Bringing together the best elements of classic rock, stoner metal, and prog-rock, Mastodon offer a smorgasbord for the heavy metal faithful. At a time when the genre was running short on new ideas, the Atlanta-based quartet made the metal album a listening event. Their first four records were concept albums about fire, earth, water and air, while their lyrics alluded to Moby Dick and Czarist Russia. They make metal cinematic without sacrificing an ounce of its essential aggression.