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)
spiral
Mastodon Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
He has ordered assassination
Don't stay, run away
The henchmen are gathered and waiting
Don't stay, run away
Your role as usurper is found out
Don't stay, run away
Tsarina has warned of the danger
It's your own fault
That is what we wanted
It's your own fault
This is where we lay
By the light of the moon
You must escape into the deep black of the night
Fight the devil inside
Enemies poison deep within my second sight
Wasting valuable time
Ride the tides of blood
Illumination
Beauties sudden hand
Shattered crown
Stretching arms up high
We're on our way now
Leave the Czar to die
Spiraling up through the crack in the sky
Leaving material world behind
I see your face in constellations
The martyr is ending his life for mine
The Czar is a four-part epic song by Mastodon, with each section representing a different part of the story. Usurper is the first part, in which the main character (presumably the titular Czar) is being warned to run away from assassins. The Czar's position as a usurper has been exposed, and Tsarina (the Czar's wife) has warned him of the danger. The second section, Escape, is a frenzied escape sequence, with the Czar fighting off enemies while trying to escape. The Czar is being hunted and has to ride "the tides of blood" to escape.
The next section, Martyr, suggests that the Czar has sacrificed himself to save others. It's unclear who the "martyr" is, but the lyrics suggest that the Czar has given up his life so that others may live. The final section, Spiral, is a psychedelic journey into the afterlife. The Czar has left the material world behind and is now seeing "constellations" where he sees the face of the person who died for his life.
The song's narrative is somewhat opaque and open to interpretation, but it's clear that the story is a metaphor for something deeper. The Czar is possibly a symbol for leadership, and the different parts of the story represent the different aspects of power and sacrifice.
Line by Line Meaning
Don't stay, run away
Flee immediately
He has ordered assassination
The Czar wants you killed
The henchmen are gathered and waiting
Assassins are ready to strike
Your role as usurper is found out
Your attempt to overthrow the Czar is discovered
Tsarina has warned of the danger
The Czar's wife has alerted you to the threat
It's your own fault
You brought this upon yourself
That is what we wanted
We desired this outcome
This is where we lay
Here is where our plan takes hold
By the light of the moon
Under the cover of night
You must escape into the deep black of the night
You must flee under the cover of darkness
Fight the devil inside
Overcome your inner demons
Enemies poison deep within my second sight
I see danger lurking ahead
Wasting valuable time
Every moment counts
Ride the tides of blood
Succumb to the violence around you
Illumination
Sudden understanding
Beauties sudden hand
A moment of grace
Shattered crown
The end of a reign
Stretching arms up high
Reaching for the skies
We're on our way now
Moving towards our goal
Leave the Czar to die
Abandon the doomed leader
Spiraling up through the crack in the sky
Ascending to a higher plane of existence
Leaving material world behind
Transcending physical reality
I see your face in constellations
Glimpsing a loved one in the heavens
The martyr is ending his life for mine
Someone is sacrificing themselves for me
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