Touted as one of the most dynamic tour packages of the season, the announcement of the Mega Monsters run ignited the heavy music community. The union of French powerhouse Gojira and Atlanta metal mystics Mastodon asserted an emphatic statement, underscoring the robust health of the heavy music landscape.
Even with the hefty profile of the tour's top-tiered tandem, the appeal of Mega Monsters was further bolstered as the bill also included strong representation from heavy music's next on deck. Recruiting deathcore sensation Lorna Shore, the trifecta of bands presented a dynamic snapshot of the diversity that continues to thrive among outsider art.
Among the first few stops on the jaunt, Mega Monsters bulldozed their way through Los Angeles for a epic weekend spectacle that drew a rabid, capacity crowd to the Kia Forum of Los Angeles.
For Gojira, the tour spoke to the enduring self life of their universally-acclaimed 2021 full length, Fortitude, as the album now two years removed still resonates as relevant as ever.
The band opened with the anthemic "Born For One Thing" and instantly set a powerful precedent. Including some of the album's most effective cuts like "Amazonia", "Grind", "Another World" and "The Chant", Gojira proved commanding as the energy in the arena never saw a dip.
Including fan essentials from Magma like "Stranded" and "The Cell" and venturing further back in the catalog with "Backbone" and "Flying Whales" off of From Mars to Sirius, the band flexed a firm grasp of what their faithful needed to complete the evening - with plenty of pyro blasts and a pummeling drum solo for good measure.
As for Mastodon, the MO was much the same - unleashing a barrage of classic material balanced with required listening from their 2021 opus, Hushed and Grim. Going for the kill, Mastodon began their stage time with a clobbering rendition of "The Wolf Is Loose" and never let up. Oscillating from Leviathan, Blood Mountain, Crack The Skye, Emperor of Sand and even reaching back into the Remission collection with "March of the Fire Ants" Mastodon conducted a 16-song masterclass bookended by a version of "Blood and Thunder" that forced the arena to take a second to catch their breath.
Lastly, Lorna Shore left no doubt that their hype was more than real. The Jersey outfit ensured every second of their truncated set was best utilized, in an explosive showcase of power and precision from their lauded 2022 full length, Pain Remains. For those in the know, the moment was a proved a very real moment of arrival - while those just getting acquainted with the deathcore standouts were left with a lasting impression.
Photographer Shaun Vizzy captured the arena-sized spectacle. See the complete gallery of images below.
Tickets to the remaining dates of the Mega Monsters Tour can be found - HERE
GOJIRA
MASTODON
LORNA SHORE
April 18 — Portland, Ore. @ Veterans Memorial Coliseum
April 20 — Concord, Calif. @Concord Pavilion
April 21 — Los Angeles, Calif. @ The Forum
April 22 — Phoenix, Ariz. @ Arizona Financial Theatre
April 23 — Las Vegas, Nev. @ Virgin
April 26 — Dallas, Texas @ The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory
April 28 — Houston, Texas @ 713 Music Hall
April 29 — Austin, Texas @ Moody Center
April 30 — Oklahoma City, Okla. @ Zoo Amphitheatre
May 02 — Nashville, Tenn. @ Municipal Auditorium
May 04 — Boca Raton, Fla. @ Sunset Cove Amphitheater
May 05 — St. Augustine, Fla. @ St. Augustine Amphitheatre
May 06 — Atlanta, Ga. @ Ameris Bank Amphitheatre
May 07 — Asheville, N.C. @ Harrah’s Cherokee Center
May 09 — Richmond, Va. @ Virginia Credit Union Live
May 10 — Baltimore, Md. @ Pier Six Pavilion
May 11 — Reading, Pa. @ Santander Arena
Leg Two
Aug. 09 — Cincinnati, Ohio @ MegaCorp Pavilion
Aug. 10 — Cleveland, Ohio @ Jacob’s Pavilion
Aug. 11 — Pittsburgh, Pa. @ Stage AE Outdoors
Aug. 12 — New York, N.Y. @ Coney Island Amphitheater
Aug. 13 — Syracuse, N.Y. @ OneCenter
Aug. 15 — Detroit, Mich. @ Masonic Temple
Aug. 17 — Toronto, Ontario @ RBC Echo Beach
Aug. 18 — Laval, Quebec @ Place Bell
Aug. 19 — Portland, Maine @ Cross Insurance Arena
Aug. 20 — Boston, Mass. @ MGM Music Hall
Aug. 23 — Milwaukee, Wis. @ BMO Pavilion
Aug. 25 — Hammond, Ind. @ Horseshoe
Aug. 26 — Omaha, Neb. @ Westfair Amphitheater
Aug. 27 — Minneapolis, Minn. @ Waite Park Amphitheater
Aug. 29 — St. Louis, Mo. @ The Factory
Aug. 30 — Kansas City, Mo. @ Azura Amphitheater
Sept. 01 — Salt Lake City, Utah @ USANA Amphitheater
Sept. 02 — Denver, Colo. @ Fiddler’s Green Amphitheater
