Mastodon, Kerry King @ Northcote Theatre, Melbourne
There have been some titans to play the legendary Melbourne venue – earlier this year we had Lamb Of God for instance – however I would bet none come with the ability to tear the place down like tonight’s monstrous double header of Slayer’s Kerry King and headliners Mastodon.
Both are here in preparation for the weekends Good Things Festival and while Mastodon are literal Godzillas in the genre, there will be a few inquisitive eyes watching the King Kong of Slayer brings his own solo show.
The both played Sydney last night so tonight, the kinks should be ironed out and a sonic battle between the legends should be fire.
Kerry King’s set list is naturally heavily weighted off his album, From Hell I Rise. Opening with Where I Reign, the music is as loud as you would expect from a man who made a career out of being faster and louder than everyone else.
Vocalist Mark Osegueda from Death Angel makes his presence felt on stage with his blood curdling screams while the band, including Phil Demmel, hammer like a pneumatic tool going full tilt. It is not a one man show, it’s a full-fledged band with major metal talent. It’s King’s name on the tin though so while Demeel wails on solo number two, the first and third solo belongs to King. Three solos and that’s just the first song, wow!
King’s solo work is much in the vain of his main job, except a tad slower and longer, leaving room for riffs to sway rather than sear. Seeing a band perform such precision to a high quality in what is essentially a large club, is special.
The thrash part of the set, as exclaimed by Osegueda starts with Two Fists, which morphs into a couple of covers, yep Slayers Repentless – which finally gets a circle pit going – and a touching tribute to Iron Maiden’s recently departed Paul Di’Anno with Killers.
We all know that ‘Raining Blood’ gets played however From Hell I Rise is the perfect end to an imperiously powerful set.
Mastodon take the opportunity of a full headlining set, they’ve been doing quite a few festivals recently, to drop sophomore album Leviathan in full. Yep, the whole shebang, no corners cut, in running order too from start to finish. Even the opening is understated however once Blood And Thunder and I Am Ahab get underway, an exercise in fist pumping metal, we are onboard and set sail.
The light show is impressive, the mood set and even though being run in play, the cheers each time Mastodon play another track is like it was the first time. They are not the biggest of talkers so the songs and applause is everyone’s chosen form of communication
They do welcome the audience right before Iron Tusk which has the place bouncing which moves into Megalodon with a crazy circle pit on Troy Sanders signal. Those rolling rhythms on the drums rattle the place so much a plotted plant falls off its perch and breaks.
It’s hard to piece together the band live, they are so adapt at what they do, they make the difficult seem easy. Take the thirteen minute opus Hearts Alive for example. A prog classic, the time switches and dynamics are crazy, just how can the band stay that much in the pocket nine songs into a set?
After the album has been performed, the band go into their back catalogue and pick out all the bad boys. Czar, Black Tongue and Circle Of Cysquatch to name a few. All sounding massive and roaring.
It does beg the question, which set list will the band perform at Good Things? Well, you’re just going to have to get a ticket and find out. Either way, you will not be disappointed Ahab.
Live Review By Iain McCallum