Concert Reviews

Mastodon Concert Review and Photography

by RB Photography

Updated September 29, 2026

Mastodon has reached the point in its career where a setlist can cover more than two decades of music without feeling like a nostalgia tour. At The Anthem, the band balanced newer material with songs from across its catalog, keeping the focus on the music rather than spectacle.

Opening with “Barbarians Blood,” followed by “March of the Fire Ants” and “Crystal Skull,” the band established the direction quickly. Newer songs such as “In the Ruins,” “Your Ghost Again,” and “More Than I Could Chew” sat comfortably alongside older material like “Mother Puncher,” “Megalodon,” and “Black Tongue.”

The sequencing kept the nearly two-hour set moving without feeling like a simple greatest-hits collection. “Steambreather,” “Oblivion,” “The Czar,” and “Colony of Birchmen” represented different periods of Mastodon's career, while “Blood and Thunder” provided the natural closing point.

What stood out was how little the band seemed interested in separating its past from its present. The older songs still carried their weight, while the newer material didn't feel like filler between classics. At this stage of Mastodon's career, that balance may be more important than any elaborate production.

The Anthem was a fitting setting for it: a large room, a dedicated crowd, and a band with enough history to fill the set without having to rely entirely on it. Mastodon didn't need to recreate its past. It simply played it alongside where the band is now.

Thanks for reading!