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THE BEST WAY TO GET THE NON-METAL PERSON IN YOUR LIFE TO LISTEN TO MASTODON

 Monday, December 7th, 2009 at 1:30pm by

I seem to recall an interview with Howard Jones from a few years back where, when discussing the importance of a good hook, he said something along of the lines of “You could play most Slayer songs on an acoustic guitar and they’d still sound great.”

While I doubt we’ll be seeing a Slayer edition of Unplugged anytime soon, reader Jon Dolente did send us the below video of someone calling himself “ALUxoxo” doing a cover of Mastodon’s “Oblivion” on the piano. So maybe if you can get that certain person in your life who hates metal to admit that this is very pretty, then you can play them the real thing (which isn’t really metal anyway but whatever), and then smoothly segue them into some Obituary and then… what? Too much too soon?

-AR

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  • http://schenkeltown.blogspot.com SchenkelTown

    another band that is a good band for non metal fans to listen to is scale the summit

    “You might like it, there’s no screaming”

    you guys should put a list together of bands that are metal, but are liked (or might be liked) by non metalheads

  • Shinaain

    Wasn’t a similar sentiment expressed a while back in one of those “how to get your non-metal significant other to tolerate/like metal” or something like that? It does bear reiterating, though.

  • Gaia

    Cool. I like this.

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Jesse-Menard/502061034 Jesse Menard

    That was awesome!

  • http://myspace.com/bizarrodrake Marc

    Damn, you can really see the classical influence that Troy was talking about listening to it this way.

  • SHOCKTROOP

    I have one friend who I like to play music with. and whenever I try to broach the idea of playing something a little heavy or whatever he gets all huffed up and says that metal is untalented and just banging fast on your instruments and headbanging. I try to tell him that while that may be true for some metal bands, the metal I listen to has indisputable similarities to classical compositions and takes more talent to produce than almost any other type of music. especially the hippie crap he likes. whatever. some people will never be convinced. they’ll always just automatically associate metal with mullets and beer and headbanging.

    • http://www.facebook.com/people/Tony-Bullard-Jr/500191336 Tony Bullard Jr

      Your friend is a douche.

    • http://www.facebook.com/people/Niraj-Patil/25502582 Niraj Patil

      What Tony said.

  • dongeunk

    wow~ LovE MASTODON?
    check this awesome thing out!
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mkzF-sQTYkM

    get them on your phone NOW!!!
    http://www.rockonaltitude.com

  • Double D

    I love how the most beautiful part of the piano version is my favorite part in the metal version.

    “Falling from grace, cause I’ve been away too long…”

    I’ve felt that way before.

  • Ziltoid

    New Mastodon is already easy enough for non-metal people to listen to. What they need is SunnO))) (OR \\\MAYTAG!!!) for piano. Drone piano FTW!

    • cosk!

      so what, they just punch the keys repeatedly at random for 9 minutes?

      • metalguy

        hey guys ive been playing Sun0))) piano covers for 15 years!!

        • Aaron

          So is the song you started playing almost over yet?

          • ex.nihilo

            1

  • I’m not racst, but I hate Oceano

    You might want to check out the acoustic version that’s on the related videos, too.

  • FlyingDadBomb

    I would love to see and hear “Ghosts of War” and “Silent Scream” be played on a grand piano in the near future.

  • Joseph Strombladder

    Chicks dig Mastodon and Baroness = Fact, in my experience.

    Chicks are a great litmus test of not liking metal, a good 90% of the time, especially under the ages of 24 but above 18.

    • iolanach

      Most of them don’t like the growled vocals though.

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Niraj-Patil/25502582 Niraj Patil

    I’m afraid The ONLY way you get someone into metal is if Keyboard Cat plays all the songs.

  • Aaron

    I like this better than the whole new ‘Don album. Maybe they should just write piano pieces.

  • Facebook User

    The Vitamin String Quartet has done covers of Slayer and Metallica songs.

  • SourDeez

    Watching someone play this on the piano really emphasizes how good the songwriting is. This is clearly not a song that any old fuck can play on the piano. This player is using a lot of his skills in order to make this sound so accurate, and he wouldn’t be able to do that if it wasn’t a well-written song to begin with. It has well thought-out chord changes and great continuity. You can’t play a bad song that well on the piano, it’s just not possible.

    I think the main problem that Mastodon-haters have with them is their accessibility to people who don’t like metal. And yes, it is true that the majority of “metal” bands who appeal to non-metal fans play watered-down music. But the genius of Crack the Skye is that they managed to create something that really does appeal to serious metal fans as well as non metal fans, without simply taking their influences and dumbing them down.

  • dongeunk

    yo guys~!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! CRAZY mastodon.
    Get them on your phone now~!!!!!
    http://www.rockonaltitude.com/?p=2835

  • Alkahest

    I weened my girlfriend into metal by making her listen to Between the Buried and Me. She loved the clean/beautiful sections and grew to like the rest as well.

  • ~Ja5oN~

    Not bad, if you like this try listening to PianOpeth on Myspace & YouTube.

    • ~Ja5oN~

      Myspace link to PianOpeth ~~> http://www.myspace.com/pianopeth

      • ~Ja5oN~

        there’s also some song downloads on his page of covers from different albums; Wreath, Deliverance, A Fair Judgement, Black Water Park, By The Pain I see In Others, & Silhouette.

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Daniel-Winnett/504952291 Daniel Winnett

    Metallica’s Orion
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SgUu9tiU5SE

    Machine Head’s Aethetics Of Hate
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zC0lKw4yEWE

    Vital Remains’ Dechristianize
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=We_cMznbs6Y

  • I

    I’ve always loved the sound of a piano. And that is an awesome version. And ~Ja5oN~, thanks for that link to Pianopeth, that stuff is stellar.

  • Martin

    I would pay good money for an LP of the entire Crack the Skye Album done this way.

  • Sandy n Papo

    http://www.vkgoeswild.com/... this girl covers a lot of metal in piano, she is great, she has over a hundred videos on you tube and you can downoload her tunes for free on her page

  • Some Random Dude

    Theres always the time tested practice of combining the insufflation of molly, sex, and blaring Insect Warfare on the stereo.

    • Double D

      Duh, it’s called “Saturday Night”.

  • ej

    The best part?

    “Aluxoxo” picked the name because she thought the -xoxo was pretty feminie

  • Lea

    I love Alu’s covers, then again, all of her music is awesome! 8D