Mastodon/Kylesa/Intronaut (May 15th, Center Stage)

This was probably my first "real" metal concert. Yeah, I've been to Slipknot before, but they're commercialized metal- they're on the borderline.

I arrived ten minutes before the doors opened- I don't know why. Intronaut didn't even start playing until 8:10. But Intronaut was great. They were heavy as shit, and the screaming helped- but randomly they would slow down and spew out some jazz riffs. They played for only 20 minutes, though. Much too short.

This place was much smaller than I had imagined- I had thought it would be the size of the Tabernacle. Boy, was I wrong. There was nothing wrong with that, though; it's just that it was by far the loudest concert I've ever been to. Even as I write this review the following morning, my ears are ringing (But I can't hear them now because my laptop is humming). Every seat was close to the stage. No, I didn't stand on the floor- I doubt I would've seen (even though I'm about 5' 9'').

Kylesa started playing about 20 minutes later. I had been really looking forward to Kylesa and I can't say that I was disappointed. I had thought they would open with "Scapegoat," the opening song of their latest album, Static Tensions. Instead they opened with "Where The Horizon Unfolds," an extremely heavy track. "Scapegoat" was their third song, and boy was it great. I only recognized one other song from the album, though. Whatever- it was still sick.

Mastodon came out a half hour later. In case you didn't know, they were to play their latest album, the 7-track, 50 minute Crack The Skye from start to finish. It was an experience not to be missed. Adding to that was the fact they would be playing clips from old Russian movies (I think) on the screen behind them. It was surreal.

"Oblivion" was perfect, and so was "Divinations," which encouraged a huge moshpit. "Quintessence" was next, a song I'm kinda indifferent on. It was slow, yeah, but during the heavier parts another moshpit formed.

Next was "The Czar." It was pretty good. It was at this time, though, that I noticed the horrible sound. During Part 1, I heard screeching like no other. I cringed, it was so bad. When they exploded into Part 2, the screeching got a little better- I guess the heavier they played, the better the sound. Or maybe the heaviness covered up the screeching, but I doubt it. However, they seemed to finish short.

The next track was "Ghost of Karelia," a song that until recently I didn't like. However, the screeching was back. I had read that Scott Kelly from Neurosis contributes the screaming vocals to "Crack the Skye," so I had wondered if Scott would do them on stage. he didn't. At first, I wondered whether Brent Hinds (Mastodon vocalist) was really screaming. I think he was. Nevertheless, the screaming parts were much heavier. What I liked about it was after the screaming, there were clean vocals (singing). However, if screamo comes to mind, then think again. The transition between the vocals is full of so much emotion, but it's not characteristic of screamo music.

The last song they played was "The Last Baron," a song my friend had told me was far better than "The Czar." Recently I realized he was right, but it was SO much better than "The Czar" live. This time I was sure they played the whole thing. With NO lack of a better word, this song was EPIC. It blew my mind away.

Now, I'm sure there were those who hadn't read online about the concerts, so many concertgoers may have been surprised that Mastodon played a second set. They played five songs from Blood Mountain- Bladecatcher, Colony of Birchmen, The Wolf is Loose, Crstal Skull, and Capilarian Crest.

"Bladecatcher" is so awesome because it's spazztastic. I mean, just listen to it. Like I expected, it ingited a massive moshpit. "Colony of Birchmen" was cool. "The Wolf is Loose" and "Crystal Skull" were my favorites of the night, though. They were heavy as shit, with lack of a better word. Those two ignited large moshpits, as well. I didn't really recognize "Capilarian Crest" but it wasn't bad.

Then it was off to Leviathian. They played three songs from there- Megalodon, Seabeast, and Iron Tusk. These songs were very heavy as well and were accompanied with large moshpits.

Then it was their last song- "March of The Fire Ants" from Remission. This song was very sludgy and heavy and backed by screaming the whole way through. I had wondered whether this would be their last song- they had played 28 dates on this tour but only on a few had they played the 15-minute epic "Hearts Alive" from Leviathian. I didn't really care whether they did or not, as I wasn't a huge fan of the song, but I wouldn't be surprised if they did, as Atlanta is their hometown and I thought that they would maybe give their hometown fans a treat. I was wrong. I didn't care, though.

All in all, best concert I've been to. It beats Red Hot Chili Peppers by just an inch.