MASTODON is an explosive, unbridled force. Possessing an uncanny songwriting sense, fearless innovation, unparalleled technical ability and a bottomless pool of raw talent and creativity, MASTODON is inarguably one of the most exciting new bands to form in the last 10 years.
In order to re-focus and regroup after leaving Today Is The Day in 1999, bandmates Brann Dailor and Bill Kelliher opted to move back to their hometown Rochester, New York. There, Dailor and Kelliher united with their former band Lethargy for a swansong show and demo. With the final chapter in Lethargy closed, the musicians moved to Atlanta, Georgia in January 2000 for a fresh perspective.
Only three weeks after arriving in Atlanta, Dailor and Kelliher found Social Infestation bassist Troy Sanders and guitarist Brent Hines. Dailor and Kelliher had almost a decade of playing and touring experience together; Sanders and Hines had a half-dozen. In only a few weeks of forming, the quartet’s intense songwriting chemistry and musical prowess generated a myriad of hard-hitting songs. These songs merely touched the surface of the outfit’s boundless well of ideas.
Under the name MASTODON, the group recorded their first demo in June 2000 with producer Matt Washburn at LedBelly Sound. With a new demo in hand, MASTODON started a tireless tour schedule, covering most of the Eastern US and Central Canada as well as playing numerous regional dates supporting Queens Of The Stone Age, Morbid Angel, Cannibal Corpse and many others.
MASTODON’s exceptional live performance impressed Relapse to such an extent that within months a contracted was inked, and MASTODON welcomed to the Relapse family.
In the spring of 2001, MASTODON once again blazed through the Eastern U.S. The first part of the trek MASTODON shared the stage with EYEHATEGOD and KEELHAUL; the second round of dates included BURNT BY THE SUN and MARTYR AD. On the same tour, MASTODON blew the doors off Metal Meltdown and the Mad Grinders Ball, leaving a whole new contingent of music fans awestruck and hungry for more.
MASTODON’s reputation as a formidable live band helped land them a summer tour again through the East Coast and Midwest, where they linked up with The Fucking Champs. The tour lead them through innumerable festivals (Milwaukee Metalfest, Hellfest, World Series of Metal and Mid-South Metal Fest) whose attendees witnessed a new form of power and intensity.
While on tour in August 2001, MASTODON’s Relapse debut "Lifesblood" hit with adamantine force. Boasting an Atlantean wall of sound, "Lifesblood" illustrates the band’s incredible technical ability, memorable hooks and earthshaking ability to rock. "Shadows that Move's" hook-laden attack churns with the ceaseless grind of heavy machinery. "We Built This Come Death's" fragile moments of beauty are segmented with turbulent, rapid-fire torrents of guitar. "Hail To Fire" labyrinthine guitar movements are confounding but undeniably captivating.
MASTODON carves its own path, and "Lifesblood" establishes the band as one of catalysts aiming to change the face of heavy music for the better. "Lifesblood" isn’t just music you hear, it’s something you feel deep down. Its pulse affects you.
Eager to contribute to the forward momentum displayed on "Lifesblood", MASTODON is scheduled to enter Man Or Astroman’s Zero Return Studios in Atlanta with producer/engineer Matt Bayles (ISIS, Botch, Pearl Jam) in October. Mastodon’s as-yet-untitled debut full-length will contain the following tracks: "Workhorse", "Train Wreck", "March of the Fire Ants", "Trilobyte", "Crusher/Destroyer", "Mother Puncher", "Old Nessie" and "Trampled Under Hoof."
