The mastodon (the animal) went extinct about 10,000 years ago, but Mastodon (the band) refuse to go anywhere. The Atlanta metal maestros formed in January 2000 – “the Y2K thing didn’t happen, so we had a new lease on life,” singer/bassist Troy Sanders later joked – and quickly became one of their generation’s trailblazers. Where most of their New Wave Of American Heavy Metal contemporaries were out-and-out metal acts, they rewrote the script, adding prog, psychedelia and three-singer harmonies to their riffy onslaughts.
Since they broke through with savage single Blood And Thunder, the band’s story has been one of endurance. They’ve survived alcoholism (guitarist Bill Kelliher entered rehab in the early 2010s), the losses of loved ones (as tackled on 2017’s Emperor Of Sand and 2021’s Hushed And Grim), and even the departure and later death of founding guitarist/vocalist Brent Hinds in 2025. But through it all, Mastodon have been one of the most consistent forces in heavy music, and their relaunch with added members Nick Johnston (guitars) and Joao Nogueira (keyboards) spells a triumphant new era.
As the world prepares to hear their long-awaited ninth album, Marrow Deep, join Hammer on a march through Mastodon’s discography, in reverse-order of excellence.
8. Once More ’Round The Sun (2014)
Mastodon laid the groundwork for shorter and more instantaneous songs on 2011’s The Hunter, and Once More ’Round The Sun picked up where that album left off. High Road and the title track work as well as standalone rock radio singles as they do in the context of the album, which hasn’t always been the case with this band. But if we’re being picky, OMRTS loses half a point because it wasn’t such a huge leap forward from what had come before it. Even so, it’s still tremendous.
7. The Hunter (2011)
The Hunter has been called Mastodon’s Black Album, dialling back on head-spinning prog metal and serving up the anthems. Some consider this approach to represent the band at their finest, and you can’t fuck with Curl Of The Burl, Octopus Has No Friends or Black Tongue when it comes to horns-in-the-air, beer-swigging metal. Even though Mastodon are at their best when doing something challenging, this is still an essential listen – as well as a hugely important commercial breakthrough.
6. Hushed And Grim (2021)
Reeling from the death of longtime manager Nick John, the band followed Emperor Of Sand – a concept album about family members battling cancer – with another heart-rending listen. The 86-minute double album confronted mortality on the downtempo Skeleton Of Splendor and Had It All, while also making room for bittersweet, metallic thrills. More Than I Could Chew, Pushing The Tides and Teardrinker remain vital components of their live set with good reason, and the country twang of The Beast was a powerful final bow from Brent Hinds.
5. Emperor Of Sand (2017)
Believe us when we say that we have no beef with Mastodon’s output over the last decade – it’s just a measure of how off-the-scale the albums they made in the 2000s were. Emperor Of Sand was a fantastic meld of their older, more progressive work with the contemporary sheen of The Hunter and Once More ’Round The Sun. The huge metallic riff that drive Steambreather, the QOTSA-style rock hooks that lift lead single Show Yourself and the psychedelic freak-outs in Scorpion Breath all congeal into a massively satisfying whole.
4. Remission (2002)
In a career with some heavy ones, this is the really heavy one. Mastodon’s debut still sounds as extreme, cutting edge and visceral as it did back in 2002.Where Strides The Behemoth is a 100-hand slap of a song that finds all manner of new ways to sonically destroy you, Trampled Under Hoof is as close to classic death metal as they have ever been, and, in March Of The Fire Ants and Mother Puncher, they served up two stone-cold classics.
3. Blood Mountain (2006)
If any other metal band released an album as good as Blood Mountain, it would be considered their masterpiece. Like the landscape they’re singing about, Blood Mountain feels treacherous, earthy, dangerous and ascending all at once. Josh Homme’s guest vocals on Colony Of Birchmen cut through you like biting wind, Crystal Skull’s rolling riff evokes the feeling of scrabbling up uneven rocks and the manic Circle Of Cysquatch is like being pursued through thick woodland by some unholy beast. Altogether, it makes for one of modern metal’s most exciting records.
Mastodon in 2006, with the late Brent Hinds far-left. (Image credit: Gie Knaeps/Getty Images)
2. Crack The Skye (2009)
If any album represents Peak Mastodon in terms of musical and lyrical complexity, it’s Crack The Skye. Their fourth album works best as one singular piece, but if you want an idea of why it’s considered such a landmark, then heading straight for the magnificent, 13-minute The Last Baron should give you some idea. The fact that the band somehow managed to bury such high-falutin’ concepts amidst their then-most accessible album to date remains testament to just how insanely talented they are as songwriters.
1. Leviathan (2004)
This was the point where it became apparent: Mastodon were more than just another sludge metal band content to churn out filthy riffs to clubs of sweaty fans until the end of time. Leviathan features all the elements that would come to define them. Iron Tusk and I Am Ahab are as technical as they are savage. There’s the conceptual narrative, which would become a staple of the band’s arsenal: you can practically feel yourself in Captain Ahab’s boots as Seabeast crashes around you. And the anthemic Blood And Thunder, featuring Neil Fallon of Clutch, may well be their defining song.
Marrow Deep is out on August 28 via Loma Vista.
