Emperor of Sand, the eighth studio album from internationally celebrated heavy rock icons Mastodon, has entered Billboard’s Top Album Sales Chart at the #1 position, making this not only the best-selling album of the week over all other entries, but also the band’s biggest sales debut in their history.  In addition, Emperor of Sand topped the BillboardAlternative Albums, Rock Albums, Hard Music Albums and Physical Albums charts, plus the #1 vinyl selling album of the week completing Mastodon’s biggest debut of their career. Emperor of Sand debuts at the #7 position on the Billboard Top 200 Albums Chart and marks the band’s third consecutive album to enter into the Top Ten, including Once More ‘Round the Sun (2014) andThe Hunter (2011).

Mastodon had the biggest international debut of their career with first week chart position highs in multiple countries. Emperor of Sand also reached the Top 10 in Canada (#2), Australia (#3), Finland (#4), Sweden (#5), Norway (#6), Ireland (#7), and New Zealand (#9).

Mastodon’s new single “Show Yourself”  is currently #8 at rock radio. The band recently performed the hit single on Jimmy Kimmel Live! – click here to watch the performance. They will also perform the song on TBS’ Conan on a later date to be announced soon.

Thrilled with this achievement, the band has offered this statement:

The album has received critical acclaim around the globe. Kerrang! (U.K.) called Emperor of Sand  “a mature, provocative and at times genuinely beautiful piece of work,” while Rolling Stonesaid “‘Emperor Of Sand’ harnesses gut-punching catharsis…their most ambitious outing since ‘Crack the Skye’…It’s a glorious metal miasma.”

Paste praised “Emperor of Sand is full of passionate performances and serves as one of Mastodon’s most surprising and relatable releases yet.”

“One hard-hitting album…Mastodon turns tragedy into triumph” quoted Guitar World. 

U.K’s Metal Hammer enthused “Being alive is the one thing we all have in common, but it takes a band as special as Mastodon to put life into perspective.”

On April 20, the band will perform at the Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles as part of their upcoming spring U.S. headline tour,which begins on April 14 in Missoula, MT, with support from Eagles of Death Metal and Russian Circles. The band will also perform at several festivals, including the Carolina Rebellion Festival on May 5. Each pair of tickets purchased online (excluding festival dates and the May 6 Philadelphia show) includes a choice of a physical or digital copy of Emperor of Sand. Tickets are on sale now. Please see below for all tour dates and visit www.mastodonrocks.com/tour to purchase tickets.

04/14    Missoula, MT                Wilma Theater

04/15    Seattle, WA                   Paramount Theater

04/16    Portland, OR                 Roseland Theater

04/18    San Francisco, CA        The Warfield

04/20    Los Angeles, CA           The Palladium

04/21    Phoenix, AZ                  Comerica Theatre

04/23    Salt Lake City, UT          Complex

04/24    Denver, CO                   Fillmore

04/26    Kansas City, KS            Uptown Theater

04/27    St. Louis, MO                Pageant

04/28    Birmingham, AL             Iron City

04/29    Jacksonville, F  L          Welcome to Rockville Festival

04/30    Ft. Myers, FL                Fort Rock Festival

05/02    Washington, DC            Fillmore

05/03    Toronto, ON                  Rebel

05/04    Cleveland, OH               Agora Theater

05/05    Concord, NC                 Carolina Rebellion Festival

05/06    Philadelphia, PA            Electric Factory

05/08    Boston, MA                  House of Blues

05/09    Portland, ME                 State Theater

05/11    New York, NY               Hammerstein Ballroom

05/12    Pittsburgh, PA              Stage AE

05/13    Chicago, IL                   Aragon Ballroom

05/14    Cincinnati, OH               Taft Theatre

05/16    Detroit, MI                     Royal Oak Theater

05/17    Nashville, TN                 Ryman Auditorium

05/18    Memphis, TN                 Minglewood Hall

05/19    Dallas, TX                     Gas Monkey Live

05/20    Austin, TX                     ACL Live