Mastodon Comes Back Home to the Tabernacle
November 11, 2009 · Print This Article
Mastodon cracked the skye and entered a new dimension with their performance at the Tabernacle last Thursday.
The show started with Matt Pike and High On Fire’s black powder explosion of sludged out riffs and driving beats of doom. Converge assaulted the stage after High on Fire’s embers died down. Frontman Jake Bannon whipped, contorted and convulsed across stage as the rest of the band spewed out a violent hardcore thrash, punk hybrid mix at breakneck speed, sending the young crowd up front into vortex of swirling angst.
Then it was time for Mastodon. The band stepped onstage and took the next majestic step to their impending astral domination. Since the release of ‘Crack the Skye‘ this past March, Mastodon has sold out shows around the world including one at Center Stage in May and now they were at the Tabernacle, performing before another sold out hometown crowd.
The intro and grand ominous riffs of ‘Oblivion‘ sent the over packed show to a gracious roar. Brann Dailor led the vocals, passing the bridge over to Troy and the chorus to Brent. Cycling through the cohesive fluidity between Brent and Bill’S riffs, the giant projection screen took over and poured out images as Oblivion grinds into ‘Quintessence’.
The start of ‘Quintessence’ spiraled the crowd up like the big hill of a roller coaster and at the pinnacle moment sent the crowd crashing down a ride of head banging inducing riffs and thunderous beats. Troy led the band as he circled the center mic and attacked it with vocals.
Next was ‘The Czar’. This is where the band takes the next step into the upper dimension of rock stardom. Blurred images of Rush’s 2112 comes to mind as ‘The Czar; spacey, synth-laden groove gradually builds up and explodes into an expressive layer of progressive riffs that flow into Brent’s incendiary solo. Troy singing the lyrics “don’t stay, run away” and the astral projections on the screen behind them made the cosmic melodies come to life and you felt like you where “spiraling up through the crack in the sky”.
Churning guitars spiral further out on ‘Ghost of Karelia‘ and ‘Crack the Skye‘, and continues the journey to the epic ‘The Last Baron‘. The Last Baron showcased Brann’s incredible drumming. And as Brent and Bill chased each other with rapid pace riffs, chaotic time-changing tempo switches exploded into galloping riffs, and climaxed into the bands screams of “we can set this world ablaze”
Each song seems to come to life onstage with the videos behind them reinforcing the story as they played. If Pink Floyd played heavy metal, they would make it like this!
I have listened to ‘Crack the Skye‘ non-stop in my car for the last three months and to see it take form onstage was incredible. And performing before a hometown crowd seemed to make it just as special for Mastodon.
S.E.
Mastodon photos by Allen Ross Thomas of Artist Exposure
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Way to go! Great article!
[...] Mastodon will be touring as direct support for Metallica on the “World Magnetic” Tour. Read the review of Mastodon’s hometown performance at the Tabernacle in Atlanta HERE. [...]