THE STORY BEHIND
OBLIVION MASTODON
How teenage trauma, head injuries and a team-up with the producer who broke Pearl Jam took Mastodon into the big leagues
WORDS: DAVE EVERLEY
THE LAST PERSON
who wanted Mastodon’s Brann Dailor to sing on
Oblivion
was Brann Dailor. Actually, that’s not quite true. The Atlanta band’s big-shot new producer, Brendan O’Brien, didn’t want him to sing on the opening track and second single from their fourth album, 2009’s
Crack The Skye,
either.
“Brendan thought it was gonna be the big song on the record,” says Brann today, speaking from his home in Atlanta as his dog barks in the background. “He said, ‘There’s no way I’m having the drummer be the first voice that’s heard on the record. The last thing in the world I want is you guys going on [Late Show With] David Letterman and the freakin’ drummer’s singing.’ I was like, ‘I’m with you.’”
In the end, the freakin’ drummer did sing on Oblivion – only his second-ever lead vocal, albeit one that was shared with bassist Troy Sanders and guitarist Brent Hinds. But in every other respect, Brendan’s instincts were right. Crack The Skye marked a vibe shift for Mastodon, a key staging post in their transformation from darlings of the sludge metal underground into a bona fide crossover success story. And Oblivion, in all its shapeshifting yet weirdly commercial glory, was the spearhead for this new direction.
“The thing is, Oblivion almost didn’t make the record,” reveals Brann. “It was the last thing we put together. If it wasn’t for Brendan, it wouldn’t have been on there.”