r
gg
Oct 2017 - p.35
Mastodon followed quickly with new material,
taking a step back from their more prog-oriented
approach on their fifth studio album,
The
Hunter
. It gave them their biggest commercial
success to date, hitting number ten on the
Billboard charts.
Later in 2011 Troy Sanders took some time out
from the band, forming the metal supergroup
Killer Be Killed
with Dillinger Escape Plan
vocalist Greg Puciato, Soulfly's Max Cavalera,
and former Mars Volta drummer Dave Elitch. He
worked with the group on and off for the next few
years; their debut album was eventually
released in 2014. Mastodon was still a priority,
however. After touring Europe and South
America in 2012, they started work on their sixth
album the following year with producer Nick
Raskulinecz. The album, eventually titled
Once
More 'Round the Sun
, was released in June
2014, preceded by the sludgy single "High
Road."
Over the next two years, several relatives of the
bandmembers suffered from cancer. Sanders'
wife, Jeza, received treatment for breast cancer,
recovering in 2015; the following year, Kelliher's
mother died of a brain tumor, with Dailor's
mother also diagnosed.
These traumatic experiences informed the lyrics
of the band's seventh album,
Emperor of Sand
,
produced by Brendan
O'Brien and released
in 2017. Its concept,
revolving around the
curse placed on a
wandering traveler by
a desert ruler, was
acknowledged
by
Dailor in interviews as
a metaphor for cancer.
RGG have a pair of tickets to give
away for this gig at The Civic,
Wolves on 4th December. Just send an email to
the address below with ‘Mastodon’ in the subject
title to be in with a chance of winning.
Mastodon's newfound popularity eventually
landed them a deal with Warner Bros., but not
before fulfilling their contract with Relapse in
2006 by releasing
Call of the Mastodon
, a
remastered version of the group's first two demo
EPs, and
Workhorse Chronicles
, a DVD that
chronicled the band's story thus far with
interviews and concert footage. The band's third
album,
Blood Mountain
, debuted at number 32
on the Billboard charts and received a Grammy
nomination in the Best Metal Performance
category for the song "Colony of Birchmen."
Blood Mountain
marked the band's highest
chart peak, and set the stage for its long-awaited
2009 follow-up,
Crack the Skye
. In 2011, the
band released the CD/DVD package
Live at the
Aragon
, which was recorded in Chicago during
the Crack the Skye tour.
r
gg
21
YEARS
1995-2016
DEC
04
