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)
Burning Man
Mastodon Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Become the earth's ashes
Remain
Awaiting sand
A burning man
approach the door where I place blame
Take the first step
Awaiting sand
A burning man
In Mastodon's song "Burning Man", the lyrics deliver a powerful message about self-redemption and rebirth. The opening lines, "Coals under foot burst into flames, become the earth's ashes, remain," imply a transformative process that fuels the spiritual journey of the singer. As the coals ignite and turn to ash, they stand as a symbolic manifestation of a loss or death of one's former self. The singer then embraces the metaphorical sand, as he anticipates being rebuilt with a renewed sense of purpose and identity.
The chorus of the song, "Awaiting sand, a burning man," represents the singer's state of readiness to undergo a transformation. The sand that he awaits signifies the vessel through which he will be reborn. He approaches a door, places blame, and takes the first step towards his transformation. The line "cleansing my shame" suggests that the singer acknowledges past mistakes and is ready to leave them behind.
Overall, the song Burning Man appears to be about taking personal responsibility for one's past mistakes and taking steps towards growth and development. Through a series of vivid and symbolic imagery, the lyrics invoke the idea of transformation and rebirth.
Line by Line Meaning
Coals under foot burst into flames
The coals underfoot have caught fire and are now turning into ashes
Become the earth's ashes
The burnt coals are transforming into ashes that will soon become a part of the earth
Remain
The ashes continue to exist as a reminder of the consumed coals and their impact on the earth
Awaiting sand
The ashes are waiting to be covered by sand, which will further integrate them into the earth's soil
A burning man
The image of the burning coals and their transformation into ashes and earth is reminiscent of the concept of a man being consumed by flames and reduced to ashes
Approach the door where I place blame
The singer is approaching a moment of taking responsibility for their actions and accepting blame for past mistakes
Take the first step
The singer is making a conscious decision to begin the process of accepting responsibility and moving forward
Cleansing my shame
The act of taking responsibility and accepting blame is a way for the artist to release feelings of guilt and shame associated with their past actions
Awaiting sand
Just like the ashes in the earlier stanza, the artist is waiting for a new chapter to cover the past and allow for growth and transformation
A burning man
The transformation of the ashes and coals is again referenced, this time as a metaphor for the artist's own personal transformation through accepting responsibility and moving forward
Lyrics © DOMINO PUBLISHING COMPANY, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: TROY SANDERS, BRANN DAILOR, BRENT HINDS, WILLIAM KELLIHER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind