The resonant tones of Scott Kelly on “Fallen Torches” held significant weight, making it all the more poignant as his final collaboration with Mastodon, before his retreat from public life. Released on September 11, 2020, via Reprise Records, the track marked the opening of the band’s compilation album, Medium Rarities.
A unique and limited edition vinyl and digital collection, this album delved into Mastodon’s lesser-explored musical pathways. This release wasn’t about chart-topping positions or stream counts. Instead, it was a celebration of memory, an effort to preserve the band’s offbeat compositions that often went unnoticed amidst their renowned albums.
These included cover songs, instrumental versions, and live cuts. By gathering these fragments and pressing them onto vinyl, Mastodon made them tangible, collectible.
By August 15, 2022, Medium Rarities had become a coveted collector’s item. This was no accident; without this release, these tracks would have remained digital relics, lost amidst a sea of streaming platforms and overlooked B-sides. The tracklist of Medium Rarities mirrors Mastodon’s restless musical spirit. Covers are juxtaposed with instrumental reworkings of their own material.
Live recordings capture the band’s raw energy in settings where audience noise becomes an integral part of the song. “Fallen Torches,” with Scott Kelly of Neurosis, leads the collection, marking a new collaboration that, unbeknownst then, would be their last.
“Fallen Torches” is not a trivial addition. It stands as a testament to Mastodon’s ability to create new music that complements their expansive discography. This matters because compilations often serve as musical graveyards.
Medium Rarities, however, functions as a showcase, a testament to the band’s continuous evolution. Over the years, Mastodon’s sound has evolved, from sludge metal to prog rock, and hard rock.
Medium Rarities underscores this versatility, presenting a range of tracks that spans covers, instrumentals, and live performances where the guitar feedback bleeds into the room. The album does not shy away from this diversity; instead, it embraces it, presenting it as the essence of Mastodon’s music. The limited edition vinyl run created scarcity, making physical copies hard to find.
This was a calculated risk, as pressing a finite number of records for a collection of rarities meant that some fans would miss out. However, the digital release ensured the music remained accessible, while the vinyl became the trophy.
This dynamic changes the way fans interact with the work, elevating a song from background noise to a cherished event. Medium Rarities serves as a document of Mastodon’s creative process. It showcases what they do when they’re not building an album—covering songs they admire, stripping their own work down to its core, and stepping onto the stage to let the tape roll.
Without this compilation, these moments might have faded away. But Mastodon acted on this understanding, capturing and preserving these moments for all to appreciate.
Mastodon’s Medium Rarities doesn’t claim to be essential in the traditional sense, like a new studio album. Yet, it is essential in a different way. It says, “This is what we were doing when nobody was watching.” And that, indeed, matters.
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