Mastodon

The last time Mastodon visited Helsinki was in summer 2011 at Sonisphere festival. The terrible heat and burning sun didn’t do the band’s set much justice back then, so seeing them in a club was a treat impossible to refuse. Especially given the fact that since their previous visit Mastodon have released their 5th studio album “The Hunter”, which now they finally took on the road to Europe, starting their way from Finland (because, you know, we’re awesome like that).

Fast forward to January 12th, Helsinki, sold out Circus club. We arrived about 20 minutes before the show-time, made our way through the queues at the wardrobe, got closer to the stage, chatted a little here and there, when the photographer asked me if the band is already late. I checked the clock: they still had a couple of minutes. At 9 p.m. sharp Mastodon entered the stage and without further ado blasted into “Dry Bone Valley” off of their latest release. Right then and there I finally understood that all the rumours I have heard about the band failing to sound as good live as they do on the record, and all the Youtube videos that seemed to prove it, all of it was utter bullshit. Either that or Helsinki just got lucky and Mastodon had a good day.

In any case, if some lost soul, who has never heard the band before, asked me to describe the show to them, I’d say they were in for some unbelievably beautiful and intricate guitar riffs that take the most unexpected turns and leave you hanging in a WTF-moment, topped with some wild hair all over the place, beards, funny moustache, Troy Sanders’ priceless facial expressions and one clean-shaven Brann Dailor. Noteworthy, a hairless face isn’t the only of Brann’s assets; during the whole show he was beating the hell out of his white polka-dotted drum kit, like it has done something very bad to him. Or maybe he is just really one of the most astounding modern drummers and not all hope is lost in that department.

But I digress from the set list, which was a fine mix of Mastodon’s discography, however, with little attention paid to “Remission” and “Crack the Skye” albums. It’s ok though, whatever they were playing, the crowd was going bananas, and that’s what counts the most, doesn’t it? But when Sanders came to edge of the stage and started to play the unfathomable tunes of my all time favourite “Sleeping Giant”, I think I levitated for a moment. The public had their fists in the air at all times and the front rows were in a state of constant moshpit, mercilessly punishing their necks, which, I’m sure, had their revenge the next day. After the “Ghost of Karelia”, which, though unintended, still felt like a little tribute to Finland, four songs in a row were the heritage of “The Hunter”. And when so very familiar dancey riff pierced the air inside the club and Brent Hinds sang the best lyric line of 2011 “I killed a man ‘cause he killed my goat”, each and every bum present in Circus that night was shaking it to the “Curl of the Burl”, because it’s a bum-spell like that!

The show climaxed with an epic sing-along to “Blood and Thunder” and “Creature Lives”, after which Dailor left his dotted throne, took up the mic and in a speech that seemed a bit longer than the usual deal, thanked the public for the evening and their participation. Ah, those sensitive Atlanta people. It was a brilliant and peculiar show that Mastodon delivered in the best form from start to finish of each of the 23 songs.

Set list:

Dry Bone Valley

Black Tongue

Crystal Skull

I Am Ahab

Capillarian Crest

Colony of Birchmen

Megalodon

Thickening

Blasteroid

Sleeping Giant

Ghost of Karelia

All the Heavy Lifting

Spectrelight

Curl of the Burl

Bedazzled Fingernails

Circle of Cysquatch

Aqua Dementia

Crack the Skye

Where Strides the Behemoth

Iron Tusk

March of the Fire Ants

Blood and Thunder

Creature Lives

Text: Tanja Caciur

Photography: Jana Blomqvist