MASTODON BRINGS THE PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE TO BROOKLYN

Sep 26, 2026

There is something uniquely challenging about being a band like Mastodon only a handful of shows into a major U.S. tour and then having to walk into New York City and deliver. The band’s current Poisonous Weapons Tour had only been underway for a little over a week when it arrived at Brooklyn’s magnificent Paramount. For a band that builds its music with extraordinary layers, intricate arrangements and an almost obsessive attention to detail, there are always going to be kinks to work out when bringing that material from the studio to the stage.

And yet, from my vantage point high above the enormous general-admission floor, there was a very noticeable feeling that something special was happening. Alcest and Deafheaven had already warmed up the room, but make no mistake, the sold-out Brooklyn crowd was there for Mastodon. Several songs into the set, Troy Sanders stepped forward and began talking to the audience, and there was something different about him. Having seen Mastodon numerous times, I found Troy to be particularly upbeat, appreciative and genuinely in the moment.

He marveled at the beauty of the Paramount, calling it one of the most beautiful venues they had ever played, while repeatedly acknowledging the sold-out crowd and the sheer size of the floor below. More importantly, both Troy and, later, Brann Dailor recognized what New York City has meant to Mastodon from the beginning. At the end of the night, Brann reminded everyone that the band started its career here 26 years ago, playing places such as CBGBs, and that they have never forgotten the role the New York crowd played in their development.

After years away, being back in Brooklyn and headlining a tour felt different, and judging by the reaction, the feeling was mutual. During the many brief pauses between songs, the room would erupt into a thunderous “Mastodon! Mastodon! Mastodon!” chant, and you could literally see the band feeding off it. This wasn't a band simply going through the motions. They looked like musicians who were genuinely enjoying being on that stage.

That connection between the band and the audience became even more fascinating when the Marrow Deep material entered the picture. For those of us who have spent the past month dissecting the new album, the obvious question was how these songs would translate live. Marrow Deep is not a record you necessarily absorb in one sitting; it reveals itself through repeated listens, with layers, textures and intricate musical details continuing to surface. Mastodon performed five songs from the album in Brooklyn, including “In the Ruins,” “Your Ghost Again” and “Snakes for Dinner,” and hearing them live gave the material an entirely different dimension.

You could almost feel the band having to work twice as hard, or three times as hard, to recreate the complexity of what they built in the studio. That is where the expanded live lineup becomes so important. Guitarist Nick Johnston and keyboardist João Nogueira add additional muscle and texture, allowing Mastodon to reproduce more of those intricate layers without sacrificing the raw power that makes the band work onstage.

And then there is the visual component. Mastodon has evolved considerably from its days as a club band, and the enormous screens behind the musicians now provide a psychedelic, colorful visual counterpart to the music. The imagery doesn't simply sit there as decoration; it becomes part of the experience, complementing the songs and adding another layer to the performance.

From the balcony, it was also fascinating to watch the audience. Yes, there were plenty of heads banging and bodies moving in the pit, but there were also countless moments when fans simply stood there watching intently. That's the Mastodon audience in a nutshell. These aren't just people waiting for the next breakdown. They are studying the playing, the arrangements and the musicianship.

When “Mother Puncher” hit, the energy in the room noticeably escalated, and from there the evening continued to ebb and flow exactly as a great Mastodon performance should, giving the band room to breathe while constantly pulling the audience back into the fire.

There was also a deeper emotional current running underneath the entire performance. When Troy spoke about the last five years and everything the band has endured, there was no need to spell out every detail. Mastodon has experienced tremendous personal loss and upheaval, most notably the death of former guitarist Brent Hinds, and those circumstances inevitably hang over the band's current chapter.

But on this night, the feeling I took away wasn't one of a band trapped in the past. It was a band acknowledging what happened, carrying those memories with them, and moving forward. In that sense, the new songs seemed particularly powerful and carried an emotional weight that felt different in the live setting, as though the band was transforming some of the turmoil of recent years into something constructive.

“In the Ruins,” “Your Ghost Again” and “Snakes for Dinner” all seemed to capture that spirit in different ways.

Then came one of the night's biggest surprises.

During “Snakes for Dinner,” when the album's brief Josh Homme guest-vocal passage arrived, John Baizley of Baroness suddenly appeared beside Brann's drum kit. He handled that part and then remained onstage for the rest of the show. By now, fans know Baizley is part of the touring lineup, but seeing it unfold in person was something else entirely.

There has been plenty of speculation about why Mastodon brought him along for the full tour, whether they wanted another vocalist and guitarist to handle material associated with Brent, whether they wanted an additional presence onstage, or simply whether the chemistry worked. Those are questions for another day.

On this night, none of that mattered.

Baizley fit. He fit extraordinarily well. He brought his own energy without trying to replace anybody, sang with authority, and added guitar to several of the songs. Watching him tear into “The Czar,” one of Mastodon's most expansive and hypnotic pieces, was one of those moments where you simply stop analyzing and appreciate what is happening right in front of you.

Sometimes you don't need to know what comes next. Sometimes you just need to enjoy what works, and John Baizley on that stage was a fucking awesome addition.

As the show moved toward its final stretch, Mastodon continued pulling pieces from its history without ever making the evening feel like a nostalgia trip. “Curl of the Burl” ignited another wave of recognition, while “Colony of Birchmen” became one of the night's visual highlights when a gigantic monster-like character emerged onstage, giving the performance a theatrical moment worthy of Iron Maiden's Eddie or Alice Cooper's larger-than-life stage creations.

And then came “Blood and Thunder,” the final song of the night—no encore necessary. It was an appropriately explosive way to close a show that had steadily built its intensity from beginning to end.

If there was one musician who stood above even an already remarkable performance, however, it was Brann Dailor. When Troy introduced the band, he referred to him as “our one and only drummer, Brann Dailor,” and it almost sounded like a joke about how much this guy actually does onstage. Watching him play drums, sing, maintain the intricate rhythmic architecture of these songs and somehow remain completely locked into the performance is almost absurd.

Dailor isn't simply keeping time; he is another lead instrument.

And perhaps the best evidence of how grounded this band currently feels came after the show, when I had the opportunity to spend a few minutes with Brann backstage. After just delivering an extraordinarily demanding performance, he was calm, relaxed and completely genuine, looking more like a guy who had just finished a day at a desk job than someone who had just spent the previous hour and a half playing at that level of intensity.

We talked, grabbed a photo, and I thanked him for both the show and our recent interview. That moment stayed with me.

Because for all the history, all the loss, all the changes and all the questions surrounding the band's future, Mastodon looked like a band firmly in control of where it is going. And with Marrow Deep continuing to reveal new layers with every listen, I have little doubt that this album will remain at the top of my personal list when the year comes to a close.

If the Brooklyn show was any indication of where this tour is headed, Mastodon isn't simply carrying its past forward. It's building the next chapter, and this is a band you absolutely want to see right now.

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