12 Most Brutally Heavy Metal Albums EVER

Mastodon has been one of the most interesting names in metal ever since their inception in the early 2000's. Ever since the band members' first meeting at a High on Fire show, the band's unique blend of progressive rock with all-out metal has made for some of the greatest sonic headtrips in the entire metal canon.

Though any of the band's records could have made this list, the first real sign of the band's power came on their conceptual piece Leviathan. With the band making separate albums revolving around one of the four elements, this was a sprawling epic at sea inspired by the novel Moby Dick. The band do a fantastic job in painting the picture of a mammoth-sized whale with the unmatchable drumming of Brann Dailor.

At the same time, the cascading riffs coming from the duo Brent Hinds and Bill Kelliher make you feel like you're being battered with waves as you try to stay afloat. For every great metallic throwdown in here, there's another track that's a masterclass in technical ability that will leave most players fatigued just by listening to it. On the strength of this one record, Mastodon found their groove and have since used it to become modern masters of the metal genre.