"We play something for the first time and get the hairs on the back of the neck standing up. That's how you know," explains Brann Dailor, drummer for the heavy metal band Mastodon. "You know if it's good." This type of gut feeling has played an important role for the band from its inception. In this episode of Set List, Dailor along with Mastodon guitarist Bill Kelliher reminisce over the band's evolution over the years. They chat about how experimentation has transformed their technical, instrumental sound into what it is today. "Back then we write a bunch of riffs in a row and just say, 'That sounds cool!'" explains Kelliher. "Now we're starting to focus more on the balance between vocals and just instrumentation. It's a natural progression."

And to the band, this natural progression means that their music grows and changes with each album and becomes more of a reflection of the members and the music they consume. "Once you start writing music for the fans and what you think they want, you're done," says Kelliher. But this isn't to say that their fans hold little importance; if anything, Mastodon's goal is for connection through their songs. Both Dailor and Kelliher find that the writing process and their shows serve as a cathartic, healing experience. Kelliher sweetly likens resonating with a song to "100 band-aids." If they can extend that feeling to their fans through their albums and live performances, their job as artists is done.