Mastodon

Mastodon
Mastodon circa 2014.
Background information
Origin	Atlanta, Georgia, USA
Genres	Sludge Metal, Progressive Metal, Stoner Rock, Alternative Rock, Rock and Roll
Years active	2000 - Present
Labels	Relapse, Reprise, Roadrunner, Warner Bros.
Associated acts	Neurosis, Shrinebuilder, Killer Be Killed, Social Infestation, Gone Is Gone, Four Hour Fogger, Knuckle, Puaka Balaca, Evisceration, Lethargy, Fiend Without a Face, Gaylord, Today Is The Day, Giraffe Tongue Orchestra, Legend of the Seagullmen, The Blood Vessels, West End Motel, Primate, Butterslax, Girdle
Website	Mastodon Rocks

Mastodon are a progressive rock/metal band from Atlanta, Georgia, formed in 2000 and composed of bassist Troy Sanders, guitarists Brent Hinds and Bill Kelliher, and drummer Brann Dailor. Their musical style features progressive concepts and unique instrumentation though their sound early on bore a resemblance to sludge metal. All four members participate in vocals, creating a unique blend of singing styles and voices. The band is also known for trying to constantly change their sound to avoid "writing the same album twice".

Since their inception Mastodon have released seven studio albums, with their debut album Remission (2002) garnering critical acclaim and over time building more of a fanbase as their sound adapted over time with 2011's The Hunter garnering commercial success and widening their audience. The band has made appearances with a wide range of other medias (Whether acting or contributing music) such as Aqua Teen Hunger Force, Tony Hawk's American Wasteland, Monsters University and Game of Thrones to name a few.

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.

History

Call of The Mastodon: Formation and Relapse Years (2000 - 2005)

Mastodon was formed on 13 January 2000, after drummer Brann Dailor and guitarist Bill Kelliher moved to Atlanta from Victor, New York. At the time Brent Hinds and Troy Sanders were in a band known as Four Hour Fogger. Four Hour Fogger would open for High on Fire in late 1999 at a basement show in Atlanta, leading to the four members of the band meeting. They discovered they had a mutual appreciation of sludge metal bands Melvins and Neurosis, heavy metal legends Iron Maiden, and 1970s hard rock band 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".

In an interview with Decibel, Matt Pike of High on Fire recalls the fateful night the members of Mastodon would meet:

“	“Troy [Sanders] and Brent [Hinds] were in Four Hour Fogger, and Brann [Dailor] and Bill [Kelliher] just happened to come to the show. Brent gave me mescaline the first time I had met him and we spent the whole night tripping balls. Next thing I knew, those dudes had an album out together.”	”
	— Matt Pike,

Mastodon initially had started as a quintet, with Eric Saner being the sole vocalist. The band recorded a nine-song self-titled demo in 2000, featuring Eric Saner on vocals. However, 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 (2001's Slick Leg, Mastodon landed a record deal with Relapse Records in 2001. Mastodon released the EP Lifesblood on 18 September 2001 as the now-quartet began to perform more shows, now with Sanders and Hinds sharing vocal duties. The band would begin to perform more be it in Georgia or in the states surrounding, eventually releasing their debut album Remission on 28 May 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, along with a theme of the elements (Remission's theme being "Fire") Mastodon would begin to tour more frequently, supporting Avenged Sevenfold and The Dillinger Escape Plan along with participating in the 2003 edition of the Relapse Contamination Festival and its subsequent tour. Mastodon would also tour Europe for the first time in 2003 with High on Fire.

Mastodon's distinctive mix of progressive rock and sludge metal would garner them significant praise as work would begin on a second record, produced by Matt Boyles (ISIS, Botch). Mastodon would release their second album entitled Leviathan on 31 August 2004 to widespread critical acclaim. It is a concept album loosely based on Herman Melville's novel Moby-Dick. The album's theme would also take the elemental theme of "Water" while Leviathan marked the beginning of a long-standing tradition of the band in Neurosis guitarist/vocalist Scott Kelly making a guest appearance (In regards to "Leviathan" he appears on "Aqua Dementia".). With significant critical acclaim Leviathan would be named record of the year by Kerrang!, Terrorizer and Revolver. Metalsucks would retroactively place it at #1 on their "21 Best Albums of the 21st Century So Far" in 2009. "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, and that the entire album epitomizes " a phenomenal decade for metal".

Mastodon would tour heavily in support of Leviathan, appearing on OzzFest and touring the world for headlining dates, sharing the stage with Dozer, Cult of Luna and Converge just to scratch the surface. Overall between shows in North America, Europe and Japan, Mastodon would perform well over 250 shows in 2004 and 2005 supporting the album. On 7 February 2006 the band would release a compilation album entitled Call of The Mastodon, a re-mastered and edited collection of the band's early songs along with a DVD retrospective entitled The Workhorse Chronicles on 21 February 2006. Mastodon would also notably record a take on the Metallica song "Orion" for a tribute album to "Master of Puppets" curated by Kerrang!.

Quintessence: Signing to Reprise, Blood Mountain and Crack The Skye (2006 - 2010)

Call of The Mastodon and The Workhorse Chronicles would prove to be the final two releases in the band's tenure with Relapse as they would sign to Warner Music Group, as announced in the Summer of 2005. By April 2006 work had been finished on a third studio album. Brann Dailor would speak about the band's changing and shifting sound in regards to this third studio album:

“	"It's hard to be inside something and talk to people about it. And it's kind of a cliché that the people in the band think that what they're working on at the moment is the best stuff they've ever done. But I guess that's the way that we feel. It's just more intense, more — I mean I like everything we've ever done. But at the moment, I'm really digging on this stuff. It's hard for me to put into words what's different about it. It's just better. I hope we can start a prog revolution, because the timing's right. You've got a Tool record that's coming out, an Isis record that's coming out, a Mars Volta record that's coming out, a Mastodon record that's coming out, and I hope that converges into something really awesome for music where it doesn't become pop, but there's a little more sharing of the pie. It would be cool if you had kids in their bedrooms not trying to learn Linkin Park songs, but they're trying to learn Mastodon songs. It's cool music that's honest and from the heart, and it's technically challenging."	”
	— Brann Dailor, MTV

Working now with Warner Bros. Music and Reprise Records, Blood Mountain would be released on 12 September 2006 to high critical praise. At Metacritic, which assigns a rating out of 100 based on reviews from mainstream critics, the album has received a score of 82, based on 24 reviews. Total Guitar magazine voted it Number One album of 2006, and magazines such as Metal Hammer and Kerrang! thought it is every bit as good as the band's previous album Leviathan, if not better. The album has also charted in many websites and magazines 2006 countdowns. Blood Mountain was voted the best album of 2006 in the UK Metal Hammer magazine end-of year polls, as well as top in Total Guitar magazine's top 50 albums of 2006. It was also rated the 17th greatest metal album of all time by a countdown recently carried out by gaming website IGN. Blood Mountain would also be nominated for a Grammy Award for "Best Metal Performance" in 2007. By the end of the decade the album had sold over 150,000 copies, peaking at 32 on the Billboard 200 upon initial release.

Blood Mountain notably features cleaner, more melodic vocals in comparison to prior releases along with a further push towards progressive rock. Scott Kelly, Josh Homme and Cedric Bixler-Zavala all contribute guest vocals to the record. Throughout 2006 the band would participate in the Unholy Alliance Tour with Slipknot, Slayer and Lamb of God. Along with this major tour the band would tour heavily with some headlining dates in support of Blood Mountain and close out the year supporting Tool on the first leg of their European tour in support of 10,000 Days. Just days before embarking on that European tour, Mastodon would perform "Colony of Birchmen" on NBC's "Late Night with Conan O'Brien on 1 November, their first appearance on network television to a viewing audience of 2.4 million. 2007 would see the band contributing the song "Cut You Up With a Linoleum Knife" for the Aqua Teen Hunger Force movie and an equally aggressive touring cycle in support of Blood Mountain, including the band's first ever shows in Australia (supporting Slayer) and a co-headlining tour with Against Me!. Mastodon would also play a host of major festivals including Hove Festival in Norway, the main stage of Download, Dubai Desert Rock Festival Pitchfork Music Festival among supporting dates with Metallica on their "Sick of The Studio" tour. Mastodon would also perform "Colony of Birchmen" at the 2007 MTV Video Music Awards with Josh Homme. After the televised performance it would be revealed that Brent Hinds was reported to have suffered a severe head injury and was hospitalized. It would later be revealed that an inebriated Hinds had started a fight with System of a Down bassist Shavo Odadjian and Achozen vocalist William Hudson.

2008 would see the band rejoining Slayer for the third chapter of the Unholy Alliance Tour. and participating in the 2008 edition of the Rockstar Energy Mayhem Festival. Notably in late 2008 the band would perform briefly as a trio without Kelliher as he had been hospitalized but would rejoin his bandmates in time for their appearance at All Tomorrow's Parties. Work would also begin on a fourth studio album between April and September that year in Atlanta with producer Brendan O'Brien, with the new album announced by the end of 2008. On 24 March 2009 the band's fourth studio album Crack The Skye would be released, peaking at 12 on the Billboard 200 and selling over 200,000 copies by September 2010, marking it as one of their highest selling albums to date. Crack The Skye would mark a further progressive shift in the band's ever-evolving sound, Brann Dailor describing the album as "more focused" while the band themselves drew inspiration from frequent listens of King Crimson's "In The Court of The Crimson King" and Pink Floyd's "Animals". Crack The Skye attained major critical praise not unlike previous records. Crack the Skye was named amongst the most well received albums of 2009 by numerous music publications. Classic Rock Magazine placed it a #3 of its 'Top Albums of 2009', while Kerrang! place it at #4 in its 'Top Albums of 2009'. Time Magazine placed "Crack the Skye" at #3 on its "Top 10 Albums of 2009" list and Rock Sound named it their Album of the Year for 2009. In addition, Spin Magazine listed it as the 17th best album of the year. Rhapsody called it the 7th best album of 2009. The album was also voted the #1 Album of 2009 by Metal Hammer's critics and contributors. The album was honored with a 2009 Metal Storm Award for Best Alternative Metal Album.

Like previous albums Mastodon would tour heavily in support of Crack The Skye. Mastodon was a headliner at the Scion RockFestest on 28 February 2009, performing a set containing three tracks from Crack the Skye, the first time these songs were played since being finalized and recorded. On 15 May 2009, Mastodon performed a shortened version of "Oblivion" on the Late Show with David Letterman. Mastodon would support Metallica on one of the European legs for their World Magnetic Tour along with participating in a tour curated by Adult Swim alongside Dethklok, Converge and High on Fire. On 29 October 2009 the band performed "Divinations" on "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon". An EP for Oblivion saw release on 4 November 2009.

During the band's 2009 tour of Europe the band would be contacted by film director Jimmy Hayward, who expressed how much listening to Blood Mountain had helped his creative process while finishing a screenplay, and he offered Mastodon a chance to score the film he had been working on in Jonah Hex, based on the DC comic book character. In an interview with Paste Magazine, Troy Sanders stated that Hayward "called us out of the blue as a fan. It was the most beautiful, authentic way to collaborate." Mastodon used scenes from the film as inspiration during the writing and recording process, and the instrumental soundtrack, Jonah Hex: Revenge Gets Ugly EP, was released on 29 June 2010, through Reprise Records.

2010 would see Mastodon further touring around the world supporting Crack The Skye, which would include the band's first shows in South America supporting Metallica, an appearance at Big Day Out in Australia and the BlackDiamondSkye tour with Alice in Chains and Deftones (A portmanteau of the three bands' latest albums in Black Gives Way To Blue, Diamond Eyes and Crack The Skye.). However one tour of Europe would be cancelled due to Bill Kelliher suffering from pancreatitis and needing to take time off to recover.

All the Heavy Lifting: The Hunter and Once More 'Round the Sun (2011 - 2015)

On 8 February 2011 it would be announced that a new live album by Mastodon entitled Live at The Aragon would be released on 15 March 2011. This performance, featuring the band performing all of Crack The Skye amid other classics was recorded at the Aragon Ballroom in Chicago on 19 October 2009. Throughout May and June the band would begin work recording their fifth studio album, followed by an extensive European tour as further details would be revealed. On 28 June 2011 On June 28, 2011, Mastodon released through Adult Swim a leftover track from the Crack the Skye sessions called Deathbound.On 26 July 2011 it would be announced that the band's fifth album The Hunter was set for release on 27 September 2011, with the first single revealed to be Black Tongue. Another single in Curl of The Burl would be revealed a month later.

On 16 September the band released a 53-minute custom visualizer with all of the album tracks, 11 days prior to the release of The Hunter. In support of the album a North American headline tour was announced with Red Fang and The Dillinger Escape Plan. On 5 October 2011, they performed "Curl of the Burl" on the Late Show with David Letterman.

On 12 October a UK tour was announced that will run through February 2012 with fellow bands The Dillinger Escape Plan and Red Fang further supporting. They were at Later... with Jools Holland, where they performed "Black Tongue" and "Curl of the Burl". A seventeen-date European tour was announced that featured dates in Scandinavia, Germany, France, Spain, Belgium, Portugal, Italy, the Netherlands and Latvia. On 1 December "Curl of the Burl" was nominated for a Grammy Award in the category for Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance. It is the band's second nomination with the first being for "Colony of Birchmen" in 2007.

In regards to critical and fan reception The Hunter has been met with universal acclaim from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has received a score of 83, based on 29 reviews. It also performed strongly on the official charts, rising to number ten on the Billboard 200. Ultimately The Hunter would be named album of the year by Metal Hammer, Classic Rock Magazine and Rock Sound.

In January 2012 it was announced that Mastodon and Swedish prog metal band Opeth will tour together in a joint tour across North America. It was named the Heritage Hunter Tour after both bands latest releases.. The bands took turns in the headlining spot with support from Swedish rock/metal band Ghost. On 11 February 2012 the band performed a sold-out show at the Brixton Academy in London, the band's biggest headline show to that point. Dry Bone Valley was released on February 13 as the third single of the album. A music video for the song was also released.

On 21 April 2012, to commemorate Record Store Day, Mastodon released two separate vinyls. The first was a split 7" with Fesit titled Feistodon. Mastodon covered Feist's "A Commotion" and Feist covered Mastodon's "Black Tongue". The pair also released a one of a kind interactive, crossfading music video for the song 'A Commotion'. The second release was a cover of The Flaming Lips' "A Spoonful Weighs a Ton". The band spent the summer performing at festivals across Europe and South America in support. On 20 November 2013 Mastodon would unveil a new beer known as the Black Tongue Beer, in collaboration in Signature Brew out of London, England. A year prior the band also released a beer based on The Hunter.

On 20 November 2013 it would be revealed work would begin on a sixth studio album with Nick Raskulinecz in the production role. Brann Dailor would state the following about selecting Nick as producer: "He's a rock guy. He's a rocker. He likes to rock. He's done a bunch of our friends' records that sound great. I'm a fan of all the Deftones records he's done, all the Alice in Chains stuff, and he worked with Queens of the Stone Age on Songs For The Deaf." The band would write and record this sixth album throughout the winter, finishing the album by April. Troy Sanders would describe the album as "the next honest step in the Mastodon evolution". On 29 April 2014 a new single in "High Road" would be revealed along with the album cover (Designed by Oakland, CA artist Skinner), tracklist and release date (19 June 2014) for the band's sixth studio album Once More 'Round The Sun.

In terms of musical style Sanders would state that Once More 'Round The Sun would pick up where The Hunter had left off while Brann Dailor would describe the album as "massive and insane, lots of epic greatness. There will be lots of huge riffs and new directions. It's real weird, real math-y, real straightforward. It's up, down and all around.". The album sold around 34,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to land at position No. 6 on The Billboard 200 chart, making it the band's second consecutive top 10 debut after their previous album, The Hunter, peaked at No.10 after opening with 39,000 copies in 2011. In terms of critical response the album was well received though slightly less praised compared to prior albums, currently holding a score of 78 on Metacritic. Mastodon would perform nearly 100 shows in 2014 supporting Once More 'Round The Sun, alternating North American tours alongside Kvelertak and Gojira with extensive European touring. On 8 September 2014 the band would release a single in collaboration with Adult Swim entitled Atlanta, featuring Gibby Haynes (Butthole Surfers).

Mastodon would start off 2015 on an extensive tour of North America known as The Missing Link Tour with Clutch and Big Business. A tour of Europe was planned but ultimately canceled. On 18 January 2015 it was reported that work had already begun on a new Mastodon album as a picture of Hinds was shows with a 13-string pedal steel. The same report was later confirmed by Troy Sanders, who stated: "Every record that we do is gonna sound different, because we always want to evolve and create our own musical path. And every record will be different. We do not wanna write the same record twice." On 12 March 2015 Mastodon released a new song entitled White Walker, which appeared initially on a mixtape entitled Game of Thrones: Catch The Throne Vol. 2 to promote the fifth season of the hit HBO series. Dailor, Hinds and Kelliher also appeared in episode eight of the season as wildlings. Hinds and Kelliher also appeared in the season seven finale as wights among the White Walker army two years later.

Word to the Wise: Emperor of Sand, Cold Dark Place and 20th Anniversary (2016 - 2020)

Work would begin on Mastodon's seventh album when on 15 March 2016 the band announced that writing had begun on a new album. Recording would begin in the fall with that process finished by the end of October as announced on Halloween. On 23 November it was announced that the new album was complete. On 26 January 2017 details on the band's seventh album Emperor of Sand would be revealed, including a release date for 31 March 2017. Produced by Brendan O'Brien with a general concept of "a desert wanderer who has been handed a death sentence" and themes of mortality, Emperor of Sand sold around 43,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release, debuting at No. 7 on the Billboard 200, making it their best selling debut to date. The first single, Show Yourself, was released in February, and had peaked at number 4 on the US Billboard Mainstream Rock Songs chart in June, making it the band's highest charting song to date. The second single, Steambreather, peaked at number 18 on the same chart in October. The band would make appearances on Jimmy Kimmel Live! and Conan to promote the album in the Spring, followed by alternating North American and European tours in similar fashion to their touring cycle for the previous album, this time touring the US with Russian Circles and Eagles of Death Metal while also headlining Europe in between festival performances the likes of Graspop and Download. The band also notably was one of the headliners for Psycho Las Vegas that year and performed the inaugural Louder Than Life. Emperor of Sand would garner two Grammy nominations for the band: Best Rock Album and Best Metal Performance for "Sultan's Curse". While they lost out on the Rock nomination, "Sultan's Curse" did win the band their first Grammy.

On 22 September 2017 Mastodon would also surprise-release a new EP entitled Cold Dark Place, featuring three songs recorded during the recording sessions of 2014's Once More 'Round the Sun, while "Toe to Toes" was recorded during the recording sessions of 2017's Emperor of Sand. Brent Hinds would state that the inspiration behind some of the songs recorded for Cold Dark Place, which he wrote, were "inspired by a nasty breakup that he had endured. Describing the sound of the record, Hinds stated that "I wrote some pretty dark, beautiful, spooky, funky, ethereal, melancholy music, which also sounds like the Bee Gees a little bit." In 2018 Mastodon would tour North America with Primus and intend to tour with Dinosaur Jr. though the latter tour would be canceled. The cancellation would be due to the band's longtime manager Nick John passing away from pancreatic cancer on 8 September 2018.

By the end of the year Mastodon had once again begun work on new music, with studio photos revealed in December. The next year the band would embark on a tour of Europe with longtime guest Scott Kelly joining each night to perform the six songs he guested on. Notably the band performed a secret set at Blondies in London doing only the Scott Kelly songs. This would be to a crowd of fifty people and hosted by Kerrang!. On 15 April 2019 the band would unveil their tribute to departed tour manager Nick John in a cover of Led Zeppelin's "Stairway to Heaven" (As John was a huge Zeppelin fan) and release it as Stairway to Nick John. The band would follow up in participating in a co-headlining tour with Coheed and Cambria entitled The Unheavenly Skye Tour, notably performing the entirety of Crack The Skye in observance of the album's tenth anniversary.

While the band would be unable to tour for their 20th Anniversary they would however release a compilation entitled Medium Rarities on 11 September 2020, featuring compilation tracks, alternate takes and an unreleased song featuring Scott Kelly in "Fallen Torches". Peaking at #38 on Billboard's Top Rock Albums Chart, Medium Rarities would attain largely positive reviews. The band also notably contributed the song "Rufus Lives" to the soundtrack to Bill & Ted Face The Music.

Hushed and Grim (2021 - Present)

Mastodon would notably only perform once in 2020, at Westend Sound on 13 November. The band would also perform an acoustic showcase at Georgia Aquarium on 15 July 2021. Following headlining appearances at Psycho Las Vegas, Rocklahoma, Inkcarceration and Blue Ridge Rock Festival, Mastodon would unveil new artwork on their social medias.

On 10 September 2021, details on a new album in Hushed and Grim would be unveiled. Recorded at West End Sound and produced by David Bottrill, Hushed and Grim would feature fifteen songs and in turn would be Mastodon's first double album. With an initial single in "Pushing The Tides", Hushed and Grim would be set for a 29 October 2021 release. Two days later, a North American tour with Opeth would be announced.

Discography

Studio Albums

• Remission (2002, Relapse)
• Leviathan (2004, Relapse)
• Blood Mountain (2006, Warner Bros.; Reprise)
• Crack The Skye (2009, Reprise)
• The Hunter (2011, Reprise)
• Once More 'Round The Sun (2014, Reprise)
• Emperor of Sand (2017, Reprise)
• Hushed and Grim (2021, Reprise)

Demos and EPs

• Mastodon (Demo) (2000, Self-Released)
• Demo 2001 (Demo) (2001, Self-Released)
• Slick Leg (EP) (2001, Reptilian)
• Lifesblood (EP) (2001, Relapse)
• Oblivion EP (EP) (2009, Reprise)
• Jonah Hex: Revenge Gets Ugly EP (Soundtrack EP) (2010, Reprise)
• Crack the Skye - Abridged (EP) (2010, Reprise)
• Cold Dark Place (EP) (2017, Reprise)

Split Releases

• Mastodon / American Heritage (With American Heritage) (2003, Delboy)
• Mastodon / High on Fire (With High on Fire) (2003, Relapse)
• Mastodon / Avenged Sevenfold (With Avenged Sevenfold (2005, Warner Bros.)
• Mastodon / Deftones (With Deftones) (2007, Reprise)
• Just Got Paid (With ZZ Top) (2011, Warner Bros.)
• A Spoonful Weighs a Ton (With The Flaming Lips (2012, Warner Bros.)
• Feistodon (With Feist) (2012, Reprise)

Singles

• Iron Tusk (2004, Relapse)
• Blood & Thunder (2004, Relapse)
• Crystal Skull (2006, Relapse)
• Capillarian Crest (2006, Relapse)
• The Wolf Is Loose (2006, Relapse)
• Colony of Birchmen (2007, Reprise)
• Divinations (2009, Reprise)
• Oblivion (2009, Reprise)
• Just Got Paid / The Bit (2010, Volcom Entertainment)
• Black Tongue (2011, Reprise)
• Curl of The Burl (2011, Reprise)
• Dry Bone Valley (2012, Reprise)
• High Road (2014, Reprise)
• Chimes At Midnight (2014, Reprise)
• The Motherload (2014, Reprise)
• Atlanta (2014, Adult Swim; 2015, Reprise)
• Asleep in The Deep (2015, Reprise)
• White Walker (2016, Reprise)
• Toe To Toes (2017, Reprise)
• Stairway to Nick John (2019, Reprise)

Live Releases

• The Workhorse Chronicles: The Early Years 2000-2005 (DVD) (2006, Relapse)
• The Unholy Alliance (Split DVD) (2007, American Recordings)
• Live at the Aragon (2011, Reprise)
• Live at Brixton (2013, Reprise)

Compilations

• Mastodon Box Set (2009, Relapse)
• Medium Rarities (2020, Reprise)

Members

Current Lineup

• Troy Sanders - Bass, Keyboards, Vocals (2000 - Present)
• Brann Dailor - Drums, Vocals (2000 - Present)
• Brent Hinds - Guitar, Vocals (2000 - Present)
• Bill Kelliher - Guitar, Vocals (2000 - Present)

Live and Past Members

• Eric Saner - Vocals (2000)
• Rich Morris - Live Keyboards (2007 - Present)
• Derek Mitchka - Live Keyboards (2009 - 2011)
• Joakim Svalberg - Live Keyboards (2012)
• Scott Kelly - Studio and Occasional Live Guest

List of Known Tours

• September 2002 North American Tour (With Avenged Sevenfold, Five Pointe O) (2002)
• Winter 2002 North American Tour (With The Dillinger Escape Plan) (2002)
• Spring 2003 European Tour (With High on Fire, The Haunted, Hatespehere) (2003)
• Relapse Contamination Tour 2003 (With Dysrhythmia, Uphill Battle, Cephalic Carnage) (2003)
• Winter 2004 North American Tour (With Clutch, Nebula; Select dates with Dysrhythmia, The Hidden Hand) (2004)
• Summer 2004 North American Tour (With Fear Factory, Sworn Enemy) (2004)
• The Unholy Alliance (With Slipknot, Slayer, Hatebreed) (2004)
• Jagermeister Tour (With Slayer, Killswitch Engage) (2004)
• Spring 2005 North American Tour (With Burning Brides) (2005)
• Extreme The Dojo Vol. 11 (With Converge, ISIS) (2005)
• Spring 2005 European Tour (With Dozer) (2005)
• May 2005 North American Tour (With Cult of Luna, Death By Stereo) (2005)
• Summer 2005 European Tour (Select dates with Slayer, Iron Maiden) (2005)
• OzzFest 2005 (2005)
• Blessed Black Wings UK Tour (December) (With High on Fire, Withered) (2005)
• Unholy Alliance (With Slayer, Lamb of God, Children of Bodom, Thine Eyes Bleed) (2006)
• Blood Mountain Summer European Tour (2006)
• Blood Mountain Fall North American Tour (With Converge, The Bronx) (2006)
• 10,000 Days European Tour (With Tool) (2006)
• 2007 North American Tour (With Converge, Priestess) (2007)
• March 2007 European Tour (With Saviours) (2007)
• March 2007 North American Tour (With Mouth of The Architect, Priestess) (2007)
• April 2007 Australian Tour (With Slayer) (2007)
• May 2007 North American Tour (With Against Me!, Cursive) (2007)
• Summer 2007 European Tour (2007)
• Rockstar Energy Mayhem Festival (2008)
• The Unholy Alliance: Chapter III (With Slayer, Amon Amarth, Trivium) (2008)
• Crack The Skye North American Tour (With Kylesa, Intronaut) (2009)
• World Magnetic Tour 09 (Europe) (With Metallica, Lamb of God) (2009)
• Summer Sonic 09 & Mexico Shows (2009)
• Adult Swim Tour (with Dethklok, Converge, High on Fire) (2009)
• Big Day Out 2010 (2010)
• Crack The Skye 2010 European Tour (With Totimoshi) (2010)
• World Magnetic Tour 2010 (Latin America) (With Metallica) (2010)
• Volcom 2010 Tour (With Between The Buried and Me, Valiant Thorr, Baroness) (2010)
• Crack The Skye 2010 Summer European Tour (Canceled) (2010)
• Blackdiamondskye Tour (With Alice in Chains, Deftones) (2010)
• The Hunter European Tour (2011)
• The Hunter North American Tour (With Red Fang, The Dillinger Escape Plan) (2011)
• The Hunter 2012 European Tour (With Red Fang, The Dillinger Escape Plan) (2012)
• Soundwave Festival 2012 (2012)
• Heritage Hunter (With Opeth, Ghost) (2012)
• The Hunter 2012 Summer European Tour (2012)
• Maquinaria Festival Tour (2012)
• 2013 European Tour (2013)
• Rockstar Energy Mayhem Festival 2013 (2013)
• Soundwave Festival 2014 (2014)
• Once More 'Round The Sun Spring North American Tour (With Gojira, Kvelertak) (2014)
• Once More 'Round The Sun Summer European Tour (2014)
• Once More 'Round The Sun Fall North American Tour (With Gojira, Kvelertak) (2014)
• Once More 'Round The Sun Fall European Tour (With Big Business, Krokodil) (2014)
• Once More 'Round The Sun Australasia Tour (2015)
• The Missing Link Tour (With Clutch, Big Business, Graveyard) (2015)
• 2015 European Tour (Canceled) (2015)
• Once More 'Round The Sun South American Tour (2015)
• October 2015 Mini-Tour (With Clutch, Corrosion of Conformity) (2015)
• Redeemer of Souls 2015 (With Judas Priest) (2015)
• 2016 European Tour (2016)
• Emperor of Sand Spring North American Tour (With Eagles of Death Metal, Russian Circles) (2017)
• Emperor of Sand Summer European Tour (2017)
• Emperor of Sand Fall North American Tour (With Eagles of Death Metal, Russian Circles) (2017)
• Emperor of Sand European Tour (With Red Fang, Russian Circles) (2017)
• Emperor of Sand Australia and Mexico Shows (2018)
• 2018 Spring North American Tour (With Primus) (2018)
• 2018 Fall North American Tour (With Dinosaur Jr.; Canceled) (2018)
• 2019 European Tour (With Kvelertak, Mutoid Man; Scott Kelly on select dates) (2019)
• Unheavenly Skye Tour (With Coheed and Cambria, Every Time I Die) (2019)
• Hushed and Grim North American Tour (With Opeth) (2021)

External Links

Official Links

• Mastodon Rocks
• Mastodon Facebook
• Mastodon Instagram
• Mastodon MySpace
• Mastodon YouTube
• Mastodon Twitter

Archival Links

• Lambgoat Page on Mastodon (Tour History)