Mastodon Fall US Headline Tour – REVIEW

Mastodon’s Fall U.S. Headline tour came thrashing through Chicago at The Riviera. With them came Dillinger Escape Plan and Red Fang. You can check out our review after the break.

11.11.11, a day that most will remember for the numerical significance. I’m not sure what the other 2.8 million people in Chicago had planned, but the 2,000 of us that were at the Riviera Theater have a much better reason to remember it. Red Fang, Dillinger Escape Plan, and the mighty Mastodon came through town and reminded us why we heavy music is eternal.

Red Fang was first up, a four-piece heavy metal band from Portland, Oregon. These guys came on stage with equipment of incredible vintage quality, although it all looked well-worn and long-played. From the first chords that rang out, this band was heavy as hell. Sludgy riffs with driving drum and bass rhythms very reminiscent of Black Sabbath and Helmet, but with the droning, heavy guitar arrangements of bands like Neurosis and Sleep. Every song in the set sucked the crowd in and set up perfectly for the chaos that would grace the stage next.

Enter: Dillinger Escape Plan, a five-piece mathcore/avant-garde metal group from Morris Plains, New Jersey. A wall of cabinets turned sideways on the stage floor confused me at first, but their purpose became obvious from the first time I saw guitarist Ben Weinman do his first flip off of them. The band’s performance was absolutely organized chaos. The music is, simply put, staggering to try and wrap your head around, but they didn’t miss a note. Not once did I get the impression that they stumbled, no matter the outrageous time-signature or blazing fast tempo. The light show was done perfectly to the music. Dual strobes, one on each side of the drum set, burned the crowds eyes as we strained to see what was happening on stage because there was no direct lighting on the band itself. Did I mention how the pits were some of the most violent I have ever seen?

The headliner of the evening was Mastodon. Easily one of the best metal bands on the scene today, they had the droning and driving qualities, but the virtuosic writing arrangement of Dillinger. Drummer Brann Dailor flew around his pragmatic drum setup with ease and kept the grooves tight. As is a staple of a Mastodon show, their back drop was used as a projection screen for psychedelic moving images that changed shape and color with the music. The crowd responded with uproars of cheering after every song. As the band plays in different tunings and musical styles they had to change instruments multiple times, and they did so with little to no gap in between songs. Their set was streamline smooth and the music was performed almost studio quality perfect (as usual). Being my second time seeing Mastodon live, and being a long-time fan, I, with the rest of my fellow fans, left the theater that evening with a very satisfied smile on my face from one of the most well executed, unconventional heavy metal shows of the year.

Information about the review…
Tour: Mastodon Fall US Headline Tour
Bands: Mastodon, Dillinger Escape Plan, and Red Fang
Reviewer: Vincent Ippolito
Date: November 11, 2011
Venue: The Riviera in Chicago, IL