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)
Creature Lives
Mastodon Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Into the swamp from which he spawned
I heard them laugh and say
They never liked him anyway
I tried to talk to them
To help you on your feet again
They laughed and said to me
The creature lives
The creature lives
The creature lives
The creature lives
In this song, Mastodon seems to be telling a story about a creature that is shunned by society and ends up falling into a swamp. The creature is seen as an outcast and the people around it seem to take delight in seeing it fail. The singer of the song tries to help the creature, but is met with ridicule by those around them who believe that the creature belongs in the swamp.
It is possible that Mastodon is using the metaphor of the creature to represent individuals who do not fit in with societal norms. The "swamp" could be seen as a representation of society that is uncomfortable with those who are different or do not conform. The song could be interpreted as a call to accept and embrace those who do not fit the mold.
Overall, "Creature Lives" is a powerful song that speaks to the universal human experience of feeling like an outcast. It captures the feeling of isolation and the struggle to be accepted. Despite the negative comments, the creature lives on, showing that it is strong and resilient.
Line by Line Meaning
I saw the creature fall
I witnessed the creature's downfall.
Into the swamp from which he spawned
The creature fell into the same swamp from where it originated.
I heard them laugh and say
I overheard them mocking and stating.
They never liked him anyway
They've never been fond of the creature to say.
I tried to talk to them
I attempted to converse with them.
To help you on your feet again
To aid in getting the creature back on its feet once again.
They laughed and said to me
They laughed and informed me.
The swamp is right where I should be
The swamp is precisely where the creature belongs, according to them.
The creature lives
The creature is still alive.
The creature lives
The creature is still enduring.
The creature lives
The creature isn't dead, it continues to exist.
The creature lives
The creature persists with life.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: BRANN TIMOTHY DAILOR, TROY JAYSON SANDERS, WILLIAM BREEN KELLIHER, WILLIAM BRENT HINDS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
julia lipuma
people have a huge problem with artistic development... this song is beautiful
Dario Bulatović
Is it just me, or is this song so awesome that it makes me cry out of joy? :D
Ded Nudjent
You are not alone, I promise, this song makes me cry every time
Jeff Stanforth
There's definitely something very.... promising about the future when you listen to this song :-)
What The Hell
Violate Thrash yes it does
MrDownslider
Its the latter.
IDontNotDoThings
Does anyone else think that this would make a great album intro/opener?
Ulm Wurttemberg
if i ever get around to making my rap album people are going to wonder what the hell they just downloaded.
Sgrinwaipwr
Or outro/closer.
PiTiFunk
I am simply in awe with this album. I find my self listening every song and adding it to my favorites...