Magic Reviews: BlackDiamondSkye

I review BlackDiamondSkye, a concert tour featuring Alice in Chains, The Deftones, and Mastodon. I am not happy with the rocking results of this threesome.  I can imagine way better threesomes.  Way better.

One of these bands sucks sweaty buttholes.

BlackDiamondSkye is a concert tour featuring Alice in Chains, The Deftones, and Mastodon. They have been touring this summer and are on the last leg of their U.S. tour promoting some new records. The headliner, Alice in Chains, is back after a 15 or so year hiatus after their original lead singer died of heroin overdose.

Full disclosure.

1. I fucking love Mastodon
2. I don't really like Deftones at all, but I liked them in high school
3. I fucking love Mastodon

If you don't know, Mastodon is a progressive heavy metal band that has been one of the major massive bands revitalizing the metal scene in America for the past decade. They are incredible musicians and brutal metal gods and they write/sing about Moby Dick and fantastical ethereal spirit gods and other awesome stuff. Plus they blaze on guitar and their drums are impossible.

So I clearly went to the show to see Mastodon, but I figured I'd also see the Alice in Chains show because it's Alice in Chains! Cool! I got some sweet tickets for cheap thanks to my buddy and we headed out. I was prepared for:

• deftones for an opener I guess....
• MASTODON WHOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!
• Mosh pit
• Bloody lip or something
• T-Shirt
• Awesome
• Alice in Chains!
• Cool!...
• Bored...
• Leave early

Instead, Mastodon opens. At 6:20 the familiar song starts echoing through the venue. I figured it was a soundcheck or something because very few people were there yet. I was wrong. We casually headed to our seats and we saw. FUCKING MASTODON is playing! Now! What?

So they rocked out and I enjoyed their skills and wailing and showmanship. However there as no mosh pit. There were only 200-300 people there at the time, and they only played for 30 minutes. It was a tortured experience. On the one hand, Mastodon, on the other...opener...

Left: Fat Deftones sucking.

Then the Deftones play, and there are a ton of people there to see them. Deftones shirts, hats, whoos! Excitement and singing along. Color me confused, but I thought the Deftones ended in the late 90's with their last average albums. Apparently they have survived through the great nu-metal purge of the late 2000's. Well that sucked.

I guess they played fine if you like listening to music performed by people in their 40's about the angst they felt back in the mid-90's.

Alice in Chains comes on and starts with Them Bones. It was awesome. They rocked hard and the audience rocked along with them. Great stage show, awesome presence, and clear understanding that the audience was there to rock and hear old favorites, not shill for a new album. Delightful.

The new singer, William DuVall, was spot on. He nailed the sound and fury of Alice in Chains and commanded an excellent presence. He looked cool as hell too. Exactly what a rock star should be. Perfect.

I've never really been in this situation before where my favorite band is the opener and I don't understand why they aren't the headliner. Other disillusioned Mastodon fans and I walked around finding each other and asking "What happened?" Nobody knew. We were confused and sad.

Our gods of metal, those on high who headline and command vast pits of moshers were relegated to the opening act. I'm still confused. I don't get it. I guess the show was good if you Love Alice in Chains or Deftones, or just like going to shows.

Final grade: Happy-Sad. A wish fulfilled and crushed at the same time. With no mosh pit. I guess that's what I get for going to see a metal band at rock show.