Colony of Birchmen

"Colony of Birchmen"
Single by Mastodon and Josh Homme
from the album Blood Mountain
B-side	"Iron Tusk"
Released	March 12, 2007
Format	Single, CD
Genre	Progressive metal, sludge metal
Length	4:19
Label	Warner Music
Producer(s)	Matt Bayles/Mastodon
Mastodon and Josh Homme singles chronology
"The Wolf is Loose" (2006) "Colony of Birchmen" (2007) "Divinations" (2009)

"Colony of Birchmen" is a single by American heavy metal band Mastodon. It was featured on the group's third album, Blood Mountain. The song features backing vocals from Josh Homme, lead singer of the alternative rock band Queens of the Stone Age and former guitarist of Kyuss.

It is Mastodon's first single to reach the Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart, reaching #33, and was performed live on Late Night with Conan O'Brien on November 1, 2006.^[1] It was also nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance, but lost to Slayer's "Eyes of the Insane".

The song's title is a homage to the Genesis song "The Colony of Slippermen." Drummer Brann Dailor has said that The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway, on which "Slippermen" appears, is his all-time favorite album.^[2]

The song is part of the Rock Band 2 main setlist and also in Saints Row 2 as a radio song.

A music video was created for the song which features the band performing in an underground cavern, while strange phenomena occurs above on the surface in a forest along with people that are associated with the events.

A live XFM version was featured on the Oblivion EP.

Track listing

1. "Colony of Birchmen"
2. "Iron Tusk" (Live)
3. "Naked Burn"

Personnel

• Troy Sanders − bass, vocals
• Bill Kelliher − guitar, backing vocals
• Brent Hinds − guitar, vocals
• Brann Dailor − drums
• Joshua Homme − guest vocals

Notes

1. "Late Night with Conan O'Brien". Retrieved 2007-09-11.
2. Worley, Gail Adventures On Blood Mountain: An Interview with Brann Dailor of Mastodon Ink19.com (February 2008). Retrieved April 6, 2008.