Mastodon take the stage with a couple of waves, but without a word and immediately tear through current single ‘Dry Bone Valley’. As frenetic and punchy as its delivery is, it’s one of their more tuneful and commercial sounding songs, and doesn’t quite set the tone for the rest of the evening. A truer reflection of their metal soul follows with the sludgy ‘Black Tongue’ and then ‘Crystal Skull’ which shakes the walls.
Latest album ‘The Hunter’ makes up the bulk of the night’s set with at least eight or nine tracks. Particular highlights include a storming ‘Spectrelight’ and the deep, bouncing bass of ‘Blasteroid,’ but there’s plenty of variety with ‘Crack the Skye’ seeing the band bathed in green light, and all of their five studio albums represented.
It’s a night of bone crunching riffs, lightning fast drumming and flailing heads all round. Amidst the aural onslaught, Troy Sanders ventures towards the front row and aims his bass over the crowd as though pointing a rifle, Bill Kelliher skulks menacingly around the stage and Brent Hinds is the star man, mercilessly shredding his guitar.
Inside the metal juggernaut, another recent single stands out. Sandwiched between ‘Spectrelight’ and ‘Bedazzled Fingernails’ it becomes clear that ‘Curl of the Burl’ actually has a bit of a groove, and even inspires a bit of grooving in the appreciative crowd.
It’s a temporary change of pace however. As if their titles weren’t enough of a clue, ‘March of the Fire Ants’ and ‘Where Strides the Behemoth’ from 2002’s ‘Remission’ are chunks of relentless aggression.
There is not a word to the audience until the very end of the set, but eventually Brann Dailor makes a point of acknowledging the reception and affectionately brands the Glasgow audience “crazy”.
The closer is Dailor’s own ‘The Creature Lives’ during which some lucky local punters are invited onstage to add extra vocals, to what is as much a communal sing-a-long, as a band performance. It’s in some ways an anti-climax rounding off the night with such a slower-paced song (and no encore) but perhaps from the band to the punters, a bit of a rest is in order by this point. Tonight, Mastodon are on top form and put on a typically loud, heavy, and fun show.