Live Review: Dozer/Mastodon

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Dozer (Swe) / Mastodon (USA)

03/02/05
AB, Brussels

Mastodon Set List: Hearts Alive / I Am Ahab / Seabeast / Crusher Destroyer / Island / Megalodon / Blood and Thunder / Where Strides the Behemoth / Aqua Dementia / Iron Tusk / March of the Fire Ants / Hail to Fire / The Bit

I missed Extol's show, but caught Dozer's short performance just in time. I have seen these guys already three or four times and unfortunately, they've never managed to live up to the first time I saw them - when they were delivering a mighty, frenetic show at the Sojo almost two years ago (even though the audience had already received some bad-ass straight rights and uppercuts from John Tennis, Spiritu and Pawnshop). Like with their concert on the Sjock Festival last year, they suffered from a mediocre sound (it was much too trebly and unbalanced, making the vocals sound screechy, while guitar player Tommy had to deal with a shitload of technical problems). Still, the band remains an energetic outfit (that drummer is one hard-hitting maniac there - somebody please get the guy some tranquillizers!) and managed to turn "Lightyears Ahead" into an impressive blast of old-fashioned stoner-rock, while also Call It Conspiracy's "Rising" remains a song that's particularly catchy when you keep in mind where they're coming from. Still, there was a bit too much directionless jamming for such a short set (6 songs?) and the sudden disappearance of Tommy's guitar wall during the last song was the final blow to a concert that could've been quite fine, but ultimately remained a bit disappointing.

While Mastodon were already rising cult starts when they visited Belgium 8 months ago, they've become true stars of the metal scene since Leviathan was given a royal treatment by nearly all sites/zines out there concerned with "the heavy". Kerrang Magazine calls them "the best band on the planet", Leviathan topped an insane amount of end of year-lists (also the members' poll on Stonerrock.com, for instance) and even mainstream publications (Rolling Stone) and quality papers (The New York Times) added to the buzz. And you know what? They're all right, for once, as Leviathan is also one of the best metal albums this guy here has ever heard. It not only bridges the gap between the then and now by incorporating elements from thrash, math, power-metal, hardcore and prog, but it also manages to display an incredible technicality without losing any of its visceral power. Whereas Remission was almost an impenetrably dense and heavy album (they'll never be that oppressive again, I bet), the more accessible and diverse Leviathan rocks easily as hard. Listening to a lot of challenging music (whether it's extreme metal, free jazz or avant-garde) makes one a bit immune for decibel terrorists, but these guys display a wall of sound that's still astonishing after many, many listens. Last year at the Sojo was an ideal setting - a small, over-crowded venue with lots of anticipation in the air - but I was really curious how it would be in a bigger venue like the ABBox, with a big-ass professional sound set-up and stage. Well, the Dozer set wasn't very promising and Mastodon's show initially also suffered from a lousy sound. I mean, it's laudable they had the guts to kick off with "Hearts Alive," an extended epic of more than ten minutes, but without an awesome wall of sound, the song isn't half the blast its studio-counterpart is. The drums of Brann Dailor sounded - what else did you expect? - completely bludgeoning, Troy Sanders' bass was okay, but you couldn't really make out anything guitarists Bill Kelliher and Brent Hinds were doing, it was as if two vacuum cleaners were competing. The band put on a dedicated show though and delivered the entire Leviathan, except for "Naked Burn" and "Joseph Merrick" (its acoustic closer). "I Am Ahab" and "Seabeast" were okay, but only from "Crusher Destroyer" onwards, the sound provided the power these guys deserve. The metalcore of "Island" was slaying, the schizophrenic "Megalodon" that switches from Hinds' countrified picking to full-throttle thrash even upped the ante and when they got to "Blood and Thunder" with its already classic intro, the audience was finally totally into it. It's not really suited for old-fashioned headbangin', but the intricate guitar patterns on top of Dailor's ultra-complex drumming made up for the rather mediocre sound. Even though the band has been touring almost non-stop for a few years, they seemed to enjoy themselves and the sound fragments and samples in between the songs managed to keep up the momentum and peculiar atmosphere. "Iron Tusk" became a bludgeoning highlight that transcended into Remission's ridiculously powerful "March of the Fire Ants," and the band ended the set with a song from their hyper-kinetic debut EP and a cover of The Melvins' "The Bit." It wasn't the kind of surprise that Thin Lizzy's "Emerald" was last year (even though it had already appeared as a bonus track on Remission), but it was convincing and a highlight in a pretty convincing set. I'll never believe that the set they put on yesterday made the same impact as last year's, but those who saw the band for the first time (most of the audience, I guess), must've been impressed (and I did see a bunch of people shake their head in something that resembled disbelief). I've seen (or: heard) better, but those guys are definitely still on top of their game and the claim that they're one of the best metal outfits currently around is more than justified. Check 'em out if you get the chance, because history's being written as you're watching.