(This piece appears in the April 9 – April 16, 2009 issue of Birmingham Weekly)
Mastodon is a part of a small but elite group of bands that represent what one might call the next evolutionary step of heavy music. While many other bands have sought their niche by playing faster or slower, singer higher or lower, this Atlanta-based quartet have focused on absorbing and reflecting a diversity of styles. Rather than limiting themselves to a certain criteria that to them defines “heavy,” they seem to embrace the idea of doing whatever feels right, and in doing so soar far above the majority of their peers.
Their latest release, CRACK THE SKYE, completes an exploration of the elemental wheel (water, earth, fire, and now ether), and also cements them as one of the most important and intelligent bands in the genre, if not in music in general. While the sound owes a lot to early Metallica, Black Sabbath, and Led Zeppelin, the atmosphere is more that of Pink Floyd or classic Genesis (albeit through a dark and distorted lens) – technical, brutal, not unlike a blow to the head, but atmospheric and sweepingly cinematic. The lyrics tell the story of a crippled boy who is only able to experience the world through astral travel; his soul becomes unmoored from his body, and he ends up in the form of Russian czar Rasputin. It’s a science fiction epic, as heady as any concept album from the prog-rock oeuvre of the 1970’s heyday, and backed by a musical bed as intricate and twisting as the story.
It’s worth noting, too, that the sci-fi story that sprawls across the fifty (or so) soaring minutes of the album is a metaphor for a number of things, including guitarist Brent Hinds’ experiences after a post-performance fight sent him into a three day coma, and a tribute to drummer Brann Dailor’s deceased sister Skye. And yet, none of this is presented in such as way that feels preachy or overt.
With CRACK THE SKYE, Mastodon and producer Brendan O’ Brien (Pearl Jam, Bruce Springsteen, Stone Temple Pilots) have taken both heavy metal and prog-rock and created perhaps the perfect blend of both. It is hard to overstate how uniquely masterful this album is, and how important Mastodon is to the heavier end of music. They’ve created a long-form sequence of songs — not an incoherent gathering of random tracks, but a full cycle of pieces that can be enjoyed apart but together present even more of an impact — that shows that heavy metal can be both brutal and intelligent. In appropriately nerdy terms, most metal bands are content to be big, scary villains who long for the big heist, but Mastodon is more akin to Lex Luthor or Doctor Doom, brilliant and evil men who will settle for nothing less than dominion of the universe and the simultaneous utter destruction of all the heroes.
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At City Stages in 2004, the Exhibit(s) opened up the local stage, and we were to be followed by Mastodon across the way at the Miller Lite stage. We decided to play our bluegrass-infected version of Metallica’s For Whom the Bell Tolls, on a lark, because we knew all the metalhead kids across the way would hate it. And most of them did, but I heard later that the guys in Mastodon thought it was a kick in the ass. Regardless of what they would have thought, though, I was really glad that I hung out for their set that day.
At the time, they were preparing for the release of the album that really put them in everyone’s attention: LEVIATHAN, a dense, unexpected beast of an album that was obviously inspired by Moby Dick. Even in the summer heat – and having played two sets earlier, I can vouch for how unpleasant playing in that sun was – they were unrelenting, ferocious, and hungry. There was a frenetic energy in the air that day that I’ve rarely experienced at concerts – this wasn’t just a job for these four, but something that they truly felt.
All of this makes me – and hopefully, you, too – extraordinarily anxious to see their upcoming show at the WorkPlay soundstage. This show kicks off their tour, which means that we’re the fortunate first to see them perform CRACK THE SKYE in its entirety. The band has promised, in recent interviews, that there will be a full stage show to accompany the performance, adding visuals to the already sense-intense brew.
While the music is heavy metal – perhaps too brutal or “noisy” for many of you – I cannot recommend this show enough, even sight-unseen. Mastodon is an awe-inspiring live experience, devoid of the by-the-numbers feeling you get from so many concerts these days, and their latest material is thought-provoking and also important to metal as a genre – not representing a pinnacle or be-all-end-all but rather an opening of doors, a challenge to other musicians to aspire to greater heights and fewer boundaries.
Mastodon is playing at WorkPlay on Friday, April 10, with openers Kylesa and Intronaut. Their latest album CRACK THE SKYE is available in local record stores and through iTunes now.