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)
Hunters Of The Sky
Mastodon Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Evading sharks of the sky
Death trap and I kill again
Dig through my own hives
Shelter from sky
Talon of raptor
Force-fed glass giant moth
Reaping fields of the flesh
Of the dominant nymph
Omen she brings
Carried on weathered wings
Fly reptile
Leather wings
Bones hollow
Petrified
Running faster than I ever have
Evading sharks of the sky
The earth's ashing floats
What is good for man
Cast us out into the known
Hunters of the Sky by Mastodon is a song about running away and evading danger, specifically referring to birds and their ability to hunt and kill smaller creatures. The lyrics open with the singer describing themselves as running faster than they ever had before, evading the "sharks of the sky" which are birds of prey that are chasing after them. Throughout the song, the singer uses vivid imagery to depict the struggles they face in the wild, including hives they have to dig through, the talons of a raptor, and heavy-handed nymphs who try to thwart their plans. We can feel the urgency and the danger throughout the song, as the singer describes how they have to shelter from the sky to stay safe.
The lyrics take on a metaphorical meaning as well, referring to how humans have to fight for survival in a world full of danger and chaos, and how we have to be fast and agile to evade the "sharks of the sky" or predators that would try to harm us. The last lines of the song, "The earth's ashing floats / What is good for man / Cast us out into the known" suggest that despite our best efforts, we are still at the mercy of the natural world and its forces.
Line by Line Meaning
Running faster than I ever have
Moving swiftly away from danger
Evading sharks of the sky
Avoiding birds of prey
Death trap and I kill again
Fighting for survival and taking lives when necessary
Dig through my own hives
Searching through personal belongings
Shelter from sky
Finding protection from the elements
Talon of raptor
Grasping claws of a bird of prey
Force-fed glass giant moth
Forced consumption of a large, fragile insect
Reaping fields of the flesh
Killing and collecting dead animals
Heavy hand thwart the scheme
Impeding plans through forceful actions
Of the dominant nymph
Of a powerful, controlling entity
Omen she brings
A sign of impending doom
Carried on weathered wings
Delivered by worn-out, aged wings
Fly reptile
Take off, winged creature
Leather wings
Skin-like material attached to limbs used for flying
Bones hollow
Lightweight bones designed to facilitate flight
Petrified
Turned to stone
Running faster than I ever have
Escaping danger at an even greater pace
Evading sharks of the sky
Avoiding aerial predators once again
The earth's ashing floats
Debris from the ground is carried by wind
What is good for man
What benefits humanity
Cast us out into the known
Expelled to a familiar yet harsh environment
Lyrics © DOMINO PUBLISHING COMPANY, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: BRENT HINDS, BRANN DAILOR, TROY SANDERS, WILLIAM KELLIHER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind