Mastodon and Gojira to play Auckland this March

American metallers Mastodon are returning to New Zealand, with a one-off show at Trusts Arena in Auckland on Saturday, March 31.
Presented by The Rock, the announcement comes just weeks after Mastodon won the Grammy Award for ‘Best Metal Performance’ for their song ‘Sultan’s Curse’ from the band’s 2017 album EMPEROR OF SAND.

They’ll be supported by one of rock’s most exciting acts, Gojira, who were twice hand-picked by Metallica to tour the US with them, with Kirk Hammett describing the French prog-metal act as “the best thing I’ve heard in a long time”.

A live force to be reckoned with, Mastodon’s return to Kiwi shores will follow their highly anticipated appearance at the Download Festival in Australia, as well as their own headline shows, as they continue to tour EMPEROR OF THE SAND around the world. As well as earning the metallers a Grammy, the album has been described as one of their best yet.

“They sound tighter and more consistent on EMPEROR OF THE SAND than before, with not a subpar song to be found and a heady concept to allow for the songs to develop in unexpected, epic heights”
– 
Sputnik Music

“These consistently strong new songs… are a solid, thoughtful entry from a band whose genre-crossing, time-bending blend of hardcore, doom, and prog metal has earned them a rightful place among the upper echelon of the metal elite”
– 
Consequence of Sound

Like Mastodon, Gojira’s last album MAGMA also received Grammy love in 2016 when it was nominated for ‘Best Rock Album’, with their song ‘Silvera’ up for ‘Best Metal Performance’.

Gojira’s sixth full-length LP is their most accessible release yet, melodically immediate and charged with emotion
– Pitchfork

MAGMA finds Joe [Duplantier], his drummer brother Mario, guitarist Christian Andreu and bassist Jean-Michel Labadie veering abruptly away from the technical death-metal that has largely defined their discography, while exploring new ground (for them, at least) in the realms of atmospheric, groove-oriented hard rock
– Rolling Stone

New Zealand’s very-own metal stalwarts Just One Fix will also join the bill. The band has been raising hell since they first emerged on the local scene in 1999.

Rounding out the metal-fest is Auckland prog-rockers, Mothra.

Don’t miss your chance to see four mighty metal acts – MastodonGojiraJust One Fixand Mothra – back-to-back, one night only, at Trusts Arena in Auckland on SaturdayMarch 31.

Tickets on sale from ThursdayFebruary 15, at 9.00am at www.ticketek.com