<album>
  <title>Crack the Skye</title>
  <rating>9.0</rating>
  <musicbrainzreleasegroupid>defcc444-7255-320d-bf21-888eb4d53ff9</musicbrainzreleasegroupid>
  <musicbrainzalbumid>013ee6f7-864c-45a3-aff9-42af1000cb54</musicbrainzalbumid>
  <artistdesc>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 unchanged since 2001. 
Mastodon has released eight studio albums, as well as a number of other releases. The band's 2002 debut album, Remission, garnered significant critical acclaim for its unique sound. Mastodon's second full-length release, Leviathan, is a concept album based on the novel Moby-Dick by Herman Melville. Three magazines awarded the record "Album of the Year" in 2004: Revolver, Kerrang! and Terrorizer.
The song "Colony of Birchmen" from the band's third album (released in 2006), Blood Mountain, was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance in 2007. Blood Mountain was followed in 2009 by Crack the Skye, and in 2011 by The Hunter, which debuted at No. 10 on the Billboard 200 chart and achieved major commercial success in the United States. The Hunter features the song "Curl of the Burl", which was nominated for a Grammy for Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance in 2012. Mastodon's 2014 album, Once More 'Round the Sun, peaked at No. 6 on the Billboard 200 chart and features the band's third Grammy-nominated song, "High Road". The band's seventh album, Emperor of Sand, was released on March 31, 2017, and features the band's most commercially successful song to date, "Show Yourself", which peaked at No. 4 on the US Billboard Mainstream Rock Songs chart in June 2017. The follow-up single, "Steambreather", peaked at No. 18 on the same chart in October 2017. The album's opening track, "Sultan's Curse", earned the band its first Grammy award. Emperor of Sand was the band's first album to receive a Grammy nomination; it was nominated for Best Rock Album. Mastodon's most recent album, Hushed and Grim, was released in 2021.

</artistdesc>
  <releasedate>02/23/2009</releasedate>
  <label>Reprise Records</label>
</album>