Latest Release
- SEP 12, 2024
- 1 Song
- Leviathan · 2004
- Floods of Triton - Single · 2024
- Emperor of Sand · 2017
- Once More 'Round the Sun · 2014
- Crack the Skye (Deluxe Version) · 2009
- Emperor of Sand · 2017
- Emperor of Sand · 2017
- Hushed and Grim · 2021
- Once More 'Round the Sun · 2014
- Hushed and Grim · 2021
Essential Albums
- With their customary cross-breeding of rock genres, the Georgians reflect on mortality and serious illness via the story of a condemned man wandering the desert. So far, so prog. Indeed, “Jaguar God” spends eight minutes running the gamut from folk-rock and psychedelic abandon to iron-plated riffs and acrobatic fretwork. This deeply emotional record isn’t a wholesale return to the intricate epics of 2009’s Crack the Skye, though: the punchy hard rock of “Show Yourself” and the melodic sludge of “Steambreather” deliver instant, fun-sized thrills.
- Mastodon have shown a restless and inventive creative energy since they emerged in the early ‘00s, progressing from the sludgy, riff-driven metal of their debut to the jagged, jazz-inflected shards of 2011’s The Hunter. While the band's elaborate conceptual albums have been inspired by everything from Moby Dick to Rasputin, their sixth studio endeavor—Once More ‘Round the Sun—doesn’t revolve around a central narrative theme. Instead, the album’s focused and far-reaching songs stand on their own merits. The most powerful moments on Once More ‘Round the Sun are the most epic: like the chorus of "The Motherload” (sung by drummer Brann Dailor) and the soaring refrain of “High Road." The thrashing, turn-on-a-dime complexity of a tune like “Chimes at Midnight,” as well as the blistering guitar solo of “Halloween” are forceful reminders of Mastodon’s impressive ability to bridge metal’s heavy past with the genre’s inspiring future.
- Mastodon's punishing second album doubles as a concept LP inspired by Herman Melville's allegorical novel Moby-Dick. As it turns out, Ahab's single-minded fixation with killing the white whale is perfect fodder for the band's relentless sonic barrage. Guttural vocal growls and shape-shifting drums provide the backbone for slabs of grinding fret calisthenics ("Blood and Thunder"), sludgy metal ("Iron Tusk"), and lilting prog ("Seabeast"). Only the closing instrumental, "Joseph Merrick"—a chilly acoustic meditation with grimy organ echoes—offers a tranquil respite from the storm.
Albums
- 2011
- 2021
- 2021
- 2020
- 2018
- 2017
Artist Playlists
- This Georgia unit unlocked the creative possibilities of metal.
- The sludgy ragers unleash trippy sci-fi, horror, and psychedelia.
- The 2000s metal band was built on prog and classic rock.
- Listen to the hits performed on the blockbuster tour.
Live Albums
More To Hear
- An hour of rock, metal, and punk tunes, plus some SOB x RBE.
About Mastodon
Mastodon is an Atlanta-based heavy metal band known for intricate arrangements and elaborate concept albums, such as 2004’s Moby-Dick-inspired Leviathan. ∙ In 2006, the band’s third LP, Blood Mountain, ranked at No. 9 on Rolling Stone’s top 50 albums of the year. ∙ They performed the hard-rock hit “Colony of Birchmen” with Queens of the Stone Age’s Josh Homme at the 2007 MTV Video Music Awards. ∙ Mastodon composed theme music for the Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film for Theaters and appeared in the 2007 movie as animated snack food. ∙ Beginning with 2011’s The Hunter, every one of their full-length studio albums has reached the Top 10 of the Billboard 200 chart. ∙ The band’s prog-influenced 2017 song “Sultan’s Curse” won a Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance—their first win after multiple nominations. ∙ The ferocious riff-fest “Show Yourself” is their highest-charting hit to date, reaching No. 4 on Billboard’s Mainstream Rock Songs chart in 2017.
- ORIGIN
- Atlanta, GA, United States
- FORMED
- 1999
- GENRE
- Metal