Mastadon: calling all metalheads

The band that gained my prestigious (in my mind) CD of the year award, Mastodon, is starting 2006 with a bang. Not only did Relapse release Call of the Mastodon, which featured the band's first recordings all remastered, they also have released the retrospective collection of Mastodon's time on Relapse Records (the band has now signed to major label Warner).

I'll just touch on the Call of the Mastodon CD for a bit. If you already have Lifesblood, then you already have the majority of the songs on this release. I also have the first edition of Leviathan that featured a bonus DVD of live music and mixes of some of the songs on Leviathan in 5.1, so I had all the tracks on COM, minus one, before this compilation was released. In all fairness, I still picked it up to hear the evolution of the band and what the early takes were like. There are some differences for about $12 bucks, it's nice to go and support a band with so much talent.

The Workhouse Chronicles, on the other hand, is a DVD that you should not question yourself about buying if you like metal or this band. The DVD is basically split up into three parts which consist of a documentary/behind the scenes section, live footage and music videos. The documentary section is pretty neat because the band lets you see them for how they are: a bunch of hard working, intelligent wise asses. The 45-minute documentary does a good job of letting you know the guys in the band personally and their take on being in a metal band that's climbed up the ranks over the past few years.

The juiciest bit on this $13.99 DVD is the whopping 28 live performances. The footage has been taken from all over the world from 2000-2005. The majority of the footage and audio are great and it boggles my mind that for the price of this DVD why more bands can't follow and give their fans such a comprehensive analogy of their live performances.

The DVD ends with the three unedited videos for “March of the Fire Ants,” “Iron Tusk,” and “Blood and Thunder.” The videos are fun to watch and capture the band's intensity along with their sense of humor (see: “Blood and Thunder” for crazy clown footage).

There are few music DVDs that are in the same league as this release and I think every metal fan should check it out. Hell, I'd almost pay you $14 bucks to check this thing out because that's how much I dig this band (not a guarantee).

Did your favourite band release some wicked live footage? Tell Peter about it at popeyepopsolive@hotmail.com