12 '00s Hard Rock Albums All Fans Should Own

Combining old school metal excess with a nuanced 21st century take on heavy rock, Mastodon’s Leviathan is an exercise in ambition properly realised. To record a concept album about Moby-Dick is undertaking enough; to cram this into 45 minutes without sacrificing intent and making something so listenable is an amazing feat.

To be fair, you won’t absorb all the intricacies of Herman Melville’s masterpiece from this record alone, but the astonishingly innovative Mastodon come remarkably close to capturing the feel of the novel, its character and its rage.

They set you up for this with second track “I Am Ahab”, which lurches between the melodic and the monstrous among some of the best sounding drums of the decade. They can do more old fashioned riff rock, on lead single “Iron Tusk”, featuring a groove and a twin guitar line any heavy act would be proud of.

Best of all is the epic “Hearts Alive”. Mirroring the final chase that comprises the final chunk of the source novel, this is a thrill ride, well over 10 minutes of pressure building steadily before the final release.