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[Creamium]

Mastodon is an American heavy metal band from Atlanta, Georgia. Mastodon was formed on January 13, 2000 after drummer Brann Dailor and guitarist Bill Kelliher had moved to Atlanta from Victor, New York and met bassist/singer Troy Sanders and guitarist/singer Brent Hinds at a High on Fire show.

Their style has evolved over the years from their earliest work on Remission right through to The Hunter. The band is known for their unique "sludgy" sound, mixing clean and distortion-heavy instrumental work and often involving intricate instrumental passages and use of vocal harmonies.

Brann, Bill, Brent & Troy.

They have put out 5 incredible albums that showcase their diversity. They all have a distinct sound and feel to them, no two albums sound alike. There's no record I'm anticipating more than their new one next year, simply because I have no idea what they'll throw at me.

Because of their experimental and diverse nature, Mastodon is a band I'd easily recommend to people not into metal. There's a big chance one of the albums listed here has something for you.
So for educational purposes, I'll break down each album with some standout tracks. The first four albums have an elemental thing going on: fire, water, earth and aether respectively. Try some links out, The Hunter is the most accessible of the lot.

Remission

Their first and without a doubt heaviest record. A lot of fans still consider this their best.

March of the Fire Ants (Crushing and massive. A live highlight. Still one of the best Mastodon songs)
Workhorse
Mother Puncher (aptly named)

Leviathan

The prime whalecore album. Their most critically acclaimed record. It has a relentless pace, but maintains variety and has some of their best riffs. A true classic.

Blood and Thunder
Seabeast
Iron Tusk (slays live)
Megalodon (Couldn't believe my ears when I heard this for the first time. Incredible track)

There are remarkable no-they-didn't, yes-they-did changes littering Leviathan like chum in shark territory. "Megalodon" moves from angular post-hardcore to chugging boogie thrash with deceptive ease, turning from one to the other with a Southern rawk guitar lick

Blood Mountain

Their most experimental album and therefore takes some time to get into. Some notable guest stars here, like Josh Homme, Neurosis' Scott Kelly and Cedric from The Mars Volta.

Blood Mountain is everything fans both hoped for and feared. Mastodon has dug even deeper in its foray into prog metal, but without losing an ounce of their power, literacy, or willingness to indulge in hardcore punk, doom, and death metal.

Crystal Skull
Sleeping Giant
Colony of Birchmen

Crack the Skye

Oooh boy. Crack the Skye... is something else. From the first seconds of Oblivion to The Last Baron, this is an unforgettable ride. Always amazes me that this album is 50 minutes long. Hands down my favorite Mastodon album.

The interesting factor in both songs [Czar and Last Baron] is that despite their length, they don't contain any long instrumental passages that is found in typical Progressive music as vocal deliveries are often present throughout, which make the songs feel shorter during the listening experience.

Highlights: the entire thing


The Hunter

The band grew tired of the proggy sound of CtS, and went back to the riff-heavy nature of Leviathan, albeit more accessible. A great starting point for new listeners. This is the album that got me into Mastodon, but after exploring their other material, it's my least favorite. Still has some great tracks though. 'Creature Lives' is unfortunate, but luckily it's followed by the stellar Spectrelight, harkening back to the days of Remission/Leviathan.

Black Tongue
Curl of the Burl
Spectrelight
The Ruiner(1:40 hell yes)
All the Heavy Lifting


Once More 'Round The Sun

Many of the tracks on Once More 'Round the Sun dig into the band's seemingly inexhaustible bag of monstrous riffs and wonderfully fractured motifs. That said, as a collective, they unapologetically explore the more polished and accessible songwriting and performing craft found on The Hunter.

The title of their newest albums is indeed apt: Mastodon takes you on a tour of their discography to date, with songs that are reminiscent of all their previous albums. It's even more accessible than The Hunter and on some songs (The Motherload, Ember City) even poppy.

High Road
The Motherload
Aunt Lisa

I'd rank the albums: Crack the Skye > Leviathan > Remission > Blood Mountain > The Hunter > Once More 'Round The Sun


'Live at Brixton' is a recording of their biggest live show yet. A trailer

 

[Diseased Yak]

I very much love them. Best band on earth? No. That honor goes to Electric Wizard or Meshuggah. Good job, though. Fantastic band.

 

[Demon Ice]

Best drummer on the planet. Dailor is absolutely nuts, March of the Fireants is unreal.

Their latest album was excellent, but for me nothing will ever top Crack the Skye. I don't think I've ever listened to any other album start to finish so many times. Sublime.

OP you gotta put All The Heavy Lifting as a highlight for The Hunter, phenomenal track.

 

[jerry1594]

I very much love them. Best band on earth? No. That honor goes to Electric Wizard or Meshuggah.

Not in a million years.

Love this band, Crack the Skye was like audial crack shot straight into my brain. Loved it so much. All their previous albums are good to great, but this one was on a whole nother level. I only heard a couple tracks off of The Hunter but I didn't like them very much.

 

[CheesecakeRecipe]

I very much love them. Best band on earth? No. That honor goes to Electric Wizard or Meshuggah. Good job, though. Fantastic band.

Not quite, but excellent choice.

Blood Mountain is one of my favorites, but Crack the Skye has some fucking unforgettaable moments.

The Last Baron says hello.

 

[Demon Ice]

I highly, highly recommend everyone pick up their live DVD where they play the entirety of Crack the Skye + a few older tracks. It's incredible.

 

[PK Strawstorm]

Hung out with them at a bar after a show at the Rave in Milwaukee. Chatted a bit with the drummer, asking him questions like "Whoa how'd you get so good??" and saying shit like "I've drummed your songs in Rock Band!" and "I just bought a real drum set!" Given my drunk banality, he could not have been a nicer guy.

 

[Lazyslob]

Still haven't listened to The Hunter.

 

[J-Roderton]

FEED THE NEEDLES AS THEY FALL

 

[jerry1594]

Quintessence has to be their best song. So good.

 

[DrFaustPhD]

Excellent band, but Meshuggah has my heart when it comes to best metal band.

 

[wenis]

mother puncher makes me want to punch your mother.

 

[televator]

Not a fan of the heavy stuff, but man that cover art is glorious stuff!

 

[ImLibo]

Fuck. Yes. Love mastodon. Hopefully they release more details about their next album soon

 

[Lionheart1827]

Love Mastodon. The Hunter was one of the most listened to albums in the past 2 years for me.

 

[Skiptastic]

Very solid band.

Fun story: I saw them live at Vegoose in Las Vegas. I was dressed as the millionaire from Gilligans Island. There weren't many people so I was a row back from the front. The guys were tuning up their guitars. The lead singer says, "We're gonna sing something off our album Leviathan!" I yell out, "Megalodon!" He gets crazy eyes, looks down at me, and yells, "What did you say?" I yell back, "LEVIATHAN!" He yells back at me, "YOU GOT IT SAILOR!" And then they go on to rock our brains.

It was pretty fucking badass.

 

[Suite Pee]

I grew to like Crack the Skye (and, indeed, more than Blood Mountain), but The Hunter isn't very enjoyable for me. The songs are all kind of bland and the production reinforces that.

Remission and Leviathan are amazing, though.

Also: DON'T TALK, WATCH

Hung out with them at a bar after a show at the Rave in Milwaukee. Chatted a bit with the drummer, asking him questions like "Whoa how'd you get so good??" and saying shit like "I've drummed your songs in Rock Band!" and "I just bought a real drum set!" Given my drunk banality, he could not have been a nicer guy.

Which one was that? I know I've seen them a few times at the Rave, but I can only remember the Dethklok tour and the Slayer '06 show.

 

[mariachi507]

I highly, highly recommend everyone pick up their live DVD where they play the entirety of Crack the Skye + a few older tracks. It's incredible.

I saw one of their shows on that tour, twas incredible.

I love how one minute they be heavy as hell, then the next they can hit you right in the feels.

Pendulous Skin

 

[jyoung188]

I saw them with Dethklok a few years ago and they kicked ass.

 

[ЯAW]

First four albums are amazing stuff! Especially Leviathan. Hunter was kinda bland and not heavy enough for my taste. I still think they are terrible band to see live.

 

[Creamium]

OP you gotta put All The Heavy Lifting as a highlight for The Hunter, phenomenal track.

Yeah it's pretty good, added

I very much love them. Best band on earth? No. That honor goes to Electric Wizard or Meshuggah. Good job, though. Fantastic band.

Recently got into Electric Wizard. Yeah, they're awesome

The weight of these two almost brings the table down.

 

[Spwn]

Saw Mastodon live twice during the Leviathan days when they were playing as the opening act for Iron Maiden. I guess this was in 2005. Excellent live band, but haven't paid any real attention to their more recent stuff.

 

[beyond_death]

Solid band. I heard March of the Fire Ants back when I was just getting into heavier music and it kicked my ass.

 

[JordoftheDead]

Great OP.

I love Mastodon. I used to listen to heaps of metal and played in metal bands in my teens and early twenties. I don't listen to as much metal these days, but love that the 'Don mix metal with the musicality of the 70's hard rock scene (amongst other things).

I also love that they are slightly self-aware and tongue in cheek, which is why I think they appeal to people with eclectic tastes that wouldn't usually class themselves as metal fans.

Also, Leviathan is their best cover and The Hunter is vastly under-rated.

 

[ЯAW]

Yeah it's pretty good, added



Recently got into Electric Wizard. Yeah, they're awesome


The weight of these two almost brings the table down.

Why didn't I know about Electric Wizard before? I'm listening some of stuff from youtube and it's great!

 

[PK Strawstorm]

Which one was that? I know I've seen them a few times at the Rave, but I can only remember the Dethklok tour and the Slayer '06 show.

Umm Fall 2011 I think? I actually bartend at the Rave so it all runs together. I hope you are enjoying your $9 beers, though... (it's not my fault)

 

[LakeEarth]

I too believe this. Crack The Skye is a masterpiece.

 

[RangerX]

While i don't think they're the best band on earth thy are one of my favourite bands. I love all their albums but Leviathan and blood mountain are still my favourites. I saw them live twice in Dublin. Once supporting tool and then headlining. Excellant shows although they were better supporting tool i thought.

 

[Enzom21]

They also have the best t-shirt.

 

[OnettHansen]

I very much love them. Best band on earth? No. That honor goes to Electric Wizard or Meshuggah. Good job, though. Fantastic band.

Meshuggah I wouldn't say so, Electric Wizard are fantastic though.

Mastadon are brilliant, albeit I'm not as big a fan of the Hunter as their other albums.

 

[Cow Mengde]

Talk about a bait and switch. You know how much you just made PaleoGAF sad?

 

[Dylan]

I stopped listening after Blood Mountain, even though I liked that record, I just didn't get as excited as I did for the previous records.

 

[Broder Salsa]

Met all of them except Troy just when they were about to make it big some years ago at a Q&A at a festival, luckily for us only about 20 people decided to go, were real nice and delivered with a great concert later, seen them twice more since then and they were also pretty damn good shows. Their latest albums have been so so though imo, just not very into them. Also randomly got into a talk with their former tour manager a few weeks back who was with another band, was telling some baaaad stories about Brent, dude sounds like he should lay off the drugs for a while. Basically being their tour manager is 95% babysitting him. :lol

 

[CheesecakeRecipe]

The weight of these two almost brings the table down.

Mmmm, two of the heaviest slabs ever forged in the pits of doom. Excellent pair, there.

 

[Suite Pee]

They also have the best t-shirt.

I own this shirt. It looks even better in person.

 

[Colonel Nasty]

Ghost of Karelia is my favorite song

I saw them at a Myspace (LOLZ) secret show right after Crack the Skye came out. It was amazing. It was at small bar and they played some hits with all of Crack the Skye. Instantly became one of my favorite bands after that.

 

[Dom Brunt]

Met all of them except Troy just when they were about to make it big some years ago at a Q&A at a festival, luckily for us only about 20 people decided to go, were real nice and delivered with a great concert later, seen them twice more since then and they were also pretty damn good shows. Their latest albums have been so so though imo, just not very into them. Also randomly got into a talk with their former tour manager a few weeks back who was with another band, was telling some baaaad stories about Brent, dude sounds like he should lay off the drugs for a while. Basically being their tour manager is 95% babysitting him. :lol

I met them back in 2004 and again in 2005 and got invited to their afterparty, I had the pleasure of babysitting Brent for a while that night lol. Dude was fucking out of it. It's no surprise then that his live performances, and especially his vocals, have been steadily declining since then. They were definitely at their best live back then, I've seen them multiple times over the years and watching Brent get more weird every time and now with the super boring and unenergetic songs off The Hunter I'm missing their older performances more and more. Oh well, dudes get old. And the drugs don't help... Brent needs to stop even trying to sing live anymore.

I hope their new album will be good, but I doubt they'll ever be able to top their first two albums which imo were fucking amazing. They can't get that rawness back.

 

[Ludovico]

A concept album about Ahab and his hunt for the white whale? YES.

Leviathan and Crack the Skye are my tune out albums for heavy work days.

 

[teruterubozu]

I stopped listening after Blood Mountain, even though I liked that record, I just didn't get as excited as I did for the previous records.

Yeah same here. I didn't even know about this new album The Hunter. Sounds kinda commercial going thru these links.

 

[Dom Brunt]

Yeah same here. I didn't even know about this new album The Hunter. Sounds kinda commercial going thru these links.

Heh yeah, "kinda". Man some people actually only like that album and dislike or haven't even heard the older ones, all of them people who hadn't heard of Mastodon before and all act like super fucking douches at their gigs. The new (largely teenage, sorry non-douchey teenagers) crowd at their gigs is killing me, before The Hunter came out the crowd was always older and less assholey, well here anyway. The last three times I saw them half of the crowd were fucking obnoxious. I'm getting too old for this shit, clearly

 

[delta25]

Curiosity lead me into this thread because I've been looking for some new music, and I think I've found it. These guys are fucking awesome. Its like a mix between tool, Metallica, and Queens.

Thanks OP

 

[Kaladin]

Best Mastodon?

Best Mastodon.

I'm looking forward to the new stuff. Hope it goes back to the Crack The Skye / Leviathon style over The Hunter....which I wasn't a fan of.

Looking forward to the new live set. I saw them do Crack The Skye live 3 times.

 

[Andrew Korenchkin]

Remission is absolutely a Top 10 Favorite Metal album for me. Leviathan was excellent, although I haven't worked my way through anything else they did.

 

[Yen]

Funny coincidence this thread pops up while I'm listening to The Hunter. Have never listened to any other albums of theirs, but this is fantastic.

 

[ClassyPenguin]

Obligatory:

=

 

[Andrew Korenchkin]

Obligatory:

=

This is so cool.

 

[ClassyPenguin]

And true

And now I am listening to Leviathan.

 

[Revenant]

Obligatory:

=

I don't think I've ever seen this before :lol :lol :lol


as for Mastodon I think Crack The Skye may be my favorite, just a strange, trippy album. Blood Mountain is pretty amazing as well though. Love the song colony of birchmen with Dat Joshua Homme on guest vocals.

 

[CheesecakeRecipe]

I really need to get a print of the expanded Leviathan art to stick on the little back platform under my rear window. Named my 97 Buick LeSabre the White Whale after the album.

 

[Andrew Korenchkin]

as for Mastodon I think Crack The Skye may be my favorite, just a strange, trippy album. Blood Mountain is pretty amazing as well though. Love the song colony of birchmen with Dat Joshua Homme on guest vocals.

I've always found Remission to their best, as the composition and songwriting is absolutely stellar. But I've still yet to work my way through all of their later material.