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)
Call of Mastodon
Mastodon Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Building high and wide
Minds that create make us feel more alive
Standing on top of the skyline
Unlock unleash the beast below
The lyrics to Mastodon's song "Call of the Mastodon" speak to the idea of human progress and the power of creation. The opening lines describe the construction of "strong structures", which symbolize the impressive accomplishments of civilization. "Building high and wide" suggests that humans are constantly pushing the limits of what we can achieve, with each new project striving to surpass the last. The lyrics suggest that this ambition drives us forward, making us feel more alive.
The lines "minds that create make us feel more alive" emphasize that human creativity and innovation are what make us feel truly alive. It's through the act of creation that we're able to push the boundaries of what we know and discover new opportunities for growth and development.
The final lines of the song, "standing on top of the skyline, unlock unleash the beast below", suggest that there's always the potential for even greater achievements just beyond what we can currently see. The "beast below" symbolizes the raw potential that lies within us, waiting to be unleashed through our own tenacity and drive for progress.
Line by Line Meaning
Strong structures guide
The stable and solid foundations in our lives provide direction and guidance.
Building high and wide
We strive to grow and expand the possibilities in our lives, both physically and mentally.
Minds that create make us feel more alive
Innovative thinking and creativity bring about a sense of vitality and purpose.
Standing on top of the skyline
Achieving success and reaching new heights gives us a sense of accomplishment and fulfillment.
Unlock unleash the beast below
We must tap into our primal instincts and unleash our full potential to truly succeed and thrive in life.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, DOMINO PUBLISHING COMPANY
Written by: BILL KELLIHER, BRANN TIMOTHY DAILOR, BRENT HINDS, TROY JAYSON SANDERS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
UpnDown Official
first off.Mastodon is my favourite band.
This album is far from bad,but
in my opinon it suffers from crowded musical ideas and when that happens nothing reall stands out.
Since human brain can only concentrate at 1 or 2 things at a time.
The production is where it suffers most.
Keep in mind again this is just my opinon i may be wrong.
Drums are a bit too loud.
Too manny frequencies colliding (this could be fixed with precise eq)
Too much stuff happening in the drums(this is just Brann being Brann tho hahaaha)
ryanexsus
I enjoy all of Mastodon's work. And I appreciate that they aren't scared to try new things and not make the same album twice.
Charles Mattingly Mendoza
@americo valdazo finally someone said it.
Charles Mattingly Mendoza
@Dan Murdo I don't, they're not a good band anymore.
Joseph Brenner
This is actually a combination of demos that were made before the first album. But they released it after leviathan.
ryanexsus
@americo valdazo Well I feel bad for you
americo valdazo
After this album they went into Gay Metal
Ozzmosisf35
It's nice to have confidence in knowing that when a band releases something, you're going to love it. Mastodon will never let me down. You know a band is good when you want their entire catalog.
mmolej
If Mastodon would release such an album now, I would be like "YEEEAHH". Absolutely awesome and heavy.
Robot Icecream Sandwich
The riffs in "shadows that move" yessssss
Troy O'Brien
I can't believe Brann did the vocals on Battle At Sea