Mastodon have one of the most impressive repertoires of any metal band of the 21st century. The group have traversed sludge, prog, psych-rock, heavy metal and more throughout their two-plus decades as a band, so when drummer-singer Brann Dailor was asked by Loudwire to pick the one Mastodon song he's most proud of writing, he had a lot of gems to sift through.
That said, foregoing fan-favorites like "Blood and Thunder" and "Oblivion," Dailor ended up choosing "The Last Baron" as his proudest musical moment, the 13-minute sidewinder that closes out Mastodon's 2009 prog-metal masterpiece, Crack the Sky.
"It just was such a puzzle to put together and figure out how it was all going to work together," Dailor said of the track. "I just remember sort of banging our heads against the wall, trying to figure out how to do that stuff.
"Going through that kind of thing and then coming out the other side was something ... I feel [it] came out really, really beautiful and really cool. And being able to — myself, anyway — sustain our own attention for 13 minutes, it was quite the achievement. And part of our proggy wishlist that we wanted when we started the band."
