No idea how Nick Johnston somehow fits Mastodon, but he does. Nuno was the Mitch Buchannon of the night. Disturbed singer was surprisingly decent. Ozzy surprisingly alive and kicking.
Never been a DiMarzio guy, too much mids and not enough bite for me. With that said, I stick with Duncans unless I find a better deal for the price, as Duncans aren't that special as well (at least most of them are not). I had luck with some Suhr pickups, Schecter, EVH and some custom handwound...
Not sure how things are going in the USA, but here in Italy tube amps are going as strong as ever. There's still a relevant usage of modelers, but much less than a couple of years ago, and it's mostly due to short on money players who seek good tones (which aren't as easy to find under 800-1000€...
Yeah, good choice.
Another thing to keep in mind is those pickups (some of them at least) are picky with the way you set them up, both the pickup height and the poles position. So if you get one and don't feel 100% satisfied, that's one thing you need to try