WHAT A TEMPER!: MASTODON AND OPETH SHAKE DENVER

I was invited to join a friend and his girlfriend to attend a heavy metal show at the Fillmore Monday May 23, 2012 here in Denver. Opeth was the main attraction this evening, although Mastodon spent an equal time on stage. I could not resist the opportunity to hear new music. Biked to the theater, had a quick dinner at Takai's and off we went to the Fillmore, staking out a space 50 feet from the stage off to one side, not wanting to push through the throng of people in front of the stage.

Wikipedia says:

Opeth is a Swedish heavy metal band from Stockholm, formed in 1990. Though the group has been through several personnel changes, singer, guitarist, and songwriter Mikael Åkerfeldt has remained Opeth's driving force throughout the years. Opeth has consistently incorporated progressive, folk, blues, classical and jazz influences into their usually lengthy compositions, as well as noticeable influences from black metal[1] and death metal, most notably in their early works. Many songs include acoustic guitar passages and strong dynamic shifts, as well as both death growls and clean vocals.

Mastodon is an American Sludge Metal band from Atlanta, Georgia, formed in early 2000 and composed of bassist/vocalist Troy Sanders, guitarist/vocalist Brent Hinds, guitarist Bill Kelliher and drummer/vocalist Brann Dailor. Many of their songs feature heavy and unique instrumentation with a mix of clean vocals and harsh screams.

The Fillmore was home to a buffet of metal on Monday night — at its best, a sampling of across-the-board choices and, at the low end, a schizophrenic mess. The veteran band Opeth headlined and, for the better part of its set, didn’t even play metal, per se. Frontman Mikael Åkerfeld and his crew belted out a first-half full of recent numbers, many of which have thick roots in progressive rock. Singing the Nietzschean refrain of “God is dead” from “The Devil’s Orchard” off of the Swedish band’s recent release, “Heritage,” Opeth sounded more Yes than Iron Maiden.

Mastodon, by comparison, was heavier than an anvil. The Atlanta group played tunes from its most recent, “The Hunter,” dipping into melodic territory like “Dry Bone Valley” and “Octopus Has No Friends” before breaking out the electric lead single, “Curl of the Burl.” Mastodon’s musical prowess can’t be denied: every member plays lightning fast for most of its set, a veritable hand marathon basked in timed lights. The abrasive Brent Hinds is especially impressive on guitar, if not in his person-to-person relations. Still, Mastodon suffers from a similar dilemma as Opeth, presenting largely corny lyrics. Shouldn’t metal be held to same standard as rock ‘n’ roll? Just because of the bravado and speed behind the tunes, invoking Lucifer does not a great song make.

See pictures (10 of which are included in this blog) and read more here: http://www.heyreverb.com/2012/04/24/mastodon-fillmore-denver-photos-review/