Mastodon
Biography
Mastodon is an American metal band from Atlanta, Georgia, formed in 2000. The group is composed of Troy Sanders (bass/vocals), Bill Kelliher (rhythm guitar/backing vocals), and Brann Dailor (drums/vocals). The bands lead guitarist was Brent Hinds from 1999-2025. Mastodon has released seven studio albums, as well as a number of other releases. The bands 2002 debut album, Remission, garnered significant critical acclaim for its unique sound. Mastodons 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 bands 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. Mastodons 2014 album, Once More Round the Sun, peaked at No. 6 on the Billboard 200 chart and features the bands third Grammy-nominated song, "High Road". The bands seventh album, Emperor of Sand, was released on March 31, 2017, and features the bands 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 albums opening track, "Sultans Curse", earned the band their first Grammy award. Emperor of Sand was the bands first album to receive a Grammy nomination; it was nominated for Best Rock Album.
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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 couldnt 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 Hawks Underground). On each of Mastodons 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 bands album art and backdrops up to 2011. The artwork for the bands 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. "Its going to be a work of art for sure. Its going to be very eye-opening", said bassist Troy Sanders before the albums release. "Very striking. Its from another dimension, and a lot of our music is geared toward that idea—taking you to another planet on songs. Its out there, and I think its 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) Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.
Biography text from Last.fm, available under CC BY-SA.
