With a repertoire that includes sludge metal operas about Moby Dick (“Leviathan,” 2004) and concept albums about time-traveling astral projection (“Crack the Skye,” 2009), Mastodon might just be one of the most compelling acts in modern metal. Now, the uncharitable eyes of the heavy metal community have fallen upon the Atlanta natives to see if they can keep their level of quality consistent with their recently released fifth studio album, “The Hunter.”

In many ways, “The Hunter” is somewhat of a departure for Mastodon. It’s their first non-concept album since their 2002 debut “Remission.” Additionally, it stylistically follows in the footsteps of their previous effort “Crack the Skye” by implementing clean singing over harsh vocals more than ever before, as well as embracing a more experimentally psychedelic approach to songwriting in combination with their traditional sludge-metal sound.

As a result, “The Hunter” comes across as a much more straightforward heavy metal record than their previous, more conceptual albums. It’s nice to see Mastodon stretch their legs a bit after seeing them tackle the more story-oriented LP with success so many times in the past. It’s refreshing to hear their seminal brand of progressive psych-sludge stampeding amok without being tied down to any particular concept.

That being said, the tried and true Mastodon approach is far from absent on “The Hunter.” This is immediately evident after a pair of haymaker opening tracks. Between the doomy guitar harmonies and droning vocals of “Black Tongue,” and the relentless riffing and catchy chorus hook of “Curl of the Burl,” Mastodon is clearly still one of the best bands at what they do.

It’s tough to say there are high points on “The Hunter,” since that implies there are low points as well. However, there are some notable highlights worth mentioning. For instance, the jaunty, major key metal romps “Blasteroid” and “Octopus Has No Friends” are both somewhat reminiscent of the tunes off of Mastodon’s Herman Melville inspired magnum opus “Leviathan,” proving Mastodon is one of the few bands that can pull off a hybrid of sea-shanty-on-steroids coupled with blazing speed metal.

They also continue to embrace their typical style combining it with a new LSD-induced-psychedelic sound. “Stargasm” sounds like Iron Maiden interpreting Pink Floyd, with lingering, effervescent guitar arpeggios segueing into crushing riffage and climaxing into a shimmering chorus that soars into the stratosphere.  Later, on title track “The Hunter” – written by guitarist/vocalist Brent Hinds in memory of his recently deceased brother – acoustic and electric guitars intertwine under Hinds’ strained croon in a dark, brooding combination of melodic progression and down-tempo hard rock.

Instrumentally, the band is at the top of their game. Hinds and fellow axe-man Bill Kelliher continue to prove that they’ve mastered the often-underappreciated art of guitar weaving; taking turns between thick, bludgeoning rhythm work and absolutely blistering lead work. The main riff to “Octopus Has No Friends” is disgustingly awesome. They give the songs plenty of room to breathe and remain fairly subtle with the guitar solos, but when they do finally let loose, it’s lightning in a bottle. It’s clear that Mastodon still has virtuosity to spare in the strings department, between the melodic and melancholy blues-rock phrasings in the bridge of the title track and the unadulterated shredding firestorm during the end of “Dry Bone Valley.”

Brann Dailor is arguably one of the best active drummers in hard rock and heavy metal. To keep up with the fretwork of guitarists Hinds and Kelliher, Mastodon needs one hell of a rhythm section. As per usual, Dailor simply dominates on nearly every number. The drum tracks on songs like “All The Heavy Lifting” and “Thickening” are complete with rhythmically dynamic shifts, explosive fills and earth shattering grooves. These tracks make it clearly evident that Dailor doesn’t so much play the drum kit as he does primally abuse it.

According to the band, the songwriting process for “The Hunter” was far more collaborative than past efforts, which has seemingly added a very atmospheric quality to the band’s usual hard-hitting progressive metal sound. This is most noticeable in “Creature Lives,” a song unlike any other the band has ever produced. It’s probably the closest thing Mastodon has ever done to a “ballad,” and is the first song that drummer Dailor has ever composed and sung lead vocals for in the band’s history.

After the mountains of critical praise and mainstream acclaim that stemmed from 2009’s “Crack the Skye,” Mastodon really needed a powerhouse of an album to assert their ability to sustain a high level of quality over more than just a few records. Luckily, “The Hunter” is just such an album. Sure, they’re not loudly musing about 19th century literature or singing about one-eyed, clairvoyant Sasquatches as they have in the past, but the Mastodon we all know and love is still here and ever-evolving in all their proggy, sludgey goodness.

Dave Coffey can be reached at [email protected].