Intro: Dimitris Kaltsas
The upcoming release of Hushed and Grim is no. 8 in the back catalogue of Mastodon full-length albums starting with Remission in 2002. The transition from sludge metal and metalcore to progressive metal that later dominated, sometimes with alternative and stoner elements and thus more accessible, essentially split in two the largest percentage of the band’s listeners into fans of the pre- and post-Crack the Skye period.
The elements that distinguish Mastodon are numerous. Today there are not many bands with an unchanged line-up for 20 years and such absolute devotion and identification of the band members to a common goal. The participation of three members on the lead vocals, the unique album cocncepts, Kelliher’s colossal riffs of, Hinds’ soulful solos, Sanders’ warm basslines, and Dailor’s inconceivable drumming are ideal components in every period and record of the band. 
If one takes into account that this is a metal band with a dominant prog element, the fact that they have been on the forefront for about 10 years, having won a Grammy for Sultan’s Curse from their latest album Emperor of Sand (2018 – Best Metal Performance) makes their success even greater. The truth is that today Mastodon are at the height of their glory, remaining for almost their entire career in a very closed group of bands that more or less do not seem to be able to write a mediocre song.
The release of Hushed and Grim on October 29 was the perfect occasion to delve a little deeper into the band’s works and each of us selected 5 favorite albums and songs by Mastodon. Summing up the opinions of 19 editors, Crack the Skye topped the album list, with Leviathan coming second, while it is impressive that all 8 albums to date have been selected to a high extent.
So, aggregately, the ranking of Mastodon albums based on the preferences of the editors of Progrocks.gr is as follows:
| Album | Score | In top-5 |
| 1. Crack the Skye | 76 | 18 |
| 2. Leviathan | 56 | 18 |
| 3. The Hunter | 44 | 15 |
| 4. Once More ‘Round the Sun | 42 | 12 |
| 5. Blood Mountain | 31 | 15 |
| 6. Emperor of Sand | 20 | 9 |
| 7. Remission | 20 | 7 |
(scores were obtained by assigning to each list no.1 as 5, no.2 as 4and so on)
Regarding the songs, the result was even more impressive. Our picks include 31 different tracks, i.e. 42% of the band’s songs! The Czar was voted more than all others:
| Track | Score | In top-5 |
| 01. The Czar | 44 | 11 |
| 02. The Last Baron | 28 | 7 |
| 03. The Motherload | 23 | 7 |
| 04. The Sparrow | 20 | 7 |
| 05. Hearts Alive | 20 | 6 |
| 06. Blood And Thunder | 17 | 5 |
| 07. Jaguar God | 16 | 4 |
| 08. Oblivion | 14 | 5 |
| 09. Asleep in The Deep | 13 | 5 |
| 10. Megalodon | 10 | 2 |
And here are our top-5’s:
| Albums | Tracks | |
| Dimitris Anastasiadis | Crack the Skye | The Czar |
| Leviathan | The Last Baron | |
| Blood Mountain | Hearts Alive | |
| Remission | The Motherload | |
| Emperor of Sand | Aqua Dementia | |
| Kostas Barbas | Crack the Skye | The Sparrow |
| The Hunter | The Czar | |
| Once More ‘Round the Sun | Blood and Thunder | |
| Leviathan | The Last Baron | |
| Emperor of Sand | Asleep in the Deep | |
| Ilias Goumagias | Once More ‘Round the Sun | Asleep in The Deep |
| The Hunter | The Motherload | |
| Crack the Skye | Stargasm | |
| Leviathan | High Road | |
| Emperor of Sand | Oblivion | |
| Paris Gravouniotis | Crack the Skye | The Czar |
| The Hunter | The Last Baron | |
| Leviathan | Stargasm | |
| Blood Mountain | The Sparrow | |
| Emperor of Sand | Blood And Thunder | |
| Dimitris Kaltsas | Emperor of Sand | The Motherload |
| The Hunter | Jaguar God | |
| Crack the Skye | The Czar | |
| Once More ‘Round the Sun | The Sparrow | |
| Leviathan | Roots Remain | |
| Vasilis Korolis | Remission | Blood and Thunder |
| Leviathan | The Motherload | |
| Blood Mountain | Oblivion | |
| Crack the Skye | March of the Fire Ants | |
| Emperor of Sand | Colony Of Birchmen | |
| Christos Minos | Leviathan | Hearts Alive |
| Remission | The Czar | |
| Once More ‘Round the Sun | Jaguar God | |
| Crack the Skye | The Motherload | |
| Blood Mountain | Sleeping Giant | |
| Eleni Panayiotou | Once More ‘Round the Sun | The Motherload |
| Crack the Skye | Halloween | |
| Leviathan | Show Υourself | |
| The Hunter | Octopus Has No Friends | |
| Blood Mountain | Bedazzled Fingernails | |
| Petros Papadogiannis | Crack the Skye | The Czar |
| The Hunter | Octopus Has No Friends | |
| Once More ‘Round the Sun | Asleep in the Deep | |
| Leviathan | Hearts Alive | |
| Blood Mountain | Capillarian Crest | |
| Panos Papazoglou | Leviathan | Megalodon |
| Crack the Skye | Hearts Alive | |
| Blood Mountain | Crystal Skull | |
| The Hunter | The Czar | |
| Once More ‘Round the Sun | Stargasm | |
| Goran Petrić | Crack the Skye | The Czar |
| The Hunter | Jaguar God | |
| Emperor of Sand | The Sparrow | |
| Once More ‘Round the Sun | Asleep in the Deep | |
| Blood Mountain | Hearts Alive | |
| Tasos Poimenidis | Crack the Skye | The Last Baron |
| Blood Mountain | Oblivion | |
| Once More ‘Round the Sun | Sleeping Giant | |
| Leviathan | The Sparrow | |
| The Hunter | Tread Lightly | |
| Kostas Rokas | Once More ‘Round the Sun | Megalodon |
| The Hunter | Aqua Dementia | |
| Leviathan | Chimes at Midnight | |
| The Hunter | Stargasm | |
| Blood Mountain | The Motherload | |
| Thomas Sarakintsis | Crack the Skye | Blood and Thunder |
| Leviathan | The Last Baron | |
| Emperor of Sand | March of the Fire Ants | |
| Blood Mountain | Precious Stones | |
| Remission | Sleeping Giant | |
| Lefteris Statharas | Crack the Skye | The Last Baron |
| The Hunter | The Sparrow | |
| Remission | Elephant Man | |
| Once More ‘Round the Sun | Chimes at Μidnight | |
| Leviathan | The Czar | |
| Panagiotis Stathopoulos | Leviathan | Oblivion |
| Crack the Skye | Crack the Skye | |
| Blood Mountain | Blood and Thunder | |
| The Hunter | Sleeping Giant | |
| Once More ‘Round the Sun | Colony of Birchmen | |
| Alexandros Topintzis | Crack the Skye | The Czar |
| Leviathan | Siberian Divide | |
| Once More ‘Round the Sun | Seabeast | |
| Remission | Asleep in the Deep | |
| Blood Mountain | All the Heavy Lifting | |
| Giannis Voulgaris | Crack the Skye | The Czar |
| Emperor of Sand | The Last Baron | |
| Blood Mountain | Jaguar God | |
| The Hunter | The Sparrow | |
| Leviathan | Sleeping Giant | |
| Giannis Zavradinos | Leviathan | Hearts Alive |
| Crack the Skye | Seabeast | |
| Remission | Capillarian Crest | |
| Blood Mountain | March of the Fire Ants | |
| The Hunter | Oblivion |
Εισαγωγή: Δημήτρης Καλτσάς
To επερχόμενο Hushed and Grim είναι το νο.8 στη λίστα των full-length albums των Mastodon ξεκινώντας από το Remission το 2002. Η μετάβαση από το sludge metal και το metalcore στο progressive metal που αργότερα κυριάρχησε ενίοτε με alternative και stoner απολήξεις όντας πιο προσβάσιμο από το ευρύ κοινό ουσιαστικά χώρισε στα δύο το μεγαλύτερο ποσοστό των ακροατών της μπάντας σε φίλους της προ και μετά του Crack the Skye περιόδου.
Τα στοιχεία που ξεχωρίζουν τους Mastodon δεν είναι λίγα. Δεν υπάρχουν πια πολλές μπάντες με σταθερή σύνθεση για 20 χρόνια και τόσο απόλυτη αφοσίωση και ταύτιση των μελών σε έναν απόλυτα κοινό στόχο. Η εναλλαγή τριών μελών στα πρώτα φωνητικά, τα ιδιαίτερα cocncepts, τα κολοσσιαία riffs του Kelliher, τα ψυχωμένα solos του Hinds, οι ζεστές μπασογραμμές του Sanders και το αδιανόητο drumming του Dailor ακούγονται ως ιδανικά συστατικά σε κάθε περίοδο και δίσκο της μπάντας. Αν συνυπολογίσει κανείς πως πρόκειται για μια metal μπάντα με έντονα prog ύφος, το γεγονός πως βρίσκονται εδώ και 10 περίπου χρόνια στο παγκόσμιο προσκήνιο έχοντας κερδίσει ένα Grammy για το Sultan’s Curse από το πρόσφατο Emperor of Sand (2018 – Best Metal Performance) κάνει την επιτυχία τους ακόμα πιο σημαντική. Η αλήθεια είναι ότι εν έτει 2021 οι Mastodon βρίσκονται στο απόγειο της δόξας τους παραμένοντας για σχεδόν ολόκληρη την καριέρα τους σε ένα πολύ κλειστό club συγκροτημάτων που λίγο-πολύ δεν φαίνεται να μπορούν να γράψουν μέτριο κομμάτι.
Η κυκλοφορία του Hushed and Grim στις 29 Οκτωβρίου αποτέλεσε την ιδανική αφορμή για να ξεψαχνίσουμε λίγο ακόμα τα έργα τους και να επιλέξει ο καθένας μας τα 5 αγαπημένα του άλμπουμ και τραγούδια των Mastodon. Η άθροιση των απόψεων 19 συντακτών μας ανέδειξε το Crack the Skye με διαφορά κορυφαίο, με δεύτερο το Leviathan, ενώ εντυπωσιακό είναι πως ψηφίστηκαν και σε μεγάλο βαθμό όλα τα μέχρι σήμερα albums της μπάντας.
Συγκεντρωτικά λοιπόν, η κατάταξη των albums των Mastodon με βάση τiς προτιμήσεις των συντακτών του Progrocks.gr έχει ως εξής:
| Δίσκος | Σκορ | Εντός top-5 |
| 1. Crack the Skye | 76 | 18 |
| 2. Leviathan | 56 | 18 |
| 3. The Hunter | 44 | 15 |
| 4. Once More ‘Round the Sun | 42 | 12 |
| 5. Blood Mountain | 31 | 15 |
| 6. Emperor of Sand | 20 | 9 |
| 7. Remission | 20 | 7 |
(οι βαθμολογίες προέκυψαν αντιστοιχίζοντας σε κάθε λίστα το νο. 1 με 5, το νο. 2 με 4 κ.ο.κ. και αθροίζοντας στο τέλος για κάθε δίσκο)
Στα κομμάτια το αποτέλεσμα ήταν ακόμα πιο εντυπωσιακό. Στις προτιμήσεις μας περιλαμβάνονται 31 διαφορετικά, δηλαδή το 42% των κομματιών της μπάντας! Μεταξύ αυτών, το The Czar ήταν με διαφορά πρώτο:
| Κομμάτι | Σκορ | Εντός top-5 |
| 01. The Czar | 44 | 11 |
| 02. The Last Baron | 28 | 7 |
| 03. The Motherload | 23 | 7 |
| 04. The Sparrow | 20 | 7 |
| 05. Hearts Alive | 20 | 6 |
| 06. Blood And Thunder | 17 | 5 |
| 07. Jaguar God | 16 | 4 |
| 08. Oblivion | 14 | 5 |
| 09. Asleep in The Deep | 13 | 5 |
| 10. Megalodon | 10 | 2 |
Και αυτές είναι οι λίστες του καθένα συντάκτη:
| Δίσκοι | Κομμάτια | |
| Δημήτρης Αναστασιάδης | Crack the Skye | The Czar |
| Leviathan | The Last Baron | |
| Blood Mountain | Hearts Alive | |
| Remission | The Motherload | |
| Emperor of Sand | Aqua Dementia | |
| Γιάννης Βούλγαρης | Crack the Skye | The Czar |
| Emperor of Sand | The Last Baron | |
| Blood Mountain | Jaguar God | |
| The Hunter | The Sparrow | |
| Leviathan | Sleeping Giant | |
| Ηλίας Γουμάγιας | Once More ‘Round the Sun | Asleep in The Deep |
| The Hunter | The Motherload | |
| Crack the Skye | Stargasm | |
| Leviathan | High Road | |
| Emperor of Sand | Oblivion | |
| Πάρης Γραβουνιώτης | Crack the Skye | The Czar |
| The Hunter | The Last Baron | |
| Leviathan | Stargasm | |
| Blood Mountain | The Sparrow | |
| Emperor of Sand | Blood And Thunder | |
| Γιάννης Ζαβραδινός | Leviathan | Hearts Alive |
| Crack the Skye | Seabeast | |
| Remission | Capillarian Crest | |
| Blood Mountain | March of the Fire Ants | |
| The Hunter | Oblivion | |
| Δημήτρης Καλτσάς | Emperor of Sand | The Motherload |
| The Hunter | Jaguar God | |
| Crack the Skye | The Czar | |
| Once More ‘Round the Sun | The Sparrow | |
| Leviathan | Roots Remain | |
| Βασίλης Κορολής | Remission | Blood and Thunder |
| Leviathan | The Motherload | |
| Blood Mountain | Oblivion | |
| Crack the Skye | March of the Fire Ants | |
| Emperor of Sand | Colony Of Birchmen | |
| Χρήστος Μήνος | Leviathan | Hearts Alive |
| Remission | The Czar | |
| Once More ‘Round the Sun | Jaguar God | |
| Crack the Skye | The Motherload | |
| Blood Mountain | Sleeping Giant | |
| Κώστας Μπάρμπας | Crack the Skye | The Sparrow |
| The Hunter | The Czar | |
| Once More ‘Round the Sun | Blood and Thunder | |
| Leviathan | The Last Baron | |
| Emperor of Sand | Asleep in the Deep | |
| Ελένη Παναγιώτου | Once More ‘Round the Sun | The Motherload |
| Crack the Skye | Halloween | |
| Leviathan | Show Υourself | |
| The Hunter | Octopus Has No Friends | |
| Blood Mountain | Bedazzled Fingernails | |
| Πέτρος Παπαδογιάννης | Crack the Skye | The Czar |
| The Hunter | Octopus Has No Friends | |
| Once More ‘Round the Sun | Asleep in the Deep | |
| Leviathan | Hearts Alive | |
| Blood Mountain | Capillarian Crest | |
| Πάνος Παπάζογλου | Leviathan | Megalodon |
| Crack the Skye | Hearts Alive | |
| Blood Mountain | Crystal Skull | |
| The Hunter | The Czar | |
| Once More ‘Round the Sun | Stargasm | |
| Goran Petrić | Crack the Skye | The Czar |
| The Hunter | Jaguar God | |
| Emperor of Sand | The Sparrow | |
| Once More ‘Round the Sun | Asleep in the Deep | |
| Blood Mountain | Hearts Alive | |
| Τάσος Ποιμενίδης | Crack the Skye | The Last Baron |
| Blood Mountain | Oblivion | |
| Once More ‘Round the Sun | Sleeping Giant | |
| Leviathan | The Sparrow | |
| The Hunter | Tread Lightly | |
| Κώστας Ρόκας | Once More ‘Round the Sun | Megalodon |
| The Hunter | Aqua Dementia | |
| Leviathan | Chimes at Midnight | |
| The Hunter | Stargasm | |
| Blood Mountain | The Motherload | |
| Θωμάς Σαρακίντσης | Crack the Skye | Blood and Thunder |
| Leviathan | The Last Baron | |
| Emperor of Sand | March of the Fire Ants | |
| Blood Mountain | Precious Stones | |
| Remission | Sleeping Giant | |
| Λευτέρης Σταθάρας | Crack the Skye | The Last Baron |
| The Hunter | The Sparrow | |
| Remission | Elephant Man | |
| Once More ‘Round the Sun | Chimes at Μidnight | |
| Leviathan | The Czar | |
| Παναγιώτης Σταθόπουλος | Leviathan | Oblivion |
| Crack the Skye | Crack the Skye | |
| Blood Mountain | Blood and Thunder | |
| The Hunter | Sleeping Giant | |
| Once More ‘Round the Sun | Colony of Birchmen | |
| Αλέξανδρος Τοπιντζής | Crack the Skye | The Czar |
| Leviathan | Siberian Divide | |
| Once More ‘Round the Sun | Seabeast | |
| Remission | Asleep in the Deep | |
| Blood Mountain | All the Heavy Lifting |
