like, oh, let me see this album's about. you know mean? And then, and then immediately falling in love with the album.
Cpt. Ahab: Yeah.
Nicole Shine: Just as one of albums where I just immediately fell in love with it, um, on the first listen.
Cpt. Ahab: That's a great feeling. I love those albums.
Nicole Shine: So, yeah.
Cpt. Ahab: Yeah. Yeah. I was, I was introduced to the band and the album through a childhood friend. Initially I thought it was like silly, like, Oh God, it's all about Moby Dick.
Cpt. Ahab: And you know,
Nicole Shine: Yeah, used to make fun of me for liking yeah
Cpt. Ahab: yeah yeah because i thought it was silly and i wasn't in the concept albums like yeah but it wasn't until you know we we got together and you were listening to it you know um that i came around to the ban and album um same goes for lamb of god actually all right uh let's go through the
Nicole Shine: Yeah.
Nicole Shine: Yeah.
Cpt. Ahab: tracks on the album and then we'll do our thoughts first track blood and thunder kicking off the album with unmatched intensity this track introduces traditions traduces captain ahab and his all-consuming quest featuring a guest vocal appearance by clutches neil fallon it serves as the ultimate call to arms white whale holy grail thoughts on blood and thunder
Nicole Shine: Banger.
Cpt. Ahab: I know. It's the one that got you into though.
Nicole Shine: And I hate, I love this song, and so and I hate to do it on the first song, but you know what i gotta do. This is a radio song. It's the song that people say when you ask if you like the band.
Nicole Shine: It's the song from the radio.
Cpt. Ahab: That's good, though. That's good. So it worked. um Yeah, killer intro song. You can't help but sing the chorus, you know.
Nicole Shine: Yeah, it it it really gets you going, gets you pumped up.
Cpt. Ahab: yeah
Nicole Shine: if Yeah, you feel like the beginning of your quest.
Cpt. Ahab: Yeah.
Nicole Shine: I'm going to save like my overall thoughts about this album when we do our are ranking.
Cpt. Ahab: Yeah, for sure.
Nicole Shine: But pretty much the entire this album makes you feel like sailing the seven seas.
Cpt. Ahab: yeah
Nicole Shine: And this one really gets you like pumped up to go on your quest.
Cpt. Ahab: Fuck yeah.
Cpt. Ahab: Oh, definitely.
Nicole Shine: um And as an aside, on the um when we went to see them, it they did the whole album in its entirety in order, um which was really cool. if you ever If they ever do it again and you ever get a chance to experience that, I highly suggest it because it's awesome.
Nicole Shine: But um and they do a whole, like, theme from Moby Dick where they're about to take off from the movie before they come out. And then they come out, and it's pyro. It's crazy.
Nicole Shine: But, yeah, it's a banger.
Cpt. Ahab: I mean, they have like a video that accompanies each song and it's so fitting. It's so works.
Nicole Shine: Mm-hmm.
Cpt. Ahab: um All right. so track two, I am Ahab. This track delves directly into the captain's psychological state exploring his ruthless determination, and madness, and the willingness to sacrifice his crew in the pursuit of the beast.
Cpt. Ahab: Thoughts on i am Ahab?
Nicole Shine: Um, I, I, it's, this one's okay. i like I like all the songs on here. This one's okay.
Cpt. Ahab: Yeah.
Nicole Shine: Um, I think after the, like, awesomeness of blood and thunder, it kind of comes, you know, it comes down a little bit.
Cpt. Ahab: It comes down a bit, yeah.
Nicole Shine: Yeah, but I see what they're doing. Like, you're getting settled off into your journey after the initial, like, ah, let's go.
Cpt. Ahab: Yeah.
Nicole Shine: um And now, yeah, the journey's kind of starting in the album. So i kind of get what they did. um It's a good song. It's, you know, it's okay.
Cpt. Ahab: Yeah. Yeah. I mean, it can't always be on 10, you know, there's going to dips and valleys for sure.
Nicole Shine: Yeah. Yeah.
Cpt. Ahab: especially with like this journey and the concept of the album and all that. Um, I thought it was another rocking song, not as hard rocking as blood and thunder, but it's pretty good.
Cpt. Ahab: Um, I love them a lot of guitar part towards the end of song that really gets me.
Nicole Shine: Yeah.
Nicole Shine: Yeah.
Cpt. Ahab: All right. Track three, sea beast shifting gears. This track offers a haunting melodic progressive reprieve. It details the terrifying allure of a deep ocean and makes direct reference to <unk>og the,
Cpt. Ahab: Parad's heavily tattooed harpooner. I'm probably butchering that, but thoughts on Sea Beast?
Nicole Shine: A good song. It was a single um rocking song.
Cpt. Ahab: Yeah.
Nicole Shine: Time signature changes everywhere, which, you know, you know, anybody who's been rocking with us knows I'm um a big Tool fan.
Cpt. Ahab: Oh my god, yes.
Nicole Shine: I love a time signature change. um I know.
Cpt. Ahab: wonder you love this album.
Nicole Shine: i I love a time signature change.
Cpt. Ahab: Yep.
Nicole Shine: I love a concept album, all that, we'll get there, but, um, yeah, it's a good song, I like it, no complaints, um, it's, again, we're continuing on our journey, um, yeah.
Cpt. Ahab: I'm surprised you didn't do your hit single song on this song.
Nicole Shine: Well, I feel like Blood and Thunder was more of the radio song,
Cpt. Ahab: Yeah.
Nicole Shine: in tv's i feel like blood and thunder i feel like it's their signature song probably probably like this and oblivion but probably even this more than oblivion it's their a signature song it's the song they always have to play you know whether they're doing the album or not it's just a song you know what i mean so yeah yeah
Cpt. Ahab: And it...
Cpt. Ahab: yeah yeah
Cpt. Ahab: yeah yeah it's funny too because like blood and thunder i mean the chorus point blank says what the fuck the whole thing is about so yeah oh no i know but i'm just saying if they were gonna do go with one song i guess um Yeah, I dig sea beast a lot.
Nicole Shine: Well, they weren't shy about They put them on the cover. like They weren't. Yeah. Yeah.
Cpt. Ahab: I love the rocky, dreamy, flowy feel to it for sure. So, um all right. Track four, Island. The story lands momentarily on an icy, perilous location where lurking dangers are described. The track ramps up the chaos sonically, preparing the listener for the horrors that lie ahead in the ocean.
Cpt. Ahab: Thoughts on the island.
Nicole Shine: The song rocks. i love a song I love the I love how it's like very hectic and chaotic in the beginning, and then the song changes, and it gets some more like um mellows out, kind of, in the second half of it.
Cpt. Ahab: Yeah, yeah.
Nicole Shine: i thought that was really cool.
Cpt. Ahab: Yeah, I'm just like, this is another brutal rocking song.
Nicole Shine: I'm
Cpt. Ahab: No slowdown.
Nicole Shine: Mm-hmm.
Cpt. Ahab: All heavy almost all the way through, but there's changes. And yeah, it's very chaotic, but it's very cool for sure. Next track, Iron Tusk.
Cpt. Ahab: A heavy pummeling track that brings a violent encounter between the whalers and the creatures of the sea to the forefront. It captures the sheer physical brutality of the hunt.
Cpt. Ahab: Thoughts on Iron Tusk.
Nicole Shine: love it love the song this is when we were um when we were at the concert um
Cpt. Ahab: Yeah.
Nicole Shine: we, I always, so me and Conor is saying he's always behind the tall guy and I'm always next to the guy who won't shut the fuck up. Like, I don't know. It don't matter what concert I'm at, what the artist is, what kind of genre of music it is.
Nicole Shine: I'm always next to the guy who always wants to have a deep discussion with his friends about life during the fucking concert. But, um, I remember in this song, they got to this song.
Cpt. Ahab: Right.
Nicole Shine: He was like, it's the best song on the album. And at the time, I mean, it's hard to argue. I, We'll have to wait to see if I still agree with him.
Cpt. Ahab: Yeah.
Nicole Shine: But at the time, I did. was like, he's annoying, but he has a point. twice day. This song is fucking so good.
Cpt. Ahab: You're annoying, sir, but.
Nicole Shine: Yeah. thought that should some description the song. Definitely feels like little just not driving.
Cpt. Ahab: Yeah. I've thought the music matched the description of the songs, meaning definitely feels like a boss battle soundtrack when you reach the big bad, you know, the two guitars doing the same note is so good.
Nicole Shine: a
Nicole Shine: Mm-hmm.
Cpt. Ahab: Just, I love that when they do this on the album, it's really great.
Nicole Shine: Yeah, they do that a lot. Yeah.
Cpt. Ahab: It's so good. um All right. Next song is Megalodon. Referencing legendary prehistoric sea monsters, the song spirals into a flurry of intricate rifts. It captures the primal, unstoppable power of the ocean and the terror of confronting something larger than humanity.
Cpt. Ahab: Thoughts on Megalodon?
Nicole Shine: This one is a good one, too. um It rocks. It's okay. um It's another one those Cthulhu songs.
Cpt. Ahab: Yeah, right, exactly.
Nicole Shine: Right? You just picture him just destroying shit. So we have this running thing, if you haven't been with us the last few albums. And that's kind of why I picked this one as my pick this week.
Cpt. Ahab: Yeah.
Nicole Shine: um Because we the last three albums, we was like, oh, this song sounds like you know Cthulhu coming and destroying stuff.
Cpt. Ahab: Yeah, we had basically him coming, you know, arising.
Nicole Shine: Yeah, absolutely.
Cpt. Ahab: And then the last album was like him doing damage.
Nicole Shine: Yeah, and I feel like this whole like album is basically like, he's he did his damage with Faith No More song last week, and this whole album is us like hunting him now after he destroyed everything.
Cpt. Ahab: oh Oh, nice. I like it. I like it. We got a narrative going.
Nicole Shine: So sorry. It's a continuation of our Cthulhu narrative.
Cpt. Ahab: yeah
Nicole Shine: But this song is really just like that song on here where it's like, he's wrecking shit.
Cpt. Ahab: God. work
Cpt. Ahab: That's a good, I didn't think about that. That's awesome. um Another great flowy intro followed by the heavy parts for the guitars by itself makes me think of like country 20 that dinner.
Cpt. Ahab: The Fasca Dar part off after that, man. Like, the mosh pit during that part has got to be brutal. I mean, I can just see.
Nicole Shine: I mean, it was.
Cpt. Ahab: oh yeah.
Nicole Shine: Yeah.
Cpt. Ahab: Yeah, for sure. All right, next track. Naked Burn. This track centers on the grueling physical and psychological toll the hunt takes on the crew. It highlights the boiling tension aboard the ship as the pursuit becomes increasingly desperate.
Cpt. Ahab: Thoughts on Naked Burn.
Nicole Shine: This is a really good song, too. I remember you liking this one a lot. um
Cpt. Ahab: Yeah.
Nicole Shine: I think at one point you said, I don't know if it's still your favorite. I'm not going to speak for you. But it is a really good song. I feel like it's the most accessible. Besides Blood and Thunder, i feel like it's the most accessible song on album, if that makes sense.
Cpt. Ahab: Yeah.
Nicole Shine: like I feel like this was a single, and I can see why it was.
Cpt. Ahab: Yeah.
Nicole Shine: Because it's very, like, a lot of this album is, um it's really, the songs are good, but they don't really make sense. outside of the album, if that makes sense.
Cpt. Ahab: Yeah, for sure.
Nicole Shine: of Like a lot of concept albums, the songs don't really, you gotta hear it in.
Cpt. Ahab: Yeah, like they don't, they can't, they can stand on their own, but they can't because they're part of a whole story and they kind of feel weird, you know, by themselves. But yeah, I see what you're saying.
Nicole Shine: Yeah. Yeah.
Cpt. Ahab: Yeah, if there's any song on this album, this would be like, you know, it it fits in the narrative and the concept of the story, but it can also be like, you know, its own.
Nicole Shine: You can just put it on, yeah.
Cpt. Ahab: Yeah, for sure. For sure. um Yeah, man, there's like a good three or four songs on here that I went back and forth on as my favorite one.
Cpt. Ahab: And this was definitely in one those four.
Nicole Shine: one
Cpt. Ahab: But yeah, we'll wait till the end to elaborate on that. But um yeah, I love his voice on this one and that chorus.
Nicole Shine: yes again
Cpt. Ahab: My God. All right. Track eight, Aqua Dementia, a sprawling, chaotic epic that scores the climax of the struggle between the ship, the crew and the great white whale.
Cpt. Ahab: This is characterized by dissonant leads and a tense apocalyptic atmosphere. Thoughts on aqua dementia?
Nicole Shine: It's a good one. I really like this one a lot as far as the story goes. Musically, it's good too. But it before our you know climax, it's so really they really do a really good job of like building that tension of, OK, shit's bad now.
Cpt. Ahab: Yeah.
Cpt. Ahab: Mm-hmm.
Nicole Shine: Shit's going bad. Like, yeah.
Cpt. Ahab: It's hitting the fans. Yeah. All right.
Nicole Shine: the lyrics of it are really good and it really like brings that whole like okay where you can you really have that finale feeling of we're getting to the finale of our journey yeah yeah
Cpt. Ahab: Yeah.
Cpt. Ahab: Oh, yeah, for sure. Like that chaotic intro, man. Oh, my God. um And I love, love, love the punk feel to this song. Did you get that yourself?
Cpt. Ahab: or
Nicole Shine: yeah a little bit a little bit uh
Cpt. Ahab: Yeah, yeah, for sure. All right. Next track, Hearts Alive. Serving as the album's massive 13-minute progressive anchor, this song details the aftermath of the battle. It navigates turbulent waters, sorrow, and survival after the destruction left by the whale.
Cpt. Ahab: Thoughts on Hearts Alive.
Nicole Shine: Love this fucking song.
Cpt. Ahab: Nice.
Nicole Shine: It's just, it's so good. i mean, I'm a tall fan. I'm not, um I'm going love a 13 minute song with a bunch of signature changes.
Cpt. Ahab: Yeah, it' was going to say.
Cpt. Ahab: yeah
Nicole Shine: It's, this this is a the song is so good. Like, don't know. I don't want to give too much away, but it's really good.
Nicole Shine: um It doesn't even feel its length. Like, it's 13 minutes long, but it doesn't feel that long. They do their, I think their best guitar playing on the album on this one.
Nicole Shine: Just the going, i like that one section where they keep going back and forth playing the notes at each other, that same riff at each other back and forth.
Cpt. Ahab: Yeah. Yeah. Yep.
Nicole Shine: um It's just an excellent song.
Cpt. Ahab: Yeah. Yeah. I just put, you know, it's a giant jam session. You know, they've really showcased they're just going all out, you know.
Nicole Shine: Mm-hmm.
Cpt. Ahab: All right. Track 10, Joseph Merrick. The album closes with this brief atmospheric acoustic instrumental named after the Elephant Man. It acts as a calming, somber epilogue, providing a stark contrast to the aggressive tidal waves of the rest of the record.
Cpt. Ahab: Thoughts on Joseph Merrick?
Nicole Shine: Um, good. Um, it's a good, um, you like, it like, it does what it needs to do. It's a good calming after all the chaos of the, um, because the way Hearts Alive ends, it's very, like, oh, we're sunk.
Cpt. Ahab: Mm-hmm.
Cpt. Ahab: Yeah, it brings it down.
Nicole Shine: You know what mean?
Cpt. Ahab: Yeah.
Nicole Shine: Like, you know what I mean? Like, it's like, like, Hearts Alive feels like an intense, like, battle. Like, you really feel like it's a battle.
Cpt. Ahab: Yeah.
Nicole Shine: to survive that song really gives you that kind of feeling and i think the joseph merrick is very a very calming peace you know peaceful you know after all the chaos of the album because this album like it's on your neck and doesn't let up so that's a very nice you know mo release yeah
Cpt. Ahab: Yeah.
Cpt. Ahab: No.
Cpt. Ahab: Yeah, it's kind of nice ender, you know. Yeah, for sure. um Yeah, you're going laugh at this, but this song is proof that I can love an instrumental.
Cpt. Ahab: And I'm just very particular in my instrumentals.
Nicole Shine: Yeah, yeah.
Cpt. Ahab: I do love this instrumental.
Nicole Shine: Yeah, and it was even cool because they even played this... Again, they played the whole album and they played this in concert.
Cpt. Ahab: Yeah.
Nicole Shine: And he just came out with a little acoustic guitar and jams.
Cpt. Ahab: It was so good.
Nicole Shine: And it was... Yeah, yeah.
Cpt. Ahab: Dude. Oh, my God. Alrighty. So that was the whole album, track by track. Now let's do our favorite and least favorite songs.
Nicole Shine: Okay.
Cpt. Ahab: Favorite.
Nicole Shine: I'll start with my favorite. um Heart to Live. I mean... It was... Like I said, it was Iron Tusk for a long time. um But Hearts Alive... hear you clicking over there. Hearts Alive is just so good.
Nicole Shine: the the The instrumentation, the the way the song flows. it's Like I said, it's a 13-minute song, and it doesn't feel... 13 minutes feels epic.
Nicole Shine: It actually feels like it's a story in itself.
Cpt. Ahab: Yeah.
Nicole Shine: the song, like it has a beginning, middle, end, like it's a journey all in itself. um Yeah, every time I, um like I listen to it, it just makes me want to restart the album.
Cpt. Ahab: the
Nicole Shine: You know i mean? Because, so i like, yeah, I'm like, again, and and again.
Cpt. Ahab: Because it's almost over and you're like, oh, this is the finale. Right.
Nicole Shine: so yeah, so, yeah.
Cpt. Ahab: right
Nicole Shine: I'm sure.
Cpt. Ahab: Nice. My favorite? Oh, gosh. Yeah, it's probably still Naked Burn.
Nicole Shine: Yeah, sure.
Cpt. Ahab: Yeah, for sure.
Nicole Shine: just love this song.
Cpt. Ahab: i just love his vocals and that and the chorus and just everything about that song.
Nicole Shine: Of course, it's just everything about song.
Cpt. Ahab: um It's funny because like you're very into time changes, time signature changes, what have you with music, and I'm not so much, but I really do love this album.
Nicole Shine: It's funny. You're very, you're very, you're very, you're very, you're very, you're very, you're very, you're very, I really do love this song.
Nicole Shine: It's very, yeah.
Cpt. Ahab: It's a great concept album and just everything flows. And you'd think I wouldn't because with all the time changes and everything, the chaos that's in it, but it really is great.
Nicole Shine: Okay.
Cpt. Ahab: um Sea Beast was kind of neck and neck with Naked Burn, I think. Yeah, so, but I think Naked Burn won out. So, all right, your least favorite, if any.
Nicole Shine: um i'm preface this by saying i don't dislike any ah song on this album at all but if i gotta i pick a least favorite i'm probably gonna say megaloon megalodon megalodon i can't read can't read megalodon um it's a good it's still a rocking song
Cpt. Ahab: Right, yeah.
Cpt. Ahab: Yeah. Megaloon. No, you're good. You're good. Yeah.
Nicole Shine: It's just not quite up to the level um of the other ones for me.
Cpt. Ahab: Okay. Fair enough. Fair enough. You're going to hate me, but my least favorite is the one that you love.
Nicole Shine: Okay.
Cpt. Ahab: Hearts Alive. Like, yeah, that's the main reason.
Nicole Shine: It's too long for you? Yeah. if you
Cpt. Ahab: Like, I'm the same way with you. i have to preface that I love this whole album. It's one of those things where and don't say, oh, I need to hear Iron Tusk or Sea Beast or no.
Nicole Shine: Mm-hmm.
Cpt. Ahab: When I put it on, I'm like start to finish because I want to feel the whole story, you know.
Nicole Shine: Mm-hmm.
Cpt. Ahab: um But Yeah, if there was any song, it'd be Hearts Alive just because of, like you said, it's, you know, it's very long and tool-y.
Cpt. Ahab: I like tool, but yeah, sometimes I'm like, okay, you know, let's let's move along, sir.
Nicole Shine: Mm-hmm.
Cpt. Ahab: um Okay, right on. Megalodon. all right. So, if you had never heard of a band, would this album make you want to hear more of them?
Nicole Shine: Um, this going to sound weird because of what things I'm about to say later.
Cpt. Ahab: Yeah.
Nicole Shine: But honestly, no I mean, i have checked out other stuff of theirs just because I've, and it wasn't because of this album. It wasn't because I listened this album was like, oh, let me check out other stuff of theirs.
Nicole Shine: It's like, I heard, ah you know, I'll listen, you know, to streaming music, streaming or whatever.
Cpt. Ahab: Yeah.
Cpt. Ahab: Yeah.
Nicole Shine: and um ah a song of there to come on from a different album and i'll be like oh let me check that out but it wasn't because i like purposely went and sought out um and the the the i think the thing is that this is such a um special um album and like Maybe if they made another concept album about a classic novel, maybe I would check it out.
Cpt. Ahab: yeah
Cpt. Ahab: Right?
Nicole Shine: You know what i mean? like But...
Cpt. Ahab: What are you going to do next, Mastodon? We're doing Frankenstein. Yeah.
Nicole Shine: We're doing Tale of Two Cities. um Yeah, like I would check it out because I would be interested. But this is such a...
Cpt. Ahab: yeah
Nicole Shine: a um unique and interesting thing that they did especially in this like in the 70s people make concept albums all the time about all kinds of stuff but in the time they released it in the 2000s early 2000s um to be a metal album and it'd be a concept album about such a strange subject um and if for it to be so fucking good too um
Cpt. Ahab: Oh, God, yeah, for sure.
Cpt. Ahab: Yeah, it stood out amongst everything else, I feel, you know.
Nicole Shine: Yeah, it's it's almost like I know whatever else, and it kind of unfortunately put themselves in a box. I mean, their fans love, I think, other albums.
Nicole Shine: I know I have a i know i have a friend that loves Mastodon.
Cpt. Ahab: Oh yeah, for sure.
Nicole Shine: He just he likes, um I forgot which one he said was his favorite, but it wasn't this one. um But yeah, this album is, I hold it in such high esteem that I and really didn't have um the desire to check out anything else if that makes sense
Cpt. Ahab: No, totally. I actually am kind of similar in that boat. Um, I haven't really ventured into, mastodon passed this album um i'm i'm fine with this one so i'd say no you know um just because i feel like this one is just
Nicole Shine: i've been down um because
Cpt. Ahab: yeah it's like a perfect storm you know the concept and the music they wrote for it it's like i'm good you know i'm totally good so all right we want to over our album ranking scale
Nicole Shine: All
Nicole Shine: right. So our scale, we go based on skips. um ah Zero skips is a perfect no notes album. One skip is a mulligan. Everybody gets one.
Nicole Shine: Two skips is a classic album. Still better than 90% of the albums you're going to hear.
Cpt. Ahab: Yep.
Nicole Shine: um Three skips is a good album. It's still good.
Cpt. Ahab: Yeah.
Nicole Shine: Four skips is mid.
Cpt. Ahab: Yeah.
Nicole Shine: Five skips is trash. and
Cpt. Ahab: Nope.
Nicole Shine: Oh, ass.
Cpt. Ahab: Ass.
Nicole Shine: I'm sorry. I always do that. Five skips ass because I made them sound too much alike. and six I know.
Cpt. Ahab: I got it over here too.
Nicole Shine: i know it's it's the fact It's the fact that I made them sound too much alike.
Cpt. Ahab: Yeah, true.
Nicole Shine: And six plus skips is trash. um And for double albums, we just double it
Cpt. Ahab: Yeah.
Cpt. Ahab: Cool. So what is your album ranking for Macedon Leviathan?
Nicole Shine: it. Probably coming to no surprise to you, babe. This is going to be a perfect no notes album for me. I do not skip any song when I listen to this album. um I'll put it on.
Nicole Shine: And I want to hear the whole journey. um Sometimes I'll will just put it on and go to sleep. And I know Connor's like, how the hell?
Cpt. Ahab: well
Nicole Shine: i can um'm I'm weird.
Cpt. Ahab: Yeah.
Nicole Shine: I can sleep to aggressive music. It doesn't keep me awake. um I'll put i put this album on repeat and just sell in ah sell the seven seas with Mastodon.
Cpt. Ahab: Yeah, I... Man. ah Shit.
Nicole Shine: um Yeah, this.
Cpt. Ahab: I wet my bed and shit myself. Fucking...
Nicole Shine: So everyone, I have woken up plenty of times, of like but um yeah, this is this is, there's no skips on here for me. I feel like in this album, you you almost do yourself a disservice by skipping.
Cpt. Ahab: Yeah, you're you're ruining the vision, the flow.
Nicole Shine: um Because because they're they were the way they um made the journey from start to finish is such a complete story that if you skip any songs, you kind of miss part of the story.
Cpt. Ahab: and air
Cpt. Ahab: Yeah.
Cpt. Ahab: Right? That's like just reading one chapter in the middle of a book and be like, I'm good.
Nicole Shine: Yeah, villa yeah it be like it would be like skipping a part of a movie or skipping you know a chapter in a book.
Cpt. Ahab: Like, what?
Nicole Shine: Like understand. Yeah. Yeah.
Cpt. Ahab: Yeah. um Yeah, I'm the same way. Um, when I listen to this, it's from start to finish. Cause I want the whole story. I want the whole feel. I want the whole, you know, Leviathan, you know, um, it's just, it's weird.
Cpt. Ahab: It's kind of like you can't really listen to one or two songs off of, you know, the other album we did Pink Floyd, Dark Side the Moon. It just feels weird.
Cpt. Ahab: It feels naked. It feels incomplete.
Nicole Shine: now i know i do have like i said i'm i a i'm a maker of playlists and i do have songs on here and i have songs on dark side on certain playlists that's just a song if i'm doing a playlist like if i'm i do a lot of playlists when i'm like driving or whatever or gaming and i'll you know it'll i'll take a song or two um
Cpt. Ahab: yeah Yeah, that's true.
Cpt. Ahab: Yeah.
Nicole Shine: from an album, but like when I put, when I actually put on the album, I'll just listen to the whole album.
Cpt. Ahab: Oh, yeah. Yeah.
Nicole Shine: um Me, i am a, you know, I'm like I said, I'm a progressive, I would say I'm progressive metal is probably my favorite genre of metal.
Nicole Shine: Metal has so many genres. We, we watch, what is it? Metal Evolution every year. And that's,
Cpt. Ahab: Yeah, is it Metal Evolution or Heavy, the story of Metal? I forget.
Nicole Shine: It's Metal Evolution.
Cpt. Ahab: Medi.
Nicole Shine: Yeah.
Cpt. Ahab: Yeah, yeah.
Nicole Shine: And, um, that's always my favorite episode. Um...
Cpt. Ahab: Which side note, listeners, you should really check out that series. It's so fucking good.
Nicole Shine: Yeah, Metal...
Cpt. Ahab: It is so fucking good.
Nicole Shine: Metal Evolution is really good. um
Cpt. Ahab: Yeah.
Nicole Shine: It's always my favorite. Probably that and the, like, either Thrash or New Metal one.
Cpt. Ahab: Mm-hmm.
Nicole Shine: No, the Shock Rock one. Because a lot of bands...
Cpt. Ahab: Oh, the shock rock, yeah.
Nicole Shine: A lot of bands I like are in the Shock Rock one, too.
Cpt. Ahab: Yeah.
Nicole Shine: But, um... with Radiohead and Tool being my two favorite bands, it's no, um, surprise that I like progressive music, metal. I'm not too big a fan of progressive music in itself.
Cpt. Ahab: Yeah.
Nicole Shine: Um, I respect a lot of what they do. I respect the, uh, musicianship, but I kind of like progressive alternative or progressive metal or, could regret you know what I mean?
Cpt. Ahab: Mm-hmm.
Nicole Shine: Like I need that extra,
Cpt. Ahab: Yeah.
Nicole Shine: um in there but um i love this album um and i love a concept album so um yeah ah do you do you think um with this being their second album the sad thing is i think they kind of not plateau like peaked like peaked early you know what i mean
Cpt. Ahab: Yeah.
Cpt. Ahab: Plateaued?
Cpt. Ahab: No, I get what you're saying.
Nicole Shine: So make such a good album so early in your, career you know, career.
Cpt. Ahab: Yeah.
Nicole Shine: you know what I mean?
Cpt. Ahab: And then like, it yeah, it's kind of like everyone's going to be like, well, you know, it's not Python.
Nicole Shine: It's kind of.
Nicole Shine: It's not Leviathan. Yeah, like, um, I wonder if they feel anything about that, but who knows?
Cpt. Ahab: Yeah, exactly.
Cpt. Ahab: Yeah.
Nicole Shine: Um.
Cpt. Ahab: Yeah, I feel like we might be kind of in the small, small percentile that are like you know we're good with just a little other thing because they like yeah your friend and my childhood friend they love all mastodon i'm like you know what i'm cool right on this album so but yeah if you didn't guess i'm also perfect on this one as well yeah yeah no you're fine you're fine you're fine
Nicole Shine: yeah
Nicole Shine: yeah oh yeah i am no yeah it's just so good like it's so and i like the fact um Again, i like progressive i like Tool, I like progressive music, or whatever, creive progressive metal.
Nicole Shine: I like the fact also that this album is only 46 minutes long. Like, they told a fucking whole story, and it's 46, you know what mean?
Nicole Shine: Like, it's very, like, it's under an hour. It's to the point, which is rare, like, if you get a 46, usually if you get a progressive album that's like 46 minutes, it's like four songs on there.
Cpt. Ahab: Yeah, no shit.
Nicole Shine: You know what I mean? Like, The fact they made a whole 10-track album and it's only 46 minutes, it's like...
Cpt. Ahab: Yeah.
Cpt. Ahab: Like, I love the fact that they get in, they tell what they need to tell, and they get out, you know?
Nicole Shine: didn't get out. Right.
Cpt. Ahab: Like, it makes me think of um when you hear an album where you feel like some tracks were just fluff to make it, you more tracks or something like that, you
Nicole Shine: There's... Yeah, there's no fat on this album.
Cpt. Ahab: Yeah, for sure.
Nicole Shine: Everything is...
Cpt. Ahab: Yep.
Nicole Shine: Has a purpose. To the point.
Cpt. Ahab: That's a good descriptor, for sure.
Nicole Shine: Which is why I can't believe we don't like hearts lot. anyway...
Cpt. Ahab: i
Nicole Shine: And the visuals are so good when they play that line.
Cpt. Ahab: No, it's great. I just, you know, I'm being true, you know?
Nicole Shine: Yeah. Alright, well, that is it. um If you are interested, please check out Leviathan from Mastodon.
Cpt. Ahab: Oh, God, for sure.
Nicole Shine: um If you... just ah Just out of curiosity, I mean, to see if you like it. Even if you're not someone who traditionally likes metal um or whatever.
Cpt. Ahab: Yeah.
Nicole Shine: like ah Just to say, i listened to that metal album about Moby Dick. and it was fair like Listen to it like when you're driving in the rain.
Cpt. Ahab: Yeah, see if you get the same feeling of the journey, you know.
Nicole Shine: It'll make you feel like you're sailing the seven seas. Every time I'm in my car and it's raining, i like to put this on because it makes me feel like I'm like, Me and my daughter are super into pirates, and it makes me feel like I'm, like, sailing the seven seas or whatever.
Nicole Shine: But,
Cpt. Ahab: A white van goes by you and you're like, there she goes.
Nicole Shine: you
Cpt. Ahab: dar There be Moby Dick.
Nicole Shine: um... So, yeah, be sure to check it out, and we will be back um probably... we lie a lot you guys know that we because i was like we'll be back hopefully this weekend with the movie we have um we're we got a party going on saturday so i don't know if we'll be able to fit it in because we have a lot to do um hopefully
Cpt. Ahab: Look, we got a lot of shit going on sometimes.
Cpt. Ahab: We got a party.
Cpt. Ahab: We like to party.
Cpt. Ahab: Let's be truthful. We'll probably be back next Wednesday with the music one.
Nicole Shine: Yeah, hopefully we will. We did not forget this is not just turned into the Glenwoods music clubs exclusively.
Cpt. Ahab: Yeah, no. Yeah.
Nicole Shine: We'll be back with more movies. It's just just so much easier to just
Cpt. Ahab: Yep.
Nicole Shine: do an album because but um but yeah like and we usually do movies on the weekends as you guys know and our last few weekends have been busy but we will if not this weekend we will promise promise promise that we will do a movie next weekend and um we will be back um wednesday with a pic from connor
Cpt. Ahab: Oh, yeah. Plus we got.
Cpt. Ahab: Yep.
Cpt. Ahab: That's right.
Cpt. Ahab: Wednesday. And I'm going to already say it. um This was on my list, but it kind of got bumped out because of recent events.
Cpt. Ahab: We're going to L sevens bricks are heavy in honor of ah Jennifer Finch, the bass player passing this past week from brain cancer.
Nicole Shine: Oh, yeah. oh yeah Oh,
Cpt. Ahab: Right. Yeah.
Nicole Shine: yeah.
Cpt. Ahab: Yeah.
Nicole Shine: Yeah, rest in peace. That was very sad news.
Cpt. Ahab: Yeah. That that's fucked up. Cause that's one of those. Yeah. I'll, I'll hold my thoughts for the, Yeah, that one. But yeah.
Nicole Shine: Okay, so we'll be back next Wednesday. We'll back next Wednesday with L7 and the weekend after that with the movie pick. And thanks for hanging out with us.
Cpt. Ahab: See ya.
Nicole Shine: Right.
