Neurosis / Mastodon / A Storm Of Light
By Tim Bugbee
Monday. Mar 10, 2:57 PM
at Masonic Temple (Brooklyn, NY) Jan. 25th, 2008.

Long-time Oakland sludge/noise/metal kings Neurosis don't get out on the road much anymore. After slogging it out in smelly vans and dodgy hotel rooms for two decades, they've decided (or other, external life pressures and/or time commitments have helped that decision) to pick and choose their live dates, mainly either west coast affairs, or the occasional selected European jaunt. So when news broke that they'd be playing a couple of shows in NYC, my decision to hop on a train and head down was easier than the usual AM dilemma of figuring out what pair of socks I should wear. That the chosen venue was an old Masonic temple just seemed rather fitting; I was wondering what sort of powerful and unknown energies might be unleashed via the waves of pummeling anguish sure to greet me.

After taking a train from Manhattan into Brooklyn and walking about on a cold night to find a place for a so-so veggie burger and Guinness with a friend, we trekked on over to the temple, which was a squarish building with a wrap-around balcony. As with the night before, the place was packed, in no small part due to the specially picked and late announced opening act Mastodon, who rode the major label success of Blood Mountain to land bargefuls of new fans, and they could have easily sold out the building on their own. That they considered it an honor to open for Von Till, Kelly, Roeder, Edwardson, and Landis isn't too surprising, given Neurosis' stature as champions of the underground metal scene and potential forefathers. Consider the cottage industry of Hydra Head that was nourished from the manna sprinkled down; I wonder if there was ever a band called The Atles.

As their usual pre-gig strains of Savage Republic died down and Scott Kelly strode to the mic, Steve in tow to his right, they were genuinely menacing. I've no idea what sort of predilection toward violence they might have, but I would personally not want to probe the boundaries. Tattooed, growling, with arms and torsos that looked accustomed to moving large masses, they let the music do the pummeling for them. The title track from their excellent Given to the Rising started things off, the scrim behind Roeder's kit flashing apocalyptic visions and infrared wolves, giant eyeballs and massed storm clouds (thankfully there was no footage of penis reconstruction surgery a la Butthole Surfers). Their mode of attack is to go for the jugular, stick a few thumbs into eye sockets, twist joints until they pop, and then let a temporary calm take its place... until the blitzing noise and howls are raining down once again. The typical song is much closer to 10 minutes than four minutes, and allows for a full cathartic release from both band and audience. The secret weapon of is maelstrom is Landis: I'm pretty sure that keyboards and samplers would be the last position picked by an aspiring metal band member, but he made excellent textures and mood shifts amongst the thunderous, scabrous guitar attack, and locked and loaded rhythm set forth by Roeder and Edwardson. A good example was on "At the End of the Road," where Roeder's drums could have been field recordings from the war drums of a massed army of Orcs on their way out of Mordor, while the hissing, wheezing, sibilance from Landis betrayed the presence of the Nazgul. Not sure if long-time fans were expecting some old rusty blades to be run across their necks, but the only nod away from the last two records was the closer "The Doorway" from 1999's Times of Grace. No complaints here, though. Excellent damage all around.

Mastodon were labelmates with Neurosis at Relapse prior to getting inked to Warner Bros. and have publicly stated their admiration for the band, so it was genuinely authentic when the close of their set was marked by vocal appreciation for being able to play the two shows. The heavily tattooed Atlantans also ply thick, heavy music, but it's faster and more intricate, cramming more notes into each measure than Neurosis do over a minute's time span. The drumming of Brann Dailor is especially distinctive and somewhat over the top; maybe a bit closer to Keith Moon than Bill Ward. The guys sang fanciful songs about giant whales, hairy men, fire ants and the like; Neurosis sometimes get swatted with the “prog” tag (my guess is mainly due to the song lengths), but in truth Mastodon are far closer to it. Bassist Troy Sanders handles most of the vocals and lends a hearty bellow, contrasted with the more nasal sound of guitarist Brett Hinds. They all enjoy moving around and flashing grins, striking rock poses, and generally having a good time on stage. Visuals that stayed with me were Troy's belt, branded with "neanderthal" on the back, and sporting a large bronze buckle of a mastodon; the gray sunburst Gibsons that Troy, Brett, and Bill played for a few songs were definitely not out of a catalog.

Opening duties were handled by Josh Graham's new project, A Storm Of Light. Josh has been associated with Neurosis for quite some time and handles the visuals of the live show, but has also been active with Red Sparowes. He's since left them for this solo project, and it's a lot more doom and drawn out agony as compared to the at times quite lovely soundscapes of Red Sparowes. Drums were handled by longtime metal mangler Vinnie Signorelli of Unsane.
www.neurosis.com
www.mastodonrocks.com
www.astormoflight.com

Tim Bugbee

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