Not Cracked on the Skye

    

     The Mastodon/Between the Buried and Me/Baroness/Valient Thorr tour rolled through Pomona last night and I was anxious for this show, being that it had been four years since I last saw Mastodon and BTBAM.  Mastodon was on the "Unholy Alliance Tour" with Slayer and BTBAM was playing Ozzfest in 2006, neither of which allowed for a long set.  Between the Buried and Me flat out is amazing live and definitely a band that is to be experienced but what's weighing on my head now is Mastodon.  Since 2006, the band has blown up with their last two releases, Blood Mountain and 2009's critically acclaimed Crack the Skye.    Mastodon is more popular now than ever before and with that comes a price. 
     It's obvious to me that Mastodon's sound has changed.  If you listen to their first album Remission and follow that up with a listen to Crack the Skye, they're nowhere near the same record.  With each album release comes a new Mastodon, one that's abandoning their metal roots shown early in their career for a more mainstream and lucrative prog-rock sound.   Everyone within the media and fans alike salivated and continue to do so over Crack the Skye.  I was one of few who did not enjoy the album and still really don't care for it simply for the fact that the energy has left the band and it seemed to affect the crowd as well.
     Since I do not enjoy Crack the Skye and was on the fence with Blood Mountain, I can't be 100% sure but I know the band played most, if not all of Crack the Skye last night.  Even without audio, if you watched the crowds reaction you can most definitely tell when the older material is being played compared to when their newest songs are.  In a lot of ways, Crack the Skye reminds me of what happened when Korn released Untouchables.  That album sold really well but when the band started playing those songs live, they discovered they were mostly headphone songs, ones better enjoyed when one's not wanting to rip faces off.       
     To me, Mastodon has released their Untouchables album and there's nothing wrong with that (obviously based on record sales) but when you do this, when you take away those songs that see bands spazzing out on stage and turning fans into a frenzied chaotic whirlwind, you need to make up for that in the live setting.  Either a stellar production or band members doing something interesting to keep the crowd from falling asleep is vital to a great concert experience.  In this case the production involved a screen behind the band playing pixelated videos with images of Rasputin and abstract ideas spiralling that added nothing to the experience at anytime during the show.   
     Overall, the band seemed to be going through the motions and just there to collect their paycheck.  They didn't seem to be having a good time and it was partially reflected by the crowd.  Except for when material from Remission and Leviathan was played, it was a pretty mundane performance.  If it wasn't for drummer Brann Dailor being a beast behind the kit, I might have fallen asleep.  Until the day comes that Mastodon plays only material from Remission and/or Leviathan, odds are you won't see me in the crowd during their set.