Easily one of the five most exciting acts in an increasingly progressive extreme-music underground, Atlanta's Mastodon stays true to the technical intricacy and jagged weight of thrash while adding a deeper sense of groove and adventurous, jazz-like sensibility; on purely intangible grounds, it could be said that this is a metal band with soul.
The band's whiplash-inducing first full-length, Remission (2002), was a relentless exercise in quick-change pummel and subtle atmosphere that refused to be contained by the boundaries of death metal, hardcore or even the experimental sounds of brutal pioneers like The Dillinger Escape Plan and Today is the Day (a project that once featured current Mastodon members Bill Kelliher and Brann Dailor). Last year's follow-up, Leviathan, showcased a less frenetic sound earmarked by more traditional song structures and dynamic mood-building, but did so without sacrificing intensity or innovation. Constantly evolving and consistently top-notch, this is the band to amp up folks who think extreme music all sounds the same these days. Supporting the group's biggest headlining tour to date are metallic hardcore veterans Death by Stereo, disturbing Swedish doom/noisecore act Cult of Luna (in the midst of its first-ever U.S. tour), and Florida's own Torche, an outfit made up of former members of cult-beloved heavy bands Floor and Tyranny of Shaw.
Mastodon w/Death by Stereo/Cult of Luna/Torche. Friday, May 20, @ The State Theatre, St. Petersburg. 7 p.m. Tickets $10 adv., $12 d.o.s.
-Scott Harrell
This article appears in May 18-24, 2005.
