Best Local Metal Act

At the dawn of the 21st century, MASTODON was born of blood and thunder. Since then, the group has smashed eardrums one twisted metal opus after another. Grammy nominations come and go, but good music is timeless and Mastodon has left a gargantuan footprint on Atlanta’s music scene. The group is still basking in the glories of 2014’s sixth album, Once More ’Round the Sun. New material abounds as each member of the group embarks on his own journey. Guitarist Brent Hinds has worked with Alice in Chains’ William DuVall recording as Giraffe Tongue Orchestra. Singer/bassist Troy Sanders teamed up with Queens of the Stone Age guitarist Troy Van Leeuwen for Gone Is Gone. Drummer Brann Dailor was spotted sitting in with the house band on NBC’s “Late Night with Seth Meyers.” Closer to home, guitarist Bill Kelliher is building out Ember City, a new multi-room practice facility in the Capitol View neighborhood. All the while, Kelliher rolled out two new signature ESP guitars over the summer. Whew! Mastodon has earned our eternal respect. www.mastodonrocks.com. less...

The devil's weed is always a little sweeter when cosmic metal monsters Wizard Smoke spark up the joint. The menacing five-piece ensemble drives its up-tempo rock 'n' roll dirges with a tongue-in-cheek attitude, while sidestepping the typical woozy-eyed dreariness that so often defines the stoner aesthetic. Wizard Smoke's songs are glacial in size and epic in stature, but there's a sense of humor hiding behind every riff throughout the band's latest LP, The Speed of Smoke. Take another hit and let the perma-grin begin. wizardsmoke.net.

Listen: Wizard Smoke "Weakling"

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With Folie Circulaire , black-metal underdogs WITHERED unleashed the bleakest, most constrictive metal opus Atlanta has seen since Mastodon's Leviathan. Every time the group takes the stage, slow, pulverizing grooves grind, bash and build to a climax of machine gun drums, helicopter head-banging and a bestial growl. While Mastodon was busy cracking the Skye, Withered punched a hole through the earth and reached deep into the bowels of hell to summon an epic, labyrinthine roar. www.myspace.com/withered. less...

The Mastodon was a big lumbering elephant-like veggie-eating prehistoric animal so I'm not convinced the name applies well to our local boys. They usually hack away so fast at their instruments you'd think they were trying to put their own flaming bodies out with an ice pick. Rockers from varying local corners (punk, hard rock, metal, etc.) gassed up by fever stroke lightning are rallying around their intensity. With a disc on Relapse right around the corner, you could say they're national now. Come to think of it, they are sort of hairy and have huge nuts, so maybe the moniker fits after all. less...