About Mastodon
Mastodon is an American heavy metal band from Atlanta, Georgia. Formed in 2000, the band's lineup of Troy Sanders , Brent Hinds , Bill Kelliher and Brann Dailor has remained unchanged since 2001. Mastodon has released eight studio albums, as well as a number of other releases. The band's 2002 debut album, Remission, garnered significant critical acclaim for its unique sound. Mastodon's second full-length release, Leviathan, is a concept album based on the novel Moby-Dick by Herman Melville. Three magazines awarded the record "Album of the Year" in 2004: Revolver, Kerrang! and Terrorizer.
The song "Colony of Birchmen" from the band's third album , 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 follow-up single, "Steambreather", peaked at No. 18 on the same chart in October 2017. The album's opening track, "Sultan's Curse", earned the band its 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's most recent album, Hushed and Grim, was released in 2021.
Mastodon was formed on January 13, 2000, after drummer Brann Dailor and guitarist Bill Kelliher moved from their home state of New York to Atlanta, Georgia, and met bassist Troy Sanders and guitarist Brent Hinds at a High on Fire show. Dailor and Kelliher previously played in Lethargy and had performed on the Today Is the Day album In the Eyes of God, while Sanders and Hinds had played together in a band called Four Hour Fogger. The four men 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 began working on music together shortly thereafter. In a 2009 interview, 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 nine-song demo in June 2000, which featured Eric Saner on vocals, and they sold it to fans at early shows. After just a few months, Saner left the band for personal reasons, and the songs from 9 Song Demo were re-recorded with vocals from Hinds and Sanders. In 2001, Reptilian Records released a 7" picture disc containing three of the re-recorded tracks. That same year, Mastodon landed a record deal with Relapse Records, and five more of the re-recorded songs were released as the Lifesblood EP.
Mastodon's first studio album, Remission, was released on May 28, 2002. It featured the song "Crusher/Destroyer" and the band's first single, "March of the Fire Ants". Coinciding with a music video for "March of the Fire Ants", a deluxe edition of Remission was released in October 2003. This version of the album contained a cover of the Thin Lizzy song "Emerald" and a bonus DVD featuring a professionally filmed live set recorded at The Masquerade in Atlanta.
The band's second full-length album, Leviathan, was released in 2004; it's a concept album loosely based on Herman Melville's novel Moby-Dick. The band received critical acclaim for Leviathan and the record was named album of the year by Kerrang! and Terrorizer. "Blood and Thunder", which featured Clutch vocalist Neil Fallon, was chosen as one of the most important recordings of the decade by National Public Radio in November 2009; National Public radio coverage described the entire album as epitomizing "a phenomenal decade for metal". Leviathan also ranked second in a list by Metal Hammer of the best albums of 2004.
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