Metal-kings-in-waiting Mastodon have confirmed that they are to return to Cork following their debut show here last year when they supported Slayer during the Live at the Marquee series. The news of their impending arrival is good for two reasons, the first being that said gig at the Show Grounds last year was 'hampered' somewhat by what could be politely described as an 'underwhelming' sound mix. As a result the usual ferocious intricacies contained within their music was rendered futile. Hopefully this won't be the case when they come to the Savoy for their own show on Tuesday, December 3.

The second reason this announcement is good news is because…well, quite simply, this is shaping up to be possibly the biggest night of heavy-metal thunder this city will have seen Slayer and Mastodon rolled into town last year and if the vibes are even a fraction of what they were under the big top, then we're in for a night of devilishly good rock!

It's nigh on impossible for any self-respecting slave to the riff to not been aware of the mighty Atlanta outfit following the release of their commercial breakthrough, the critically acclaimed Blood Mountain in 2006. Equal parts prog, thrash and classic-rock, Mastodon have taken the metal world by storm crafting some of the best, most forward thinking hard-rock of the past decade over the course of three albums.

Live the band has attained a serious reputation having toured with the likes of Tool, Slayer and the Mars Volta. Their breakthrough was confirmed when Blood Mountain entered the top-30 in the Billboard charts, while the album was a regular fixture in the annual end-of-year best-off polls in a number of mainstream publications. They're recently finished work on their next opus, and early reports indicate that 'opus' is too insignificant a term for this latest work.