Clutch/Mastodon @ House of Blues

Clutch and Mastodon, two of the biggest names in the so-called "stoner or sludge" metal genre hit the House of Blues on May 19 as part of their co-headlining "The Missing Link" Tour. It was close to a full house for the show with a pretty enthusiastic and varied crowd. I was surprised to see lots of women and younger people in the audience. In my mind this was the type of music that brought out the middle-aged metal heads, 'ahem' much like myself. It was a good sign both in terms of the reception the bands received as well as the validity of a couple of bands that have been in the circuit for a good bunch of years.

Clutch hit the stage first and for a band that has been cranking along since the early nineties I was pretty blown away by the power and authenticity on stage. Vocalist Neil Fallon held the audience in his hand the entire 70 or so minutes they played. The guy is a master on stage. The rest of the band (Tim Suit on guitar, Dan Maines on bass, and Jean-Paul Gaster on drums) pretty much stood back and let him go. Fallon stormed the stage, all bearded fury. His deep, powerful baritone never lost command for a moment. I would definitely place them more on the bluesy side of metal and they certainly got their groove on. They put on a fun, engaging set that had the audience up and slamming from the get-go. They were going to be a tough act to follow.

Mastodon, a band that emerged in the early 2000s, have shifted their music style over the years from fairly straightforward heavy metal (with a sludgy bit of an edge to it) to much more of a progressive, stoner metal reminiscent of early Monster Magnet. Live, however, their music comes across as aggressive and brawny. Not at all as stoner "groovy" as their albums might imply.

They definitely have a groove to their music but on stage they hit you with full brute force. The pit began forming from the minute the struck the first note. As I said, Clutch was a tough act to follow and Mastodon rose to that challenge albeit in an unexpected way. Where Fallon pushed and pulled the crown along, Mastodon just plain pummeled them. The band, Troy Sanders on vocals and bass, Brent Hinds on vocals and lead guitar, Bill Kelliher on rhythm guitar, and Brann Dailor on vocals and drums are super tight players and despite the often complex music they were playing, never skipped a beat.

These two bands together put on one of the best tag-team shows I've seen in a long time. Two very different aspects of metal that went amazingly well together. It is a tour well worth seeing.