MASTODON CURES CANCER

Well, not quite… but one NY Times writer credits the mighty Mastodon album Leviathan as a crucial cog in his cancer recovery playlist. Any time the New York Times mentions metal in any sort of non-derogatory light — in the same sentence as Meshuggah, no less — is meta-news-worthy indeed:

“Leviathan” by Mastodon

The best heavy metal — Meshuggah, Metallica, Mastodon — slashes through the cancer-induced fog sometimes brought on by the mental weight of my diagnosis and the fatigue caused by my treatment. Its fury snaps me back to life like the electrodes clamped to the skull of Frankenstein’s monster. Mastodon’s album “Leviathan,” their head-banging take on “Moby-Dick,” lets me imagine Ahab as a crazed guitar-shredder lashed to that great white whale, even as I am lashed to prostate cancer (though I don’t plan on going down with the ship).

Nine Inch Nails and Alice Cooper are also part of the playlist. So, cancer patients: smoke ’em if ya got ’em, especially if you live in Cali. And check out the new Mastodon song while you’re at it.

-VN