Mastodon Fall Tour

I don't tend to announce tour information on my blog, but I figured I would make an exception for my favorite band. Mastodon first headlining tour for their new album The Hunter starts on November 1st in LA and closes on December 2 in a mystery location. Support on this trek will be provided from The Dillinger Escape Plan and Red Fang. Personally, I am beyond excited for this tour. I was really bummed when The Dillinger Escape Plan backed out of the Between The Buried and Me show in Boston, but this makes up for  it 1000 times over. November 21st can not come soon enough.

Mastodon
The Dillinger Escape Plan
Red Fang
Dates:
Nov 1 Los Angeles, CA - Wiltern Theatre
Nov 2 Sacramento, CA - Ace of Spades
Nov 3 San Francisco, CA - The Warfield
Nov 5 Portland, OR - Roseland Theatre
Nov 6 Seattle, WA - Showbox SODO
Nov 7 Boise, ID - Knitting Factory
Nov 8 Salt Lake City, UT - The Depot
Nov 9 Denver, CO - Ogden Theatre
Nov 11 Chicago, IL - Riviera Theatre
Nov 12 Milwaukee, WI - Rave Ballroom
Nov 13 Sauget, IL - Pop's
Nov 14 Kansas City, MO - The Beaumont
Nov 16 Detroit, MI - The Fillmore Detroit
Nov 17 Indianapolis, IN - Egyptian Room
Nov 19 New York City, NY - Terminal 5
Nov 20 Philadelphia, PA - Trocadero
Nov 21 Boston, MA - House of Blues
Nov 23 Montreal, QC - Metropolis
Nov 25 Toronto, ONT - Kool Haus
Nov 26 Buffalo, NY - Town Ballroom
Nov 27 Washington, DC - 9:30 Club
Nov 28 Norfolk, VA - The NorVa
Nov 29 Asheville, NC - Orange Peel
Dec 1 Lake Buena Vista, FL - House of Blues
Dec 2 The Missing Link

Best Albums Of The Decade(2000-2009): #1

1.Mastodon-Blood Mountain(2006)

Not only is Blood Mountain my favorite album of the decade, it's my favorite album of all time. I have never heard a perfect album in my entire life. Blood Mountain blends together seemlessly their progessive and heavy elements. The record is full of brilliance and each song is layered,complex and bad-ass. From the thunderous drum intro on "The Wolf Is Loose" to the Star-Wars esque prog-fest "Sleeping Giant", Mastodon's verstillity is prominent throughout The riffs, as usual, are epic and the drumming by Brann Dailor is unreal. The production is crystal clear and the album sounds prestine. Blood Mountain is an absolutely unreal album that continues blow my mind even 4 years later.

Standout Tracks 1.The Wolf Is Loose 2.Crystal Skull 3.Circle Of Cysquatch

Best Albums Of The Decade(2000-2009): #3

3.Mastodon-Leviathan(2004)

"Leviathan" is the reason that I fell in love with Mastodon's music. This was the first record I heard from them after hearing "Iron Tusk", I knew I had a new favorite band. The whole record hits hard. It's jammed packed with some of the best riffs ever crafted. The riffs alone sold me on the record. Later on after hearing "Remission", I enjoyed the inclusion of the progessive elements that really wern't present on "Remission". It added even more depth to Mastodon's sound. "Leviathan" is a behemoth of a record that is as immense as the Moby Dick concept that encompasses it.

Standout Tracks 1.Iron Tusk 2.Blood and Thunder 3.Megalodon

Best Albums Of The Decade(2000-2009): #18

18.Mastodon-Crack The Skye(2009)

Crack The Skye takes Mastodon in a different direction. It's a more progessive than their past work, but it's just as brillant. Brent Hinds carries the vocal load on here, which is a cool change of pace. Hinds's guitarwork is astonishing and is definitely a highlight. This is not my favorite Mastodon record, but it is a unique masterpiece from the best band in the metal.

Best Albums Of The Decade(2000-2009): #36-35

36.As I Lay Dying-Shadows Are Security(2005)

After Frail Words Collapse, As I Lay Dying's popularity erupted. Shadows Are Security continued the legacy of As I Lay Dying. This record is very powerful stuff from a lyrical standpoint. All of these tracks have deep meaning behind them, and truly from the heart, that's always a nice touch. In addition to being a great lyricist, Tim Lambesis also steps up to the plate vocally. The production is far better than on their 2 previous releases, it brings out the talent Lambesis possess. I am a also a big fan of the clean vocals on this record, Clint Norris has a great voice and makes each track even better. Shadows Are Security is the album that transformed As I Lay Dying into the metal juggernauts they are today.

Standout Tracks 1.The Darkest Nights 2.Confined 3.Reflection

35.Mastodon-Remission(2002)

Before I even mention the music on Remission, this is one of my favorite album covers of all time. It's just such a badass image. Onto the music, this is one of the most impressive debut albums I have ever heard. Mastodon comes out and creates a heavy as shit debut that is such an achievement. Most bands go whole careers without making something this great, but Mastodon did that on their first album. What stands out in my mind about Remission is that it is pretty different musically than future Mastodon release, yet it stll has the amazing edge that the future release would have. Remission was the only beginning of Mastodon's masterworks.

Standout Tracks 1.March Of The Fire Ants 2.Burning Man 3.Workhorse

Concert Review: BlackDiamondSkye(Alice In Chains/Deftones/Mastodon) Boston,MA September 22,2010

A brief anecdote to open with prior to my review. My friend and I got on the subway around 5:15 to head into Boston for the show. About halfway through our journey, a group of African-American dudes that are around the same age as my friend and I board the subway. My friend is also African-American and these kids begin to start smack talking us, thinking they are hilarious. They proceed to ask my friend what he is doing and he says going to the Alice In Chains concert and these kids begin to question his "blackness" and proceed to rant about how "brothers shouldn't go to rock concerts". Then they proceeded to get off the subway and me and my friend just laughed at their ignorance.Besides that odd ride in there, the rest of the night was amazing.

Mastodon went on directly at 7:00. I was extremely excited to see them again. Despite Mastodon being my favorite band of all time, their live performances are extremely scattered in quality. The 1st time I saw them in 2007, Brent Hinds was so strung out he forgot lyrics and blew solos left and right. Thankfully Mastodon brought their A-game out at this show. The setlist was fantastic. I had heard many conflicting setlists from them from the first few dates of this tour, so I really was not sure what would actually be played. The set was heavy on Blood Mountain/Leviathan material which excited me greatly because those are my two favorite records from Mastodon. Naked Burn is a great opener and was a really nice surprise. The finale of Megalodon and Blood and Thunder was epic. Megalodon is so god damn heavy live and Blood and Thunder was such an amazing surprise. The whole band was tight and Hinds nailed every solo/sounded great vocally.Best performance I have ever seen from Mastodon.

Deftones were up next and they are really a hit or miss band for me. Their new record Diamond Eyes is pretty damn good and I dig some stuff off of Around The Fur and White Pony. This was my 1st time seeing them and going in I had heard mixed reviews on their live show. Deftones were very good live. Chino Moreno is an absolute madman on stage. In addition to his whirlwind energy, he sounded great on vocals. I was surprised about how well songs like Rocket Skates where live. Rocket Skates is not one of my faves but live it was amazing. Deftones impressed me and I would go see them again.

Seeing a band like Alice In Chains live is just surreal to me. They are one of the most iconic bands of the past 20 years and I was getting to see them live. Alice In Chains blew me away. Will Duvall at times in a live environment sounds exactly like Layne Staley, it gave me chills. The 1-2 opening punch of Them Bones and Dam That River was insane. Both of these tracks are among my favorites and made great set openers. Alice In Chains played an eclectic mix of tracks from all their records and it made for one of the best performances I have ever witnessed. Anyone that still doubts Alice In Chains without Layne Staley is crazy. Duvall does a great job with Layne's work and he is a beyond worthy replacement.

This was seriously one of the best shows I have ever been to in my entire life. Mastodon and Alice In Chains brought down the house and Deftones were great as well. Go check out this show if hasn't already come through your city, all 3 bands are great and it was worth every penny I spent.

Scores
Mastodon 9/10
Deftones 8/10
Alice In Chains 9.5/10

Setlists
Mastodon
Naked Burn
Divinations
Crystal Skull
Colony Of Birchmen
Capillarian Crest
The Czar
Megalodon
Blood and Thunder

Deftones
Diamond Eyes
Rocket Skates
Around The Fur
Be Quiet and Drive(Far Away)
My Own Summer(Shove It)
Prince
You've Seen The Butcher
Sextape
?
Change(In The House Of Flies)
?
Engine No.9
7 Words

Alice In Chains
Them Bones
Dam That River
Rain When I Die
Again
Check My Brain
Your Decision
No Excuses
Sickman
God Am
We Die Young
Acid Bubble
Lesson Learned
Rooster
Encore
Love,Hate,Love
Man In The Box
Would?