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)
High Road
Mastodon Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You let the storm come wipe us out
I saw the fog snuff you out
I saw the ocean come take you under
I have my boot stuck in your mouth
I have you screaming for your last breath, yeah
I shoved them up deep inside
You take the high road down
I take the ground below you
You take the high road down
I take the ground below
You are the one who nobody likes
You are the plague that was brought here by rats
I like to hunt you, lets fight
Watching you fade out and never come back
You take the high road down
I take the ground below you
You take the high road down
I take the ground below
You take the high road down,
I take the ground below you.
You take the high road down,
I take the ground below.
The lyrics of Mastodon's "High Road" portray a sense of betrayal and anger, as well as an urge for vengeance towards someone who has wronged the singer. The opening lines suggest the person who betrayed the singer did so by allowing outside forces to destroy them, perhaps through inaction or neglect. The imagery of wind, storms, and the ocean alludes to a lack of control and inevitability. The singer's anger is further fueled by the apparent lack of remorse or concern from the one that betrayed them, shown through having their "boot stuck" in the betrayer's mouth and hearing them "scream for their last breath."
The singer then declares that the person is "the one who nobody likes" and compares them to a "plague," indicating that they may have always been an unlikeable figure. The repeated line "you take the high road down, I take the ground below you" can be interpreted as the singer getting the last laugh as they outwit and bring down their betrayer. The use of the word "down" in the line also adds a sense of superiority and a feeling that the person who betrayed them is beneath them.
Overall, "High Road" displays Mastodon's heavy, aggressive sound and lyrics that express themes of betrayal, revenge, and power dynamics.
Line by Line Meaning
You let the wind take us down
Your lack of control caused our downfall
You let the storm come wipe us out
Your negligence allowed our destruction
I saw the fog snuff you out
I witnessed your demise at the hands of your own choices
I saw the ocean come take you under
I watched as your recklessness led you to be overwhelmed by circumstances
I have my boot stuck in your mouth
I have power over you and you are silenced by me
I have you screaming for your last breath, yeah
I am causing you extreme pain and fear as you meet your end
I shoved them up deep inside
I successfully asserted my dominance over you
I should've waited for thee devour
I regret not taking even more pleasure in your suffering
You take the high road down
You make choices that lead to your own downfall
I take the ground below you
I stay grounded and make choices that lead to my success
You are the one who nobody likes
Your behavior and actions have caused others to dislike you
You are the plague that was brought here by rats
You are a negative force that was introduced into our environment by others
I like to hunt you, lets fight
I enjoy the challenge of facing and defeating someone like you
Watching you fade out and never come back
I take pleasure in the thought of your permanent absence from my life
You take the high road down
You persist in making self-destructive choices
I take the ground below you
I continue to make grounded and successful choices
You take the high road down
Your choices lead to inevitable and avoidable destruction
I take the ground below
I have a firm footing and make choices that lead to my success
Lyrics © BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT US, LLC
Written by: Brann Timothy Dailor, Troy Jayson Sanders, William Breen Kelliher, William Brent Hinds
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@teenageblood4531
New high tech surveillance/espionage device
The FBI “bug”
“What if, we could have eyes like a fly on the wall”
Is the quote that inspired Trumps top scientists to begin production on a proposed first generation of insect themed electronic espionage/surveillance devices.
Robot spy bugs
Based on breakthrough military nano-bot technology and manufactured in factories outsourced and funded by billionaire research investor and Tesla Co-Founder CEO Elon Musk
One of many modern american military science projects greenlit by Trump, the FBI bug is a self destructable nano-bot that is able to infiltrate and adapt to almost any environment. It’s primary evasive ability to leap large distances in a second, rendering it almost invisible to the naked eye results in the gadget being considered highly effective in certain circumstances such as unconstitutional research studies, civilian surveillance, and gathering information in unreachable locations.
Trump was quoted saying “nanobots” when given the design pitch for the operation presented alongside such missions as Space Force and other top secret classified government projects, used primarily by the FBI and CIA in covert containment ops, the incredibly small spying device self destructs and crumbles to ashes when field position has been comprised.
Its foremost function is to send a basic data signal back to a local intelligence server. This is being deployed on American citizen surveillance operations primarily based in southern states from Texas to North Carolina
The FBI and CIA both presented rumors of KGB breakthroughs in post Cold War “sleeper agent” mind control/mind reading research, Trump in a vain reaction to speculated Russian super science responded with allocation of government funding in American Military science research that would surpass the rumored Russian super weapons
KGB tech may be in use in eastern European countries alongside the Russian border
FBI/CIA Military grade tech has been in deployment in southern American states being tested on American citizens for the past few years.
@TaraNicoleAzarian
My big brother Nicholas Azarian plays the lead nerd in this video. I'm so proud of him! Love it! <3
@somika87
Armenians. Armenians everywhere!
Greetings from an Armenian town in Transylvania
@tomflett9951
hes beyond perfect for this video
@Insecthouse
Yeah I love the crazy little poindexter,
tell him he needs to wield a 2x4 with a dog turd on the end tho
Get serious , you know what I’m talking about!
@camw621
DOOD. Tell him we all love him for this video. Metal Nerds approve.
@gregtheflyingwhale6480
арменияяяя
@johnnyt6623
This band puts out masterpiece after masterpiece and they still don't win, seriously this band is incredible.
@maxmontgomery666
Johnny T Well they do win as being the most innovative and yet still rocking band put out music now. That is all the win that these guys need. They make a complete joke of the Grammy's every year.
@johnnyt6623
Yea the solos, the singing, lyrics, riffs, they are so incredible. But you guys are definitely right, oh by the way how cute/hot is the chick in the thumbnail with the big deer eyes? Anyone know her name?
@onomulus5020
Johnny T I PERSONALLY think that this band would be fucking amazing FOR ME if they had a good singer, IN MY OPINION. The band is awesome, but the singing from these guys don't do it for me, that being said, amazing riffs and solos.