Today, Reprise Records released the long awaited and highly anticipated Mastodon DVD/CD “Live at the Aragon.” This 2 disc (1 CD and 1 DVD) set is the first and only Live Mastodon DVD that the thunderous foursome have put out thus far. It includes the full live recordings of both sight and sound during the band’s 2009 Performance during their Crack The Skye tour. The performance consisted of a complete run through of the bands phenomenal concept album with the same title, as well as some fan favorites from their previous releases such as Blood Mountain or Leviathan.

The track listing for the DVD+CD is as follow:

“Oblivion”

“Divinations”

“Quintessence”

“The Czar”

“Ghost Of Karelia”

“Crack The Skye”

“The Last Baron”

“Circle of Cysquatch”

“Aqua Dementia”

“Where Strides The Behemoth”

“Mother Puncher”

“The Bit”

In terms of the menu options or special features for the DVD you are fairly limited. The DVD has no behind the scenes footage or interviews/commentary, but you do get an extra movie in the form of the “Crack the Skye” movie (which is playing on projector screen in the background during the live concert.) You do have the ability to choose either Stereo or Surround Sound which I wasn’t able to determine the quality of not having a surround sound system available.

On a first pass of this DVD I was disappointed in the audio quality for the live portion. There didn’t seem to be a great deal of separation in the instruments. You can make out the highs very clear, but once you get to the lows especially the lower vocals and growls it gets a little muddy (This might change if you opt for the surround sound audio track, but I can’t verify that). I think there might have been a mixing problem on this tour because I remember thinking that the vocals were hard to distinguish when I saw them on this tour in Los Angeles too. The camera work early on was a little choppy and low quality, but as the show progressed I think the camera guys got in a better flow and it smoothed out a lot.

In my mind the real value of this package is the “Crack The Skye” Movie. I mean lets be honest with ourselves, most metal bands don’t have the most athletic live performances, and the real experience comes from the powerful sonic prowess and the mind bending visuals usually projected behind the band. If you didn’t get the chance to go out and see the band on this tour, then having the ability to listen to Crack The Skye from start to finish while zoning out to the psychedelic visuals that were made specifically to go hand in hand with the album is a great way to add to your Mastodon listening experience.

As far as Live DVDs go, this is not one of my favorites in terms of special features or production quality, but that can be overlooked for the simple fact that it is MASTODON!  And come on its only 15 bucks, that’s less than a McDonalds meal for 4!

Mastodon is currently writing new materials for their next album, with a view to record later this year.  Until then, keep an eye on http://www.mastodonrocks.com and http://www.cracktheskye.com for news.

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