MELVINS - "Houdini" 1993 - As any halfway savvy reader of interviews, internet & otherwise, will know, the MELVINS are one of the bands MASTODON namechecks the most. Those who've only dipped their toes in the frost of "Blood Mountain" may be quizzical but look to the bands beginnings, "Lifesblood" & "Remission." If you ever wondered who inspired their overwhelmingly virulent multi-part vocal attack, look no further than Buzzo in "Hooch" or "Honey Bucket." Then, skip your disc changer to "Crusher Destroyer" or "Mother Puncher" on MASTODON's "Remission." Uh-huh. And, how 'bout King Buzzo's guitar riffing in "Copache" or his light-to-dark axe explosion in "Lizzy." Brent Hinds & Bill Kelleher nod approvingly.

SLAYER - "Hell Awaits" 1985 - MASTODON mention SLAYER in interviews and brother, it's no wonder. You might get a handle on that from the ultimate triumph of thrash aggression, "Reign In Blood," but it's "Hell Awaits" where this influence really fleshes out. One of the earliest examples of brutal thrash coupled with intricate rhythm changes & extended song structures, the effect can be felt throughout MASTODON's catalogue. There's an even more individual musical parallel here, as well, between SLAYER drummer Dave Lombardo & MASTO-man Brann Dailor. Listen to the way Lombardo approaches his flourishes & rolls, anticipating rhythm changes and punctuation points well ahead of the beat. It's a style of which he's the metal master & he asserts it maniacally through the course of "Hell Awaits." Now, try "Blood Mountain"'s opening track "The Wolf Is Loose" & get a load of Dailor ripping into it in very similar style. The boy done good.

NEUROSIS - "Souls At Zero" 1992 - I remember the first time I heard this album. A friend took pity on me & sent me a crusty old cassette of it after I'd mentioned I'd never heard a band more intense than Sleep. I pushed "play." Touche'. I wonder if that's how Messr's. Sanders, Hinds, Kelleher & Dailor first heard NEUROSIS? Anyway you look at it, there's scarcely a band that's ever produced heavy music as dense, sprawling, yet focused as this. Listen to the overdriven parts of "Sterile Vision" & also the killer "Stripped." Then, check out the volumnous riffing in "Blood & Thunder" from MASTODON's "Leviathan." And dang, NEUROSIS' Scott Kelly adds his own pipes to "Aqua Dementia" on that very same disc from the Georgia boys. As an aside, NEUROSIS' brand new "Given To The Rising" CD is their heaviest since "Souls...." No wonder MASTODON loves these guys!

THIN LIZZY - "Jailbreak" 1976 - One of the places people like to go when talk gets 'round to MASTODON's lead guitar prowess (Kelleher & Hinds) is Maiden. And, that's there for sure, I mean hell, the solo in "Crystal Skull" sounds a lot like Adrian Smith. Still, read the interviews & that good ol' Irish gang, THIN LIZZY comes up and for good reason. Much like vintage Scott & Robbo, Bill & Brent offer harmony leads that include a helluva lot of melody and...dare I say...(well, if you slow it down a tad) catchiness. Just listen to "Hand Of Stone" ("Blood Mountain") for one of the many examples. Even the rhythms get in the act occasionally, with "Iron Tusk" harkening back to LIZZY's "Warrior."

WATCHTOWER - "Energetic Disassembly" 1985 - No, I don't think that MASTODON were influenced by the newspaper of the Jehovah's Witnesses. I do think, even though I never heard 'em say it, that they just might've been impressed wit this little platter that came along & shocked my ass in 1985. For deep in the heart of Texas, you see, was a band that sounded like 4 guys who had found copies of "Kill 'Em All" & Mahavishnu Orchestra's "Inner Mounting Flame," mainlined massive amounts of caffeine & decided they needed to show Rush a thing or 2. In other words, they were awesome & tracks like "Argonne Forest" & "Cimmerian Shadows" were the ironclad proof. Sheesh, listen to nearly any instrumental section from a MASTODON song & see where the TOWER's long claw (I know, weak Orodruin joke!) could be lurking.

BLUE OYSTER CULT - "Blue Oyster Cult" 1972 - Maybe a stretch, you say? Well...maybe not. While their debut was surely BOC's least "hard rock" and most "psych" & to some, weird album, it also contains arguably Buck Dharma's most haunting composition, "Then Came The Last Days Of May." Listen to the sheer grace & elegance of any of his sterling lead lines in this tale of a desert dope deal gone bad & feel the hair stand up on the back of your neck at the same time. Kinda like it does at the beginning of MASTODON's "Sleeping Giant" ("Blood Mountain") or, for that matter, "I Am Ahab" ("Leviathan"). For more searing Dharma axe work of this ilk, move past the known "...Reaper" to more neglected BOC gems like "Nosferatu" ("Spectres"), "Harvest Moon" ("Heaven Forbid") or "The Vigil" ("Mirrors"). Ms. Roeser didn't raise no fool.