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Rating: We waited for them for years! There must be a reason why Mastodon are so underappreciated in Italy and only reach their fourth album to perform as headliners! There must be a reason... but I don't know it! So we're going to Milan (of course), this is the perfect opportunity! At first, I saw zero support groups, but then a few days before, a trio from San Francisco called Totimoshi, dedicated to a mix of punk and metal, were confirmed!
I managed to miss them due to Milan's traffic, and when I entered at 21:00 on the dot at Magazzini Generali, their set had ended about 30 seconds earlier. No big deal, but not really either because it's already crowded, and I thought I was early. Oh well, usual slow stage change, and then the four craziest clowns of heavy music make their entrance!
Zero words, quick greetings, and they kick off with "Oblivion." Yes, everyone knew it in the end, that they would perform "Crack The Skye" in its entirety! From the first to the last! The audience is ecstatic, and the mosh pit is uneven; everyone is more focused on the music and the Mastodon's moves. Brent Hinds, as usual, is the most drunk of the four, staggering noticeably and occasionally hopping around the stage, but ladies and gentlemen, he doesn’t miss a single damn note, not even if you paid him! His alter-ego Bill Kelliher, on the other hand, plays the part of the detached one, giving a few suspicious looks to the front rows, but towards the end, he also loosens up. Troy Sanders and Brann "The Octopus" Dailor, on the other hand, are having a good laugh: the former makes the same faces he does in videos when playing, while the latter is simply the best drummer in the heavy-and-non realm seen in recent years on earthly stages! Brann, you are the best; I adore you! Amen! Then he also sings, that is, despite causing chaos (with a minimal drum set), he sings too. It’s a case of "I sing and play myself." Amazing thing, the audience knew all the lyrics, as if we were at an Eros Ramazzotti concert! Panic during "Divinations" (front rows completely squashed) and moments of great pathos during the splendid suite "The Czar" and the continuous twists of "The Last Baron" (appropriately shortened by 3-4 minutes in the middle and final parts due to its excessive length).
Brent at one point even picks up a twelve-string, but no one is clear about its use. Who cares because these guys play like monsters! They leave and return after a few minutes for the second part, which moves through the quartet's other albums. From "Blood Mountain," they only pull out the devastating "Circle Of Cysquatch" (with the crushing/final riff that brings the best of Sepultura to mind). Then the mosh pit becomes unbearable and the crowd surfing wild when they put "Aqua Dementia" followed by the deadly amario double "Where Strides The Behemoth"/"Mother Puncher" one after the other. When all four of them start singing and you hear what they do, you feel like jumping on stage to kiss their Vans! All in a row without breaks; with "Iron Tusk" we really hurt ourselves, and the attack of "March Of The Fire Ants" sounds a bit like they are telling us: Okay, now we're leaving but with this, we’re kicking your ass, and it’s worse for you! Yes, Magazzini becomes truly a frenzy, and then it all ends.
They leave, throwing picks and drumsticks here and there, and finally, they also speak by slurring some thanks halfway between Italian and English. Then there's obligatory spending at the merchandise stand to get a t-shirt and a questionable poster. You step outside, and there are people handing out flyers for the new Airbourne album... like, damn, we saw the most best, best-selling band actually, and you come out with four queers imitating AC/DC. There is no more musical religion. The next day, a snowstorm hits Milan, and the plane leaves with a 4-hour delay. No problem, I get home feeling Mastodonic! Ghhhh!
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