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)
Divinations
Mastodon Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Animal spirits come calling me home
Through the tunnels of brilliant light
The magnet of wisdom is pulling
Burrowing faster, the fabric of time
No escape
Binding spirits
Trapped in time space
Rapid descendants, the wormhole is empty
The center of khlysty surrounds me
The fire is dancing in a silvery sheet of breath
Black robe, necromancing
Summon the soul of the specter
No escape
Binding spirits
No escape
Trapped in time space
Fire in the eye
Realm of mystic majesty
No escape
Binding spirits
No escape
Trapped in time space
Fire in the eye
Realm of mystic majesty
The lyrics to Mastodon's song "Divinations" are a reflection of the human desire for spiritual enlightenment and a glimpse into the afterlife. The opening line, "It's gone away, it's gone away, it's gone for good," hints at a loss or absence of something significant, perhaps referring to the material world. The next line, "Animal spirits come calling me home," suggests a return to a more primitive, instinctual form of spirituality.
The following lines, "Through the tunnels of brilliant light, The magnet of wisdom is pulling, Burrowing faster, the fabric of time," describe an other-worldly journey towards enlightenment. The repetition of "no escape, binding spirits, trapped in time space" implies a sense of confinement, perhaps referencing the limitations of the physical world and the struggle to break free from it.
Later, the song describes a "fire in the eye, realm of mystic majesty," which could represent a heightened state of consciousness or a spiritual awakening. The repeated references to "binding spirits" and "no escape" suggest a struggle between the human desire for spiritual ascension and the inevitable constraints of the physical world.
Overall, "Divinations" serves as a poignant reflection on spirituality and the struggle to transcend the physical world in the pursuit of higher understanding.
Line by Line Meaning
It's gone away, it's gone away, it's gone for good
Something has disappeared and it will never return.
Animal spirits come calling me home
The spirits of animals are guiding me back to my rightful place.
Through the tunnels of brilliant light
I am traveling through tunnels that are filled with an intense brightness.
The magnet of wisdom is pulling
I am being pulled towards a source of knowledge and understanding.
Burrowing faster, the fabric of time
I am moving rapidly through time, as if digging through its very fabric.
No escape
There is no way to break free from my current situation.
Binding spirits
My spirits are being held in place and cannot escape.
Trapped in time space
I am confined to a specific space within time and cannot leave.
Rapid descendants, the wormhole is empty
My descendants are moving quickly through an empty path in space and time.
The center of khlysty surrounds me
I am surrounded by a center of spiritual energy known as 'khlysty.'
The fire is dancing in a silvery sheet of breath
A flame is moving back and forth inside of a silver breath that looks like a sheet.
Black robe, necromancing
I am wearing a black robe and performing necromancy (communicating with the dead).
Summon the soul of the specter
I am calling forth the spirit of a ghostly figure.
Fire in the eye
I am filled with a burning passion or desire.
Realm of mystic majesty
I am in a place of great mystery and awe-inspiring power.
No escape
There is no way to break free from my current situation.
Binding spirits
My spirits are being held in place and cannot escape.
No escape
There is no way to break free from my current situation.
Trapped in time space
I am confined to a specific space within time and cannot leave.
Fire in the eye
I am filled with a burning passion or desire.
Realm of mystic majesty
I am in a place of great mystery and awe-inspiring power.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: BRANN TIMOTHY DAILOR, TROY JAYSON SANDERS, WILLIAM BREEN KELLIHER, WILLIAM BRENT HINDS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@Therealbackslabbath
I've always loved the sound of space banjo.
@charlesweathersbee1548
lol
@martinhernandez8177
more like a guitar riff inspired by the beach boys song wipe out. They even said it smfh.
@wesleyjakesta4095
Inspired or not, it's a banjo lick.
@Therealbackslabbath
Yeah sorry Martin, can you proof read/fact check all my comments in future...that'd be great
@cheatachu22
That's why I love Mastodon's music videos. They're so cheesy, they're amazing.
@positivelastaction3957
It's art-rock. Amazing music and conceptual artwork and videos
@BorisandHP
I love how Brent sings. Especially that "Fire in the eye" line. Amazing.
@0boo
this line was on Brann
@alphatwisted
0boo im pretty sure its them together, but brann singing backup