Mastodon @ Saltair

Mastodon
10.09.09
Saltair
with Converge, High on Fire

Metal is serious business. After years of derision as the preferred means of entertainment by suburban meatheads and scandinavian church burners, metal has been accepted by everyone from trend-hopping hipsters to college professors to baby boomers to basement dwelling late night TV enthusiasts. The New Yorker recently ran a two-page story on doom metal, Kylesa's newest album received a (rare) rave review from Pitchfork and Adult Swim's Metalocalypse is one of the highest rated shows on television. Hell, even my mom likes Ozzy Osbourne. It is therefore unsurprising that one of the fall's biggest tours is a metal-based affair, co-headlined by a fictional band with some serious chops and one of the most successful metal bands of the new millennium. Even though it seemed most of the audience was in attendance to marvel at the metal spectacle that is Dethklok, they were gonna get an incredible showcase of heavy music, whether they liked it or not.

I must admit upfront that I did not stay to see Dethklok, so if you're looking for a review of their performance, look elsewhere. I have been both scolded and applauded for my decision, but I can't offer any commentary on their live show. Sorry. When I arrived at Saltair (and I'll spare you the standard bullshit rant against the venue), I was surprised to find a healthy crowd already forming outside the doors an hour before the show started. Granted, it was a Friday night, but it was early, and as I mentioned earlier, these people were here primarily to see Dethklok. Once inside, I grabbed a spot against the guardrail near a weird cross-section of the crowd. Dirty metal kids with clearly unwashed long hair mingled with nerdy kids decked out in their finest Hot Topic apparel, all refusing to give up their spots so they could observe the chaos of the live show up close and personal. Californian sludge-stoners High on Fire took the stage promptly at 6:30 and made the huge room go off immediately. I've never listened to these guys before, but I've been listening to them nearly non-stop since seeing them live. It was pretty clear that most of the crowd wasn't familiar with the band, but this was an oddly enthusiastic audience that was eating up High on Fire's heavy, harsh grooves. Multiple mosh pits broke out and I was nearly caught up in a few headbang collisions, but it was a whole hell of a lot of fun.

After High on Fire concluded, Converge began to set up. I was most excited to see Converge that night, primarily because I had never seen them before, and because I had been rockin' their newest album Axe to Fall (which I obtained legally! no street justice for me, thank you!) for the better part of the last month. High on Fire had heavy licks and face-melting solos which any metalhead could get behind, but I had a feeling that Converge wasn't going to win over the crowd's affection quite as well. I was right. Converge's set began with guitarist Kurt Ballou alone at center stage, playing the opening riff of "Plagues," one of slower, weirder songs from the band's 2005 album No Heroes. It was a weird choice for an opener, and I heard someone in my general vicinity yell "I DON'T LIKE THIS!" When the rest of the band came out and vocalist Jacob Bannon began to deliver his inhuman vocals (there is no good way to describe them, but if you can imagine a rusty robotic rottweiler screaming through a broken megaphone, it's a pretty good place to start), the crowd's mentality didn't really change. During the band's second song, the explosive title track from No Heroes, the crowd legitimately went nuts. Bodies went flying all over the place, I was crushed against the guard rail and my glasses flew off of my head at one point, but the energy was amazing. Still, some of the people around me were visibly not into the experimental extreme style of the band. As I imagined, Converge's live show was heavily reliant on their more aggressive material, consisting mostly of their Epitaph albums. The new songs sounded great live (particularly "Dark Horse") and set closer "Concubine" from 2001's Jane Doe was one of the definite highlights of the night. Not everyone in attendance was there for Converge, but those of us who were received a great performance. Here's to hoping they return next year to a smaller room.

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Comments on this article

Posted on October 19, 2009 by yammerskooner

"High on Fire . . . I've never listened to these guys before." Is this really possible?

Posted on October 19, 2009 by Ricky

I'm the dude who wrote the ska cover story last year. I had a metal-deprived adolescence.

Posted on October 20, 2009 by Bryer

You should get your metal on more often! Stupid cold, I shoulda been at this show...

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