https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TsdIO8RHMTc Sludge-rock masters Mastodon are one of those bands that most people have heard of, but it's only when you actually sit down and check them out that the inimitable feeling of "Where have these guys been all my life?!" settles in. It was with the mainstream-TV baiting The Hunter from 2011 that the wider world took notice, with subsequent ever-higher festival slots at the likes of Sonisphere and Download resulting from such imminently powerful performances. However, before they could rise to such heights and put on shows that remain divisive to the wider metal populace (many still maintain Mastodon just aren't 'built' for festival crowds due to their intricate song-structures more suited for intimate gigs) they first made their mark on the world with Clutch-frontman Neil Fallon-accompanied battering ram Blood and Thunder. Featuring such a simplistic riff that in effect does act out the metaphorical chopping down of an entire forest, Thunder's repeating note selection is just as searing live as it is when fired through your bedroom.