Atlanta’s Mastodon have been very loudly getting on with the business of being the world’s most inspired alternative metal outfit for a long time now. 2011’s ‘The Hunter’ marked a shift away from the overarching narratives of goblins fighting their way up bloodied mountaintops that had come to define their records, in favour of remarkable standalone anthems like ‘Curl Of The Burl’. In ‘Asleep In The Deep’, this sixth record contains their grooviest, most accessible number ever, while the title track and the single ‘High Road’ are further indomitable classics-in-waiting. Musically ‘Once More ‘Round The Sun’ is equivalent to having several tons of hot molten lava poured into your eye sockets for about an hour. Behold!