Review by Jason Williams
[Photos by Kaley Nelson]
May 3rd 2014, House Of Blues, Las Vegas NV: The enticing lineup of Mastodon, Gojira and Kvelertak embarked on a North American tour last month, and due to Iced Earth playing the very same day as this tour in Los Angeles whom I absolutely could not miss, my adventure of seeing this uniquely delightful tour would take place at the House of Blues in Las Vegas, located in the Mandalay Event Center. I would really like to not count my time of seeing Mastodon last year at the Mayhem Festival. The sound and acoustics of the large stage did not mix right with the sound and the song selection wasn’t quite the best due to not being a headliner or co-headliner. This would be my first real time of seeing them in a more fitting setting, along with the band I want to see most on this tour, Gojira, and Kverlertak, who really impressed me and became the highlight of the night at the High on Fire tour in December 2013. Much would occur musically and emotionally from these three tonight, and in a completely new setting for me, I was more than excited in anticipation.
It was a very smooth drive to Vegas, getting there in the morning hours of Saturday after seeing Iced Earth in Los Angeles. Fortunately, nothing chaotic or ‘Vegas-like’ occured before the show, almost like a normal day in Southern California. I arrived at the venue inside the casino around 7 PM. This would be my fourth different House of Blues venue I’ve attended and it was very unusual to see it inside such a grand casino. Metalheads to the left, older gentlemen and ladies gambling, drinking margaritas to the right. I’m still in amazement to see how vibrant Vegas is. Although I hardly gamble, I do love the spirited atmosphere and liveliness that lasts throughout the night in Vegas.
By the time 7:30 PM rolled around, Kverlertak made the stage right on time, to a very large crowd already inside the venue. Although the upstairs portion of the venue was blocked out, the bottom portion was, at least to this point already, close to a sellout. Norway’s brand of blackened rock ‘n roll opened the set with “Åpenbaring”, the opening track from their 2013 album, Meir. As mentioned previously, I had never heard them prior to seeing them with High on Fire in December last year. They completely blew me away and made me an instant fan that night, and even on this occasion, all six members of the band were in the zone, their back metal intensity and rock riffs and passages completely dominated the stage. Vocalist and frontman Erlend Hjelvik was in true form, headbanging away with two fists in the air, commanding the crowd. The three guitarists works for them, just as I saw them previously. A variety of harmonies, rhythms and tones engulfed the air. Seeing Bjarte Lund Rolland play lead guitar without a pick is still a wonder to me. Drummer Kjetil Gjermundrød pounded the life out of his kit while bassist Marvin Nygaard was more than audible considering how bass players tend to be generally used in metal. The crowd was enjoying every moment, despite the fact that maybe less than half of the audience didn’t know who they were. Kvelertak’s music wouldn’t be described as exactly “happy”, but more “fun” you could say; therefore I can understand how new listeners could still enjoy them.”Evig Vandrar” was probably the crowd’s favorite, the largest moshing of the evening so far. Unfortunately, their sound was what I would describe as “tour opener sound”, while loud but somewhat blurry. The guitar work wasn’t as fully clear as I’d seen before, but the crowd didn’t seem to mind at all and were disappointed when their 30-minute set ended. Time really flew by during their set and they received a huge ovation from the crowd. It’s great to see a band work as hard as they’ve worked getting the recognition they deserve.
Check out a gallery of 18 Kvelertak photos (from the Los Angeles show) below, or view it here if you’re on a non-Flash device:
Kvelertak links:
Kvelertak.com
facebook.com/Kvelertak
twitter.com/Kvelertak
instagram.com/KvelertakOfficial
Set List:
01. Åpenbaring
02. Spring fra livet
03. Bruane Brenn
04. Nekrokosmos
05. Ulvetid
06. Evig Vandrar
07. Blodtørst
After 30 minutes, Gojira took the stage to a massive roar from Vegas. Judging by the amount of Gojira shirts, I could easily see this tour being a rotating headlining slot. Definitely a band I’ve loved for a long time, seeing them as far back as 2006 supporting Amon Amarth and Children of Bodom, Gojira’s live show can be extremely hard to match. A mosh pit was already in motion as a synth version of “From Mars” was heard through the PA. Right as it ended, “To Sirius” opened their amazing 50-minute set. Unlike Kvelertak, the sound was much clearer, but even if it would be considered nitpicking, the guitar sound was lower in the mix, while the vocals, drums and bass were definitely louder; almost opposite of Kvelertak. In all my times I’ve seen Gojira, this being the fifth, their sound has always been loud, heavy and crystal clear. I was hoping it would be fixed or noticed during the set, but it wasn’t. The crowd didn’t seem to care or probably even notice. And this isn’t a knock on Gojira whatsoever, and the first four songs of their set were from their 2005 masterpiece, “From Mars to Sirius”, my absolute favorite album of theirs by far. They played with a ton of energy and vicious conviction as always and although the guitar work was lower in the mix than I would have liked, it could still be heard and the songs just flew by. Frontman, guitarist and singer Joe Duplantier screamed at the top of his lungs, “Are you alive Las Vegas?!” which was met with moshing, lyric screaming and roars of approval, excitement and joy. Bringing out “In the Forrest” from their first album Terra Incognita was a nice surprise. I always appreciate when a band, even if it’s just one song, plays a deep cut from their set. “Flying Whales” was the highlight of their set, as it almost always tends to be one of their heaviest songs in their discography and especially the middle part of the song (all of you Gojira fans know exactly what I’m talking about), which had the pit in the most violent form it had taken in the night. Like Kvelertak, their set went by extremely fast and I really should not be nitpicking, as the sound was nearly perfect and probably the best set I’ve seen them play since I first saw them years ago. Boos rained down as their last song, “Vacuity” ended the set. Chants of “Go-Jira!!!” waved through the air as they thanked the crowd for coming out. Overall, still amazing as always and my sixth time seeing them could not be soon enough.
Check out a gallery of 43 Gojira photos (from the Los Angeles show) below, or view it here if you’re on a non-Flash device:
Gojira links:
Gojira-Music.com
facebook.com/GojiraMusic
twitter.com/GojiraMusic
instagram.com/GojiraMusic
Set List:
01. (From Mars intro) / To Sirius
02. The Heaviest Matter of the Universe
03. Backbone
04. Flying Whales
05. L’Enfant Sauvage
06. Toxic Garbage Island
07. In the Forest
08. Oroborus
09. Vacuity
Gojira’s set was intense, brutal and energy demanding. It made me wonder how the crowd would react to Mastodon due to the tiring effort they gave earlier to Gojira. By 9:30 PM, Mastodon came out to a large reaction from the crowd, with the moshing also starting before the first note was played. I was really interested to see Mastodon in a much more preferred live setting that fit their style of progressive metal/rock. The Mayhem stage last year just didn’t seem to fit for them, and it seemed evident as “Hearts Alive” was met with dancing, moshing and sing-alongs, their sound was outstandingly clear for their technical ability and very powerful and massive. It actually made them sound heavier live than on album, honestly. I also found it interesting that although Mastodon has some fast moments here and there, they’re more of a mid-paced band, and that had no impact on the moshpit. In fact, there was moshing going on through every song in the set. That told me that even though some of it wasn’t exactly necessary, the crowd were huge fans and showed it in that one of many ways. “Capillarian Crest” happens to be my favorite song from Mastodon and it was awesome to see it played live. “Naked Burn” and “Aqua Dementia” received the biggest ovation, as Leviathan fans seemed to be the majority in the crowd. They also played two new songs “Chimes at Midnight” and “High Road”. Fans in attendance reacted well to them, especially the first of the new songs.
Their musicianship was extremely impressive, to say the least. It’s one thing to be able to perform on album, but to perform the same level of intensity, if not higher live, is a trait that truly lets you stand out. I must also point out that the lights during their set were beautiful to gaze upon and never distracting, only enhancing the experience. Criticism has been made of Mastodon for not being ‘lively’ on stage. Although they surely don’t move around as The Dillinger Escape Plan or Cephalic Carnage, but I feel with their music, it wasn’t needed. With that said, they were noticeably moving around during this show. Bassist/vocalist Troy Sanders was all-smiles throughout the show, waving at the crowd and moving throughout the stage. Guitarist/vocalist Brent Hinds was giving his harsher style of vocals while playing flawlessly. I prefered Sanders’s vocals over Hinds’, as I found them more varied and suited, at least to me. Drummer Brann Dailor even gave some vocal work through the end of the set. Major props when I see drummers also have some singing duties. I wondered why Bill Kelliher was given a mic, as he only sang a couple of the songs at the near end of the set. He matched Hinds’ guitar melodies effortlessly, though. Both extremely efficient in their playing. Either they were in better spirits or maybe they just want to make their shows even more interesting, but Mastodon’s movement on stage was more than enough for me. It was worth noting that although the band did acknowledge the crowd through smiles and eye-contact, there was no crowd interaction vocally. It wasn’t until the end of their set where Brann Dailor came up and thanked the crowd and also announced that their new album “Once More ‘Round the Sun”, would be released June 24th. The crowd rejoiced and chanted “Mastodon!” as the lights went on.
Their 90-minute set was very impressive and I was finally glad to finally see them in a much better setting. This tour was built solidly and I would love to see a tour package this diverse and powerful. Mastodon, Gojira and Kvelertak put on an excellent show and many more will follow in the future.
Check out a gallery of 15 Mastodon photos (from the Los Angeles show) below, or view it here if you’re on a non-Flash device:
Mastodon links:
MastodonRocks.com
facebook.com/Mastodon
twitter.com/MastodonMusic
instagram.com/MastodonRocks
Set List:
01. Hearts Alive
02. Divinations
03. Crusher Destroyer
04. Capillarian Crest
05. Black Tongue
06. Bladecatcher
07. Crystal Skull
08. Siberian Divide
09. Naked Burn
10. Megalodon
11. Oblivion
12. Blasteroid
13. Octopus Has No Friends
14. Chimes at Midnight
15. High Road
16. Aqua Dementia
17. The Sparrow
Mastodon/Gojira/Kvelertak remaining tour dates:
05/05 – Denver, CO – Ogden Tehatre
05/07 – Minneapolis, MN – First Avenue
05/08 – Chicago, IL – The Riviera Theater
05/09 – Pittsburgh, PA – Stage AE
05/10 – Toronto, ON – Sound Academy
05/12 – Buffalo, NY – The Town Ballroom
05/13 – Washington, DC – 9:30 Club
05/15 – New York, NY – Terminal 5
05/16 – Worcester, MA – The Palladium
05/17 – Philadelphia, PA – Electric Factory
05/18 – Columbus, OH – Rock On The Range Festival
House Of Blues Las Vegas links:
HouseOfBlues.com/LasVegas
facebook.com/HOBLasVegas
twitter.com/HOBLasVegas
instagram.com/HOBLasVegas