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)
Slickleg
Mastodon Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Praise mammoth
I lie trapped in ice
Bright cold sheild my eyes
White cruel stone
Can't move
Hide so far from truth
Blood floweth
Does time heal all wounds
Why's this been so long
Line of descent gone
Reign down
Reign down
The lyrics of Mastodon's song Slickleg paint a picture of a mammoth, seen as a symbol of power or divinity, being worshipped by beings who have become trapped in ice. The singer of the song is frozen and unable to move, but is protected by the bright, cold shield of the ice. The cruel and oppressive nature of this frozen world is emphasized by the white, unyielding stone that surrounds them. Despite being trapped, however, the singer still feels their blood flowing and longs to move forward into the unknown. The line of descent, or ancestral lineage, is gone and has been replaced by this frozen wasteland, and yet there is still a sense of reverence and awe for the mammoth, who is perceived as reigning down upon them from above.
The lyrics of Slickleg are open to interpretation and could be seen as a commentary on the power of nature and the insignificance of humanity in the face of larger forces. The mammoth is revered because of its size and strength, but it is also a reminder of the transience of life and the ultimate powerlessness of all living things. The singer's longing to move forward despite being trapped in the ice could be seen as a metaphor for the human desire to escape the constraints of mortality and reach for something greater.
Line by Line Meaning
Slickleg!
The singer is addressing someone or something called 'Slickleg'
Praise mammoth
The singer is expressing gratitude or admiration for a mammoth or something associated with it
I lie trapped in ice
The singer is describing being frozen within ice, unable to move or escape
Bright cold shield my eyes
The artist is describing the icy environment they are trapped in, using a metaphor to compare the brightness of the snow to a shield
White cruel stone
The artist is likely referring to a glacier or some other type of icy formation that is suppressing them
Can't move
The singer is emphasizing their immobility due to being stuck in ice
Hide so far from truth
The singer is conveying a sense of isolation and distance from reality while being trapped in their icy tomb
Blood floweth
The artist is describing the movement of their own blood within their body, possibly struggling to keep it flowing while being deprived of outside resources
Crawl into unknown
The artist is expressing a sense of uncertainty and trepidation as they move through their current predicament
Does time heal all wounds
The artist is questioning whether or not time can heal emotional or physical pain
Why's this been so long
The singer is expressing frustration with the length of time they have been trapped in their icy tomb
Line of descent gone
The artist may be reflecting on the fact that their lineage, or possibly the lineage of their captors, no longer exists
Reign down
The singer is calling out for something to come down, possibly looking for salvation or release from their icy tomb
Reign down
The singer repeats the phrase, emphasizing their desire for assistance or release
Contributed by Cameron R. Suggest a correction in the comments below.