# Emperor of Sand
**Emperor of Sand** is the seventh studio album by the American heavy metal band [Mastodon](https://www.edgepedia.org/mastodon-band), released on March 31, 2017, by [Reprise Records](https://www.edgepedia.org/reprise-records). It is a concept album that follows a desert wanderer who has been handed a death sentence, and the band framed the story as a metaphor for cancer, terminal illness, and the time left after a diagnosis.[1](https://loudmagazine.net/mastodon-emperor-of-sand-doc/) • [2](https://www.loudersound.com/bands-artists/biographies/the-story-behind-mastodon-emperor-of-sand) • [3](https://www.loudersound.com/features/mastodon-emperor-of-sand-album-interview-2017) A 2018 press bio counts the record as the band's eighth full-length album.[4](https://logjampresents.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/Bio-Mastodon.180621.pdf)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Artist / album | Mastodon, seventh album [1](https://loudmagazine.net/mastodon-emperor-of-sand-doc/) |
| Release | March 31, 2017, Reprise Records; 11 songs, 51 minutes [1](https://loudmagazine.net/mastodon-emperor-of-sand-doc/) • [5](https://music.apple.com/us/album/emperor-of-sand/1195230194) |
| Producer | Brendan O'Brien, who also produced *Crack the Skye* [6](https://momentstransition.wordpress.com/2017/04/26/mastodon-emperor-of-sand-2017/) |
| Concept | A condemned man fleeing a death sentence into the desert; the sun is a metaphor for chemotherapy, and the Emperor is "some kind of Grim Reaper" [3](https://www.loudersound.com/features/mastodon-emperor-of-sand-album-interview-2017) • [2](https://www.loudersound.com/bands-artists/biographies/the-story-behind-mastodon-emperor-of-sand) |
| Personal roots | Bill Kelliher wrote songs for the album at his dying mother's bedside; drummer Brann Dailor went through cancer therapies alongside his wife during the writing period [7](https://www.guitarworld.com/artists/bands/mastodon-snakes-for-dinner) • [3](https://www.loudersound.com/features/mastodon-emperor-of-sand-album-interview-2017) |
| Notable songs | "Sultan's Curse", "Show Yourself", "Steambreather", "Roots Remain", "Jaguar God" [8](https://blabbermouth.net/reviews/emperor-of-sand) • [5](https://music.apple.com/us/album/emperor-of-sand/1195230194) |
| Recognition | Received GRAMMY nominations [9](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lj4cbYAWUqg) |
## Concept and themes
The album marks Mastodon's return to grand concept albums. Drummer [Brann Dailor](https://www.edgepedia.org/brann-dailor), who conceived the story, described a protagonist who receives the Sultan's Curse, a death sentence, and escapes into the desert, searching in vain for rain and shelter as the sun beats down on him, which Dailor called a metaphor for chemotherapy.[3](https://www.loudersound.com/features/mastodon-emperor-of-sand-album-interview-2017) The title character is a shadowy figure who haunts the album's grooves and the protagonist's dreams; Dailor described him as "a metaphor, some kind of Grim Reaper".[2](https://www.loudersound.com/bands-artists/biographies/the-story-behind-mastodon-emperor-of-sand)
**A real place behind the fantasy.** Although the plot is fantastical, guitarist Bill Kelliher said "it all came from a very real place". In 2017 he was writing at his dying mother's bedside, and [Troy Sanders](https://www.edgepedia.org/troy-sanders) missed the first few months of writing while undergoing cancer therapies alongside his wife.[2](https://www.loudersound.com/bands-artists/biographies/the-story-behind-mastodon-emperor-of-sand) • [7](https://www.guitarworld.com/artists/bands/mastodon-snakes-for-dinner) • [3](https://www.loudersound.com/features/mastodon-emperor-of-sand-album-interview-2017) A making-of documentary the band released later frames the album explicitly as a metaphor for cancer and the loved ones the members had lost to the disease.[10](https://www.metal-archives.com/albums/Mastodon/Emperor_of_Sand/996394)
Dailor kept the story deliberately loose. He described painting the concept "in as broad strokes as possible" so that each band member could write freely, comparing the approach to *Leviathan*, the band's 2004 album based on *Moby-Dick*. To flesh out the setting he drew on old-school movies and books about ancient Egypt.[3](https://www.loudersound.com/features/mastodon-emperor-of-sand-album-interview-2017)
## Music and production
The band reunited with producer Brendan O'Brien, who had also helmed *Crack the Skye*, their 2009 progressive concept record.[6](https://momentstransition.wordpress.com/2017/04/26/mastodon-emperor-of-sand-2017/) Apple Music describes the record as reflecting on mortality and serious illness through the condemned-wanderer story while retaining the band's customary cross-breeding of rock genres: "Jaguar God" runs about eight minutes from folk-rock and psychedelic sections into heavy riffs and intricate fretwork, while the punchy hard rock of "Show Yourself" and the melodic sludge of "Steambreather" offer shorter, more direct songs.[5](https://music.apple.com/us/album/emperor-of-sand/1195230194)
Vocal arrangements are a distinguishing feature. Songs such as "Steambreather" and "Ancient Kingdom" assign separate verses or choruses to each of the band's singers, or combine them at peak points in a song, an approach reviewers noted as new for the band.[6](https://momentstransition.wordpress.com/2017/04/26/mastodon-emperor-of-sand-2017/)
## Release and reception
The album was released on March 31, 2017.[1](https://loudmagazine.net/mastodon-emperor-of-sand-doc/) The band received GRAMMY nominations for the album and marked them by releasing a making-of documentary cut together from a 12-part series on the album's creation.[9](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lj4cbYAWUqg) A limited picture-disc vinyl edition followed on April 21, 2018, limited to 3,000 copies.[10](https://www.metal-archives.com/albums/Mastodon/Emperor_of_Sand/996394)
Among fans the record has remained divisive in degree rather than in kind: some listeners rank it among the band's best work, singling out "Roots Remain", "Ancient Kingdom", and "Jaguar God", while others read it as a cleaned-up, more commercial continuation of the direction begun on *The Hunter* and *[Once More 'Round the Sun](https://www.edgepedia.org/once-more-round-the-sun)*.[11](https://www.albumoftheyear.org/user/pearathon/album/70677-emperor-of-sand/) • [10](https://www.metal-archives.com/albums/Mastodon/Emperor_of_Sand/996394)
## Place in the band's catalog
Emperor of Sand followed *Once More 'Round the Sun* (2014) and preceded *Hushed and Grim* (2021), an album underscored by the death of the band's manager, Nick John.[5](https://music.apple.com/us/album/emperor-of-sand/1195230194) • [7](https://www.guitarworld.com/artists/bands/mastodon-snakes-for-dinner) It is frequently grouped with *Crack the Skye* as the band's major concept statements, though Apple Music notes it is not a wholesale return to that album's intricate epics.[5](https://music.apple.com/us/album/emperor-of-sand/1195230194) • [3](https://www.loudersound.com/features/mastodon-emperor-of-sand-album-interview-2017)
The title is easily confused with *Empire of Sand*, a 2018 debut fantasy novel by Tasha Suri inspired by Mughal India; the two works are unrelated.[12](https://bookmarks.reviews/reviews/all/empire-of-sand/)
## References
1. [Mastodon: «The Making Of Emperor Of Sand» documentary, LOUD! Magazine](https://loudmagazine.net/mastodon-emperor-of-sand-doc/)
2. [The story behind Mastodon's Emperor of Sand, Louder / Prog](https://www.loudersound.com/bands-artists/biographies/the-story-behind-mastodon-emperor-of-sand)
3. [Mastodon: the story behind Emperor of Sand, Louder (2017 interview)](https://www.loudersound.com/features/mastodon-emperor-of-sand-album-interview-2017)
4. [Reprise Records: Mastodon biography (2018)](https://logjampresents.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/Bio-Mastodon.180621.pdf)
5. [Emperor of Sand, Apple Music album page](https://music.apple.com/us/album/emperor-of-sand/1195230194)
6. [Mastodon – Emperor of Sand (2017) review, Moments in Transition](https://momentstransition.wordpress.com/2017/04/26/mastodon-emperor-of-sand-2017/)
7. [Mastodon share new single with Josh Homme, Guitar World](https://www.guitarworld.com/artists/bands/mastodon-snakes-for-dinner)
8. [Reviews: Emperor of Sand, Blabbermouth.net](https://blabbermouth.net/reviews/emperor-of-sand)
9. [Mastodon official YouTube: The Making of Emperor of Sand documentary announcement](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lj4cbYAWUqg)
10. [Emperor of Sand, Encyclopaedia Metallum: The Metal Archives](https://www.metal-archives.com/albums/Mastodon/Emperor_of_Sand/996394)
11. [Emperor of Sand review by pearathon, Album of The Year](https://www.albumoftheyear.org/user/pearathon/album/70677-emperor-of-sand/)
12. [All Book Marks reviews for Empire of Sand by Tasha Suri](https://bookmarks.reviews/reviews/all/empire-of-sand/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Music › Musical works and recordings › Albums and recorded releases › Studio albums › Metal and hardcore albums › Power, symphonic, gothic, and progressive metal albums*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license