By Michael Behrenhausen and Marc Hobelman
A near full moon loomed large over on Sunday, but it would prove nowhere near as massive as the sound put forth by co-headlining hard rock, metal monsters and . Both bands floored a rabid amphitheater with ultra-tight hour-plus sets of simpatico sounds.
Following openers, the swedish retro-doom groovers , Clutch put the pedal to the metal with a career spanning set that also touched upon new material from their forth-coming “Psychic Warfare” LP.
As vocalist Neil Fallon growled through tunes like “Pure Rock Fury,” “Texan Book of the Dead” and “D.C. Sound Attack!” (which featured an appearance from Mastodon’s Brent Hinds on the slide guitar). The band — guitarist Tim Sult, bassist Dan Maines and drummer Jean-Paul Gaster — powered on behind him like an amped up gear head blues version of ZZ Top.
Following a brief intermission, Mastodon took the stage to the gloomy acoustic intro of “Tread Lightly” from their most recent LP “Once More Around The Sun,” and tore into a relentless set of their progressive, mind-melting metal.
Collectively, guitarists Brent Hinds and Bill Kelliher, bassist Troy Sanders and drummer Brann Dailor, are a terrifying behemoth. The group was right at home in these monolithic stone surroundings.
Though heavy on “Once More Around The Sun,” Mastodon’s choice of tunes clearly hit some long-time fan favorites as they powered through an awesome set with barely a breath in between. Tracks were drawn from throughout their impressive discography, from the interstellar bombast of “Blasteroid,” the blistering instrumental workout “Bladecatcher,” the power metal of “Oblivian” and the epic “The Czar.”
For his choice of instrument, Hinds alternated between clear acrylic Gibson Flying Vs and souped-up SGs. When his wild hair and fringe vest weren’t flailing over his Colorado-themed pot leaf t-shirt, his fingers flew over his frets with reckless dexterity. Occasionally, the dual guitar solos would recall familiar metal tropes that easily get a crowd shoving the metal horned hand higher and harder in the air, but Mastodon pushed further; its prog-ier coordination was truly awe-inspiring.
The insane riffs by Hines and Kelliher and head-spinningly brilliant drumwork by Dailor may have seemed at times like rhythmic anomalies, but the band was unbelievably tight. Working together, they hit their marks with deft expertise and showcased their solos and ensemble songs making Emerson, Lake & Palmer’s complex rhythms look like the White Stripes.
Equally impressive, all four members of the band shared vocal duties ranging from roaring harmonies to anthemic wails that saw the crowd pumping fists and singing along.
The audience was raucous, but it wasn’t obvious until the end of the set they had become used to the pace. Enter Clutch’s Fallon to do guest vocals on “Blood and Thunder.” His unbeatable projection injected a visceral punch to the very last song of the night. The building tension of Mastodon’s metal master class only topped itself when Fallon helped to usher in a fan-demolishing finish.
