Mega-Monsters Tour rocks Syracuse

With explosive sets from Mastodon, Gojira and Lorna Shore, the Mega-Monsters Tour’s stop in Syracuse on Aug. 13 left fans with ringing ears and wide grins. 

Lorna Shore, a deathcore band from New Jersey, opened the night at the Upstate Medical Arena at the OnCenter War Memorial with ominous lighting, hypnotic melodies and of course the screams of lead singer Will Ramos. 

Lorna Shore packed its set with fan favorites such as “Sun//Eater” and “Cursed to Die” before closing out with “Pain Remains III: In a Sea of Fire.”

Primed by Lorna Shore, the crowd seemingly held its collective breath as they waited for the curtain to drop revealing French heavy metal band Gojira. 

Complete with pyrotechnics, streamer cannons, and thunderous melodies, Gojira’s stage show gave the fans exactly what they were looking for. 

Among the bodies surfing over the crowd during Gojira were inflatable killer whales that served as a nod to the band’s song “Flying Whales.” 

While security struggled to keep up with the steady flow of crowd surfers, Gojira’s show only intensified during the fan scream-along of “Silvera” before closing out with “The Gift of Guilt.”

Still drenched in sweat, fans were ready as the curtain dropped again for the evening’s third act to reveal heavy metal greats Mastodon. 

With a stage show that was abundant with video graphics and colorful lights, Mastodon began with “The Wolf is Loose” and then stormed through “Crystal Skull” and “Megalodon.”

Circle pits opened in the middle of the arena as people began to mosh and push forward to get a closer view of the band. 

During a 17-song set, the Atlanta band’s popular tracks like “Iron Tusk,” “Steambreather” and “More Than I Could Chew” fueled a crowd looking for mayhem.

Mastodon ended their arena-shaking set with the song “Blood and Thunder” before simply thanking their fans who left the arena both exhilarated and exhausted. 

Photo by Kayla Breen

Mastodon rhythm guitarist Bill Kelliher performs during the Mega-Monsters Tour.