Metal music has changed exponentially over the years, and one thing that’s really evolved is the way people describe metal sounds. Brann Dailor, drummer for Atlanta prog-metal guys Mastodon, gets a kick out of the many different ways people describe heavy music. Even so, he says he simply tries to stay away from labeling his art.

“Yes, there are all sorts of silly ways that people label bands,” Dailor told the Dallas Observer. “It’s often about each person’s musical vocabulary. Some people just throw labels out there so they can have something to write, so that they can try to explain what something sounds like. I don’t feel like the new album is that sludgy, but it might have a little of that in there. I try not to label it. I just play it. But I understand the need people have to label bands, to put it somewhere.”

Not labeling his music is working. Mastodon’s latest album, ‘The Hunter,’ debuted at No. 10 on Billboard last year. Brann says he was surprised by the success– really surprised.

“ …I’m always surprised when somebody buys our records,” Brann said. “You know what I mean? I was excited about it. Ten is a good number. It’s cool that people still buy records. Our fans are actually committed to buying the music. We are lucky in that regard. But we wanted to move away from making another concept record, so we tried to write the best collection of songs we could and just put them on one album. I guess fans like that idea.”

Read the rest of the interview via the Dallas Observer.

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