The song "Colony of Birchmen" from the band's third album (released in 2006), Blood Mountain, was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance in 2007. Blood Mountain was followed in 2009 by Crack the Skye, and in 2011 by The Hunter, which debuted at No. 10 on the Billboard 200 chart and achieved major commercial success in the United States. The Hunter features the song "Curl of the Burl", which was nominated for a Grammy for Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance in 2012. Mastodon's 2014 album, Once More 'Round the Sun, peaked at No. 6 on the Billboard 200 chart and features the band's third Grammy-nominated song, "High Road". The band's seventh album, Emperor of Sand, was released on March 31, 2017, and features the band's most commercially successful song to date, "Show Yourself", which peaked at No. 4 on the US Billboard Mainstream Rock Songs chart in June 2017. The followup single, "Steambreather", peaked at number 18 on the same chart in October 2017. The album's opening track, "Sultan's Curse", earned the band their first Grammy award. Emperor of Sand was the band's first album to receive a Grammy nomination; it was nominated for Best Rock Album.
Mastodon was formed on January 13, 2000, after drummer Brann Dailor and guitarist Bill Kelliher moved to Atlanta from Victor, New York, and met bassist/singer Troy Sanders and guitarist/singer Brent Hinds at a High on Fire show. They discovered they had a mutual appreciation of sludge metal bands Melvins and Neurosis, heavy metal legends Iron Maiden, and 1970s hard rockers Thin Lizzy, and shortly thereafter formed Mastodon. In an interview in 2009, Kelliher revealed that the first time Hinds attended a practice with the band, he "showed up so wasted he couldn't play".
The band recorded a demo in 2000, which featured Eric Saner on vocals. Saner left the band for personal reasons after just a couple of months. After recording a four-song demo and a 7-inch picture disc through Reptilian Records, Mastodon landed a record deal with Relapse Records in 2001. Mastodon released the EP Lifesblood in 2001, and its first full-length album, Remission, in 2002, with the singles "March of the Fire Ants" and "Crusher/Destroyer" (which was also featured on Tony Hawk's Underground). On each of Mastodon's first three full-length albums, the last track was an instrumental composition with a title that related to the Elephant Man.
Artist Paul Romano was responsible for all of the band's album art and backdrops up to 2011. The artwork for the band's fifth studio album The Hunter was made by AJ Fosik, a woodcarver who was also responsible for the backdrop the band used live at the time. Oakland-based artist Skinner, who, in his own words, specializes in "psychedelic nightmare paintings", has taken the reins on Once More 'Round the Sun. "It's going to be a work of art for sure. It's going to be very eye-opening", said bassist Troy Sanders before the album's release. "Very striking. It's from another dimension, and a lot of our music is geared toward that idea—taking you to another planet on songs. It's out there, and I think it's incredible."
Studio albums
Remission (2002)
Leviathan (2004)
Blood Mountain (2006)
Crack the Skye (2009)
The Hunter (2011)
Once More 'Round the Sun (2014)
Emperor of Sand (2017)
Hushed and Grim (2021)
EPs
Lifesblood (2001)
Cold Dark Place (2017)
01 March Of The Fire Ants
Mastodon Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The heart bleeds and droughts do not
Bone grave
Bone engraved
Stone grave
Stone engraved
Bone engraved
Stone grave
Stone engraved
All circles created with intention
An ocean turns yellow
It soothes the eye
Bone grave
Bone engraved
Stone grave
Stone engraved
Bone grave
Bone engraved
Stone grave
Stone engraved
The lyrics to Mastodon's song March of the Fire Ants depict vivid imagery of passion and destruction. The opening lines, "As passion encircles the daily storm, The heart bleeds and droughts do not," could be interpreted as a metaphor for the intensity of emotion and how it can consume everything in its path, leaving no room for rational thought or logic. The repetition of "bone grave, bone engraved, stone grave, stone engraved" could symbolize the inevitability of death and how all living things will eventually turn into dust or stone.
The second verse introduces the idea of circles being created with intention, perhaps referring to the cyclical nature of life or the recurring patterns of behavior that people fall into. The line "An ocean turns yellow, it soothes the eye" is an interesting contrast and could represent the way in which even the most seemingly beautiful things can become tainted or corrupted.
Overall, the lyrics of March of the Fire Ants are abstract and open to interpretation, but what is clear is the sense of chaos and destruction that pervades throughout the song.
Line by Line Meaning
As passion encircles the daily storm
In the midst of chaos and hardship, strong emotions can still thrive and persist.
The heart bleeds and droughts do not
Emotional pain can be enduring, unlike physical droughts that eventually come to an end.
Bone grave
A burial site made of bones.
Bone engraved
Something etched or inscribed onto a surface, such as a bone grave marker.
Stone grave
A burial site made of stone or marked with a stone monument.
Stone engraved
An inscription or design carved or etched into a stone surface, such as a grave marker.
All circles created with intention
Everything in life happens for a reason, and every action has a purpose behind it.
An ocean turns yellow
Even something as vast and seemingly stable as an ocean can change, with its color shifting from blue to yellow.
It soothes the eye
The yellow hue of the ocean can be calming or pleasing to look at.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: TROY JAYSON SANDERS, BRANN DAILOR, BRENT HINDS, WILLIAM BREEN KELLIHER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind