mastodon

Mastodon Hushed and Grim photo: thegroovemanscollection There’s a reason why Mastodon is currently one of the biggest metal bands that still matters. They don’t pack in stadiums, I know, but they’re not playing tiny venues either. They’re big enough to play all the late night shows (I’ve seen them on Letterman, Kimmel, and Fallon), and even occasionally do the oddball appearance (remember when they were on the Human Giant show?). Also, they have a sense of humor about themselves. These...

Mastodon Medium Rarities There’s a reason why Mastodon is currently one of the biggest metal bands that still matters. They don’t pack in stadiums, I know, but they’re not playing tiny venues either. They’re big enough to play all the late night shows (I’ve seen them on Letterman, Kimmel, and Fallon), and even occasionally do the oddball appearance (remember when they were on the Human Giant show?). Also, they have a sense of humor about themselves. These are all good...

2017 was another fantastic year for music, with tremendous albums from so many genres. It’s sad seeing how many obvious entries made the cut on all those other websites, which makes us even more confident that we’re giving you a pretty good list here on Ground Control. And really, would you expect anything less from us?   Though we had some favorites, it’s probably safe to say that the order of these releases would change depending on the day. One...

Mastodon Emperor of Sand   There’s a reason why Mastodon is currently one of the biggest metal bands that still matters. They don’t pack in stadiums, I know, but they’re not playing tiny venues either. They’re big enough to play all the late night shows (I’ve seen them on Letterman, Kimmel, and Fallon), and even occasionally do the oddball appearance (remember when they were on the Human Giant show?). Also, they have a sense of humor about themselves. These are...

Mastodon Emperor Of Sand (Reprise/Warner) After having spent the last few years stretching stylistically in a few different directions (The “White Walker” single found a home as the lead track for a season of HBO’s Game Of Thrones, 2014’s Once More ‘Round The Sun say the band get leaner and almost blurring the lines between metal and punk rock a bit), there’s something refreshing and exciting about the fact that Mastodon has made a glorious return to the sort of...

A deeper look at the grooves pressed into the “White Walker” 12” picture disc by Mastodon. When fans first hear the “White Walker” 12” picture disc, the first thought which will pass through their minds (ALL of their minds) will likely be, “Wow – this doesn’t sound like Mastodon at all.” There’s no arguing that; “White Walker” has none of the metallic crunch that albums like Leviathan, Crack The Skye or The Hunter had, and it features none of the...

26-Jan    Culture Room – Ft Lauderdale 27-Jan    HOB – Orlando 28-Jan    Jannus Landing – St. Petersburg 30-Jan    Beta Bar -  Tallahassee 31-Jan    40 Watt Club – Athens, GA 1-Feb    Blue Cat’s – Knoxville 2-Feb    Rocketown – Nashville 3-Feb    Pop’s – St Louis 5-Feb    First Ave – Minneapolis 7-Feb    The Orbit Room – Grand Rapids 8-Feb    Newport Music Hall – Columbus...

After making the leap from indie to major, the Atlanta-based metal band Mastodon release their long-awaited third album Blood Mountain. Not many bands have the skill to evolve and encapsulate an entire ideology of metal from one album to the next. The first two Mastodon records—2002’s Remission and 2004’s Leviathan—were thunderous and venomous, while Blood Mountain seems to have a little more groove. It’s still heavy enough to rip paint from the walls, but it’s just not as ominous. It’s...