Agganis Arena at Boston University, Boston, MA

Redemption. It’s not a word that gets thrown around a lot when the topic turns to metal bands. Although retribution is certainly the topic of many metal songs, redemption is a concept that is occasionally too vague for some to grasp. The BLACKDIAMONDSKYE tour featuring ALICE IN CHAINS, THE DEFTONES and MASTODON is surely one of the top concert events of the fall, if not the entire year. However, each band coming to the stage on this night had a lot to prove to themselves and their many fans. Each band has faced a turmoil that has weighed heavily on them. Each band goes out every night and plays with a little bigger chip on their shoulder than many others at this level. What follows is the proof.

MASTODON certainly had a lot to prove coming into this tour. Even though they are still riding the wave of success from 2009′s Crack The Skye and the Jonah Hex EP (both on Warner Bros.) from this past June and year and a half touring cycle. Still, there have been problems of late in the Atlanta bands’ camp. Their ragged tour schedule, uneven performances (they were pretty bad back in April at the NE Metalfest), exhaustion and personal problems led them to cancel most of their summer tour dates this year and had message boards buzzing the whole time.

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