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)
We Built This Come Death
Mastodon Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Work nine to five
Monday through Friday I'm singing
I sing the blues for you
Now I'm standing in the pouring rain
My feet are cold but I can't complain
And I wonder how you have been
I know it's right but it's always strange
How I scream
All this life's worth all the while
Heartache and slave driving pain
I sing the blues for you
Now I'm standing in the pouring rain
My feet are cold but I can't complain
And I wonder how you have been
I need you love I miss you so
I know it's right but it's always strange
Mastodon's song "We Built This Come Death" appears to have a simple message about the struggles of working a nine to five job and missing someone you love. However, the lyrics hint at a deeper meaning, one that is open to interpretation.
The opening lines "Now you see all this time, work nine to five, Monday through Friday I'm singing" suggest the routine and monotony of a working-class lifestyle. The repetition of this line creates a feeling of boredom and frustration that anyone who has worked a desk job can relate to. The next stanza shifts attention to the singer's personal life, as they stand in the pouring rain and wonder how their loved one has been. The lines "I need your love, I miss you so, I know it's right but it's always strange" indicate that the singer has been away from their beloved for some time, and while the separation is necessary, it still feels uncomfortable.
The last lines of the song "All this life's worth all the while, heartache and slave driving pain, I sing the blues for you" could be interpreted as the singer's way of coping with the pain of missing their loved one. Singing the blues could be seen as cathartic, and the harsh reality of life worth the heartache and pain to keep loving someone who is absent.
In summary, "We Built This Come Death" speaks to the tensions and difficulties of modern life. It captures feelings of alienation, weariness, and longing that so many people experience in the twenty-first century.
Line by Line Meaning
Now you see all this time
After all this time, I hope you finally understand...
Work nine to five
I work hard every day from nine to five...
Monday through Friday I'm singing
Even though I'm exhausted from working all week, I'm still performing for you...
I sing the blues for you
I pour my heart out through my music, expressing my pain and emotions for you...
Now I'm standing in the pouring rain
I'm alone, exposed to the cold and harsh elements of life...
My feet are cold but I can't complain
I'm struggling and uncomfortable, but I know I have to keep going...
And I wonder how you have been
I miss you and hope you're doing well, but I can't let it consume me...
I need you love I miss you so
I yearn for your love and miss you immensely, but I have to keep moving forward...
I know it's right but it's always strange
I know what I'm doing is right, but it feels unfamiliar and uncomfortable...
How I scream
I express my pain and frustration through my music, screaming out to the world...
All this life's worth all the while
Despite the hardships, I still believe that life is worth living and fighting for...
Heartache and slave driving pain
I've experienced heartache and extreme pain, both emotionally and physically, but I won't let it defeat me...
Lyrics © OBO APRA/AMCOS
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