On Friday, Pomona experienced a man-made earthquake. The men that generated this seismic activity are known as Mastodon, the heavy metal titans reigning from Georgia. They played for almost two hours without distracting from the metal with banter or jokes. It was just pure metal heaven. Or hell.

The opening band Baroness, who recently performed at Coachella, brought the house down with a brief yet powerful set. “Isak” and “The Gnashing” were more visceral and raw than their recordings, and the young band knew every moment was worth taking. After their set, the energy was tangible and the bar was set.

Unfortunately, the next band, Between the Buried and Me, did not step up and their power was lost in the math metal. Their set can be described as an hour-long jazz metal jam, but the death vocals became overwhelming and distracting.

However, when Mastodon hit the opening notes of “Oblivion,” the opening song on their latest and arguably greatest work “Crack the Skye,” everyone rushed to the stage. The audience was roaring for what seemed to be five minutes straight before the band hit the first note. Mastodon smashed through “Oblivion,” “Divinations,” and “Quintessence,” and had the entire place moving.

The secret to Mastodon’s live power is the resourcefulness in their sound. The band shares three vocalists, one of which is the drummer who possesses the best singing voice in the band.

Their different tonalities convey different emotions and make one think of a musical, with each character singing their respective perspective. Not only did the band sound amazing, but they also treated the audience to a visual trip.

While the band was shredding, they had a psychedelic movie that coincided with the performance. “Crack the Skye” is a concept album that involves astral projection, Rasputin and hell. Suffice to say, an extremely metal storyline.

So when the lights changed when the song changed, the character on screen would fly around in sync with the guitar solos.

When “The Czar” exploded, the entire place seemed to be flying through space with the band.

One of the most powerful moments was during the album’s title track, “Crack the Skye,” when the floor felt like it was about to crack open and send the entire audience to hell.

After the performance of “Crack the Skye,” the band played a second set of hits including “Iron Tusk” and “Blood and Thunder” with the same intensity and fire of the first set.

Mastodon took the audience to Bolshevik Russia, space and hell. It was a most metal show.


Contact this reporter: alexis.villa@thepantheronline.com