The Burning Brides, and Mastodon

This coupling is a little like TNT wrapped in plastic explosive -- a kind of hard-rock overkill. The Burning Brides are the more accessible of the two bands, mixing a dirty garage-rock roar with flashes of metal style, sounding at their best like The Stooges in a grudge match with AC/DC. It's a hard line to hold, and they can't keep it out of the ditch all the time, but when they hit that groove just right, the sound is meaty enough to eat. Joining them is Atlanta's massive alt-metal quartet Mastodon, who are among the new breed. Combining jazz time signatures with ponderous death-metal theatrics, and even tossing in snatches of melody, their thundering rawk is thicker than motor oil and twice as dark. It's not for the faint of heart, but Mastodon's a surprisingly interesting act that has equal appeal to fans of King Crimson and Deicide.