Mastodon is an American heavy metal band from Atlanta, Georgia. Formed in 2000, the band's lineup of Troy Sanders (bass/vocals), Brent Hinds (lead guitar/vocals), Bill Kelliher (rhythm guitar/backing vocals), and Brann Dailor (drums/vocals) has remained the same since the release of their first EP in 2001.
Bassist Troy Sanders stated about their musical style:
We don't consider ourselves a metal band. We recognize there is a lot of metal in us, but we also want to believe we have a lot of rock 'n' roll in us, and we have a lot of progressive rock in us, we have bits and pieces of thrash and punk, and psychedelic-ness sprinkled throughout. A lot of times for me personally, just having the metal tag itself seems kind of limiting on us because we have such an appreciation for all styles of music and we like to incorporate bits and pieces of those into our songs.