Being a citizen of Australia its rare we get the opportunity to see many great things. It costs too much for bands to come out this far and we only have a few capital cities to cater for. However when a band does make the effort to come down, we embrace it far more than any of you foreigners would! A few days ago I was treated to witness Mastodon...and all I can say is, fuck!

I write for a music mag on the side and what reviews I put up there, I've decided to share with you lovely bunch of awesome guys n gals. So if you have a keen ear for good music then read on.

Mastodon - Live @ The Palace - Melbourne, Australia


Opening track - Oblivion - Music Video

Being musically bias effects the way a person will listen to a certain selection of music. You put an avid Celine Dion fan in front of a band like Mastodon and odds are you are going to have a disappointed listener. It’s a shame really because without having an experimental ear, one misses out on worlds of talent. Having said this, I will shamefully admit that before tonight I knew much about the band but listened very little to their music. Something I now substantially regret.



The night began subtle enough with the usual cigarette and beer amongst the naturally pleasant congregation of bearded and/or inked souls wearing black with lady friends to suit, bringing the male to female ratio in at around 2:1…which in my experience was a lot more varied compared to assorted metal gigs of the past. Indeed, the collective here had full intentions to give Mastodon the reception they deserved to make up for the apparent lukewarm response given when backing Slayer years back.

After sound and lighting were complete doing a very thorough and untimely but necessary check, the room dimmed and the eager crowd sprang to life with fists in the air. The slightly psychedelic lighting brightened to reveal Kelliher with guitar in hand electrically introducing the opening track Oblivion. All band members followed in tight succession while building consistently throughout largely progressive verses and acutely fitting melodic choruses. After blasting through the walls with equally impressive renditions of Divinations and Quintessence a double electric guitar was brought out to execute and maintain a definite highlight of the evening; a very epic delivery of The Czar, and as promised at The Big Day Out, without even stopping to speak, the band played through their forth full length and most recent album Crack the Skye in its entirety.



After a very eerie intermission with gothic like lighting and an intensive organ performance, the four returned to the stage to please long time fans with the escalated execution of anthems taken from their debut album Remission as well as critically acclaimed Leviathan and Blood Mountain. With the noticeable change in sound throughout their catalog, came a noticeable rise in energy from both onlookers and performers; with arched backs, guitars and drum sticks raised high and all four voices bellowing to the ears of those assembled. It was easy to spot that the band genuinely love being on stage as an extremely ecstatic female devotee was invited to join them and express her love for the band by what seemed to be imitations of an epileptic love doll executing cartwheels and hugs throughout perfectly staged presentations of Iron Tusk and March of the Fire Ants bringing the eventual close of the evening.

Having not listened to much of the harder progressive metal of the past, an experimental ear for the stubborn can only be attained through talented gateway band - what I learnt this evening was that Mastodon is one of these. Flawless.

P.S - Check out their website on acid, if possible