Mastodon have been bringing nerdy extreme metal to the masses since signing with Warner Brothers after their second full-length album, the Moby Dick-based concept album Leviathan. But on the Atlanta band’s latest record, Crack the Skye, they drop most of their extreme tendencies in favor of what is basically really heavy prog-rock. Their sold-out show at the 9:30 Club this past Tuesday showcased Crack the Skye in its entirety, plus a second set of older material.

After the jump, lots of photos (full gallery here) and some scattered thoughts about the show, including regarding openers Kylesa and Intronaut.

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The last time Big Business played the District, writes Brent Burton in his City Lights pick for tonight, “the bass-drums duo seemed to be almost twice as loud as Kylesa, the other metal band on the bill. This was especially impressive because, at the time, Kylesa had twice as many members and three times as many amplified instruments.”

Read the whole Big Business pick.