Mastodon is well known for their newer material that contains complex guitar playing, Brann Dailor’s fill heavy drumming, clean vocals, and interesting arrangements; however, their earlier material was much heavier and darker with screamed vocals, incredibly down tuned guitars, and one of the most distorted bass tones I’ve ever heard. Here’s what to listen for on each track of Remission, the groups first studio album:

“Crusher Destroyer” The iconic T. Rex roar from Jurassic Park. 

“March Of The Fire Ants” Troy’s guttural screams that sync up with the guitars in the chorus while the band hangs on the low strings. 

“Where Strides The Behemoth”  A fancy guitar part and a cymbal intro that leads into a noisy mess of distorted guitars and bass. 

“Workhorse” Brann Dailor’s incredible drumming. 

“Ol’e Nessie” A calmness that at times almost feels like a dirge (funeral song). 

“Burning Man” The band’s punk influence. 

“Trainwreck” An overtone of distress throughout the song that picks up some energy before finishing. 

“Trampled Under Foot” The guitars, drums, and screams that almost sound like Helmet if they listened to death metal. 

“Trilobite” An eerie clean guitar before the band kicks into full blown sonic assault which then leads back into the eerie guitar and this cycle repeats.

“Mother Puncher” The slow, thick celebration of heaviness of its last two riffs that make it almost impossible to not head bang or make the stank face.

“Elephant Man” The slower tempo that makes it a fitting end to one of metal’s best albums.

Remission is an incredibly solid first release from Mastodon that established Mastodon a legit metal band, not just a collection of musicians who came from other really good bands. The album was not Mastodon’s biggest record, but it helped establish the band ability to move into a more progressive mainstream sound proving they could throw down. I recommend listening to Remission on your own as I cannot do it proper justice here.