Primus and Mastodon Are Serving Up Metal Two Ways

Mastodon mucks it up. Travis Shinn

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Mastodon mucks it up.

Travis Shinn

If you are a metal fan and want it served up two ways, this is your show. Kicking off the two-pronged night is Mastodon, the Georgia band that’s been sludging it up since 2000. They’ve been consistent in putting out a new release every couple of years, the last being 2017’s concept album Emperor of Sand. It chronicles a desert dweller with a death sentence and it veers from guitar-driven hard rock tracks like “Show Yourself” to the gloomier and plodding “Steambreather.”

Where Mastodon mixes doom into their metal, Primus is known for blending in the funk. The latter is especially fueled by singer and bassist Les Claypool’s vocal twang and snappy plucks. The Bay Area band got together in the ’80s and started getting attention with songs like “John the Fisherman” and “Too Many Puppies” from their debut, Frizzle Fry. Their eclectic sound was matched by their eccentric personalities, making their live show a visual and aural freakshow. In 1991, they released Sailing the Seas of Cheese, which got them a ton of new fans and provided now-longtime crowd favorites like “Jerry was a Race Car Driver” and “Tommy the Cat.” Oh, and they wrote the little ditty that is the South Park theme song, which you’ve probably crooned while diving into an episode.

Primus and Mastodon are scheduled to perform at 7 p.m. on July 7 at Comerica Theatre, 400 West Washington Street. Tickets are $42 to $62. Visit comericatheatre.com.