"Blood and Thunder" by Mastodon

White! Whale! Holy! Grail!

Strong Songs kicks off year four by getting H-E-A-V-Y, with an analysis of Mastodon's "Blood and Thunder." Pass straight past the Mellow Meadows, through the Forests and the Foothills of Rock, and see if you can reach the summit of Hard Mountain. The view from up there is amazing.

Written by: Mastodon

Album: Leviathan, 2004

Listen/Buy on all platforms via Songwhip

OUTRO SOLOIST: Kirk Hamilton

Kirk is the host of Strong Songs, and he's been having a lot of fun with the guitar lately. One of these days he'll even be able to play inside chord voicings without messing up. Find him hosting this podcast, and online at kirkhamilton.com.

--------------------

JANUARY 2022 WHOLE-NOTE PATRONS

RR Prince M. Levy-Benitez – Elliot Rosen – Ashley Hoag – Mark and Michelle – Kelsair – Rob Bosworth – Kyle Cooke – Donald Mackie – Melissa Osborne – Christopher Miller – Tim Byrne – Jamie White – Christopher McConnell – David Mascetti – Joshua Jarvis – Niko – Joe Laska – Laurie Acreman – Ken Hirsh – Jez – Melanie Andrich – Jenness Gardner – Simon Cammell – Guinevere Boostrom – Narelle Horn – Nathaniel Bauernfeind – Bill Rosinger – Anne Britt – Erin – Aidan Coughlan – Jeanneret Manning Family Four – Doug Paton – Robert Paul – Dave Sharpe – Sami Samhuri – AccessViolation – Ryan Torvik – Merlin Mann – Glenn – Jim Chokey – Andre Bremer – Mark Schechter – Dave Florey

JANUARY 2022 HALF-NOTE PATRONS

Anupama Raghavan – Demetri Detsaridis – Carrie Schneider – Alenka Grealish – Anne Gerry – Richard Sneddon – David Judson – Julian Roleff – Melissa Gallardo – Janice Berry – Doreen Carlson – Mtwolf – David McDarby – Abigail Duffield – Rapha David – Wendy Gilchrist – Lisa Turner – Paul Wayper – Miles Forman – Dennis M. Edwards – Jeffrey Ferris – Bruno Gaeta – Kenneth Jungben – Adam Stofsky – Zak Remer – Rishi Sahay – Jason Reitman – Karen Liu – Greg Burgess – Ailie Fraser – Simon Prieto – Paul McGreal – Karen Arnold – Natalie Mistilis – Josh Singer – Phino DeLeon – Schloss Edward J., MD – Amy Lynn Thornsen – Adam W – Kelli Brockington – Stephen Rawlings – Ben Machta – Victoria Yu – Kevin Rivers – Gray Dyer – Brad Clark – Christopher – Michael J. Cunningham – Kari Kirk – Mark Boggs – Mino Capossela – Steve Paquin – Mary Schoenmaker – Sarah – David Joske – Emma Sklar – Bernard Khoo – Marc – David Blackman – Robert Heuer – Matthew Golden – Brian Meldrum – David Noah – Geraldine Butler – Richard Cambier – Madeleine Mader – Timothy Dougherty – Jason Pratt – Stewart Oak – Caroline Miller – Abbie Berg – Sam Norton – Nicole Schleicher – Doug Belew – Dermot Crowley – Achint Srivastava – Ryan Rairigh – Michael Berman – Bridget Lyons – Olivia Bishop – John Gisselquist – Elaine Martin – Kouroth – Bonnie Prinsen – Sharon Tree – Belinda McGrath-Steer – Liz Seger – Eoin de Burca – Kevin Potter – M. Shane Borders – Pete Simm – Susan Plein – Dallas Hockley – Jana J – Jason Gerry – Nathan Gouwens – Will Dwyer – Alethea Lee – Lauren Reay – Eric Prestemon – Cookies250 – Damian Brady – Angela Livingstone – Jeffy Thanadros – David Friedman – Phillip Dalton – Sarah Sulan – Diane Hughes – Kenneth Tiong – Jo Sutherland – Michael Casner – Michael York – Barb Courtney – Derek Bender – Jen Small – Lowell Meyer – Etele Illes – Stephen Tsoneff – Lorenz Schwarz – Wen – Jack Sjogren – Geoff Golden – Robyn Fraser – Pascal Rueger – Randy Souza – JC – Brendan Jubb – Clare Holberton – Diane Turner – Tom Coleman – Tijs Soete – Mark Perry – Dhu Wik – Mel – Eric Helm – Jake Roberts – Briony Leo – Bill Fuller – Steven Maron – Michael Flaherty – Jarrod Schindler – Zoe Little – Caro Field – Michael Bochner – Duncan – Naomi Watson – David Cushman – Alexander – Chris K – Gavin Doig – Sam Fenn – Tanner Morton – AJ Schuster – Jennifer Bush – David Stroud – Amanda Furlotti – Andrew Baker – Matt Gaskell – Jules Bailey – Eero Wahlstedt – Andrew Fair – Bill Thornton – Brian Amoebas – Brett Douville – Jeffrey Olson – Matt Betzel – Mueller – Nate from Kalamazoo – Melanie Stivers – Richard Toller – Alexander Polson – Earl Lozada – Jon O’Keefe – Justin McElroy – Arjun Sharma – James Johnson – Andrew Lee – Kevin Morrell – Kevin Pennyfeather – Nicholas Schechter – Emily Williams

--------------------

💃STRONG SONGS LIVE!🕺
July 11, 2026 | Portland, OR
Buy Tickets Here

----LINKS-----

💰 SUPPORT STRONG SONGS!
Patreon | One-Time Donation

🏠 HOMEPAGE

👚 MERCH

💬 DISCORD SERVER

📬 KIRK'S NEWSLETTER

🎸 KIRK'S GEAR & INSTRUMENTS

🎶 KIRK'S MUSIC

📷 KIRK’S SOCIAL MEDIA:
Instagram | YouTube | Bluesky

🎧 EVERY STRONG SONG:
Spotify | Apple Music | YouTube Music

🎨 SHOW ART:
Tom Deja, Bossman Graphics